Pig sitting rates

[Waddles]

Does anyone know what rates are these days for guinea pig pet sitting?

I'll be on vacation soon and a teenage girl in our neighborhood will be looking after my 2 pigs at her house.
They both share a cage and I will be providing hay and pellets. When I asked about rates, she said "pay me whatever you want."
It's been a while since I needed a sitter so I'm totally out of touch with what current rates are. I don't want to shortchange her by underpaying. Any thoughts will be helpful.

[JX4]

I'm curious as well. We will be having someone come to our house once a day to feed, water and check on our piggies. Their cage is WAY too big to move, so they will be staying at our house (we have 5 piggies).

[CavyHouse]

I board guinea pigs at my house. I supply all the food - pellets, hay, veggies- and bedding and cage. One piggy is $12/night and two piggies is $14/night. I think it varies a lot though.

[Lynx]

How far does she need to go? How many times a day will she stop by? Once? Twice? How long will you be gone?

For what it's worth, I would also get an extra water bottle. Some pellet feeders you fill at the top and they keep the bottom full.
(I write this as someone who always worries something will happen and I want food and water available)

[JX4]

In my case, I expect the "sitter" to stop by my house only once a day (any time, whatever is convenient to them and their schedule). One sitter I use only lives one mile away from my house. Another one lives about 8 miles away.

When I'm gone only for the weekend, all they have to do is refill water bottles, hay lofts and pellet bowls.

If I'm gone longer than that, say for a week or more, I ask them to vacuum up poo pellets and rake out the hay lofts of old hay daily (I provide the little pet hand vac right there next to the cage) before refilling the food, hay and water. Once a week I ask them to switch out the flannel panel flippers (I have a set of fresh ones ready to be installed), and I don't expect them to wash the soiled ones.

[lisam]

When I board pigs here it's $10 a day per cage.

I believe if someone were to come to your place, it would be more like $20 per visit.

[JX4]

OK, thanks!

[ClemmyOddieIndy]

I typically pay about $150 for a week. I expect spot cleaning, filling water and feeding only once a day. I’ll pay more if there’s a sick animal that needs meds or any other special treatments.

[Gessika]

I have a professional pet sitting service come to my place when I'm out of town. I used to board my pigs but it was actually cheaper (and less stressful for the pigs) to have someone come to the house. The pet sitter used to charge $13 a visit, but as the business grew, the rates increased, so now I think it's about $17 a visit, still more affordable than $16 per animal at the boarding place. I usually end up paying about $20 a day after tax and a small tip.