Frequently Asked Questions

We typically offer 1 hour sessions for your residents to enjoy our Guinea Pig Therapy. The session length can be changed to suit the needs and size of your home upon request.

Our visits are soft, calm and friendly, and are tailored to the needs of your residents.

Residents are encouraged to engage with our piggies, whether that be through soft stroking, cuddling, or talking to them to explore their personalities. We love to see residents treating them like they are their own!

Naturally, this sparks a lot of conversation amongst your residents, reminiscence of their past pets, with an abundance of calming, destressing, and anxiety reducing benefits.

We provide fresh cut food for the guinea pigs should your residents wish to feed the animals. This section of the session has proven to be especially engaging with groups, as the personalities of the piggies really shine, bringing laughter, joy, and a real sense of purpose.

Our sessions can be hosted in communal area's of your home, but also adapted easily to bring the visit to those unable to attend lounge area's. Our piggies will be sat on a cushion to prevent any accidents on your residents clothing or bed sheets.

Yes. Our guinea pigs are calm, well handled and used to gentle interaction. They are one of the better animal types to choose for pet therapy for a number of reasons; they are full of character, they are not too energetic to handle, they love nothing more than to sit and relax and take some soft fuss.

Our piggies show strong signs of loving their sessions just as much as the residents they have visited, and thrive from calm, soft engagements with people. Their wellbeing is always our top priority during every visit.

We do recommend that residents wash thier hands before our sessions. This is so that our piggies cannot smell food on them. Although our tame and friendly guinea pigs do not bite, the smell of food can encourage them to explore with their mouths, and we would hate for any resident to misunderstand this.

Yes absolutely.

We hold a Level 3 Diploma in Animal Assissted Therapy and take safety, hygiene, and welfare extremely seriously - for both residents and our animals.

We are fully covered by public liability insurance, and hold an Enhanced DBS Certificate

Alongside Wheeks of Wellness, Rachel works as a Relief Senior Carer and has several years of experience within the care sector, bringing a strong understanding of residents' needs into every visit

Guinea Pig sessions make a real difference, as our animal interactions have a very calming positive effect for all residents, including those living with dementia.

Our gentle guinea pig visits provide a safe, comforting and sensory-rich experience that can help to reduce anxiety and agitation, encourage communication and social interaction, spark memories and familiar feelings, and at the heart of everything we do, create moments of calm, conection and joy.

At Wheeks of Wellness, we focus on the needs of those that matter the most - your residents

Our experiences are built around the people we love to visit, and our sessions are calmly delivered with our primary ethos always in mind - companionship, comfort and connection.

This is only possible due to the experiences gained by Rachel through her full time job as a Releif Senior Carer and her years of experience in the care sector, married with her passion and love for animals.

We have a strong belief in person-centered care, which you will see is evident throughout our sessions.

Through the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have recieved to date from our customers, the homes we have visited have consistently rated us top scores for reisdent enjoyment, interaction and engagement, professionalism and reliability, and their overall experience.

They have described our sessions as calm, meaningful and something residents truly look forward too, with several already booking their repeat visit immediately after their first session.

For us, the most important measure of our success is simple - seeing your residents smile, relax and connect. We dont just aim to provide a service, we strive to create moments that genuinely make a difference, and our feedback results reflect exactly that

Guinea pig therapy provides a calm, gentle and sensory-rich experience that can help to reduce anxiety, encourage interaction and create moments of comfort and connection

The soft touch, Quiet nature and predictable behaviour of guinea pigs make them especially soothing, helping residents to relax, engage and enjoy meaningful, positive experiences

Our guinea pigs’ welfare is our top priority at all times.

We carefully manage bookings to ensure they have plenty of rest between visits, and sessions are always calm, gentle and led at the animals’ pace. We continuously monitor their behaviour to ensure they are relaxed and comfortable. You may notice that our piggies actually thrive in this environment, having calm, gently and happy voices and soft touching really helps to keep them at ease

Outside of visits, they live in a quiet, caring home environment where they can rest, play and be properly looked after.

We would never place our animals in any situation that could cause stress or discomfort.

You can contact us using the enquiry form on our website, by email - Rachel @ Wheeksofwellness.co.uk, or by text or phone - 07955554610.

We will then discuss your home’s needs and arrange a suitable date and time.

Once we have confirmed a session date and time, everything is set for your visit. All we ask, is that before residents attend the session, they are asked to wash their hands so that our piggies cannot smell food on them. Although our tame and friendly guinea pigs do not bite, the smell of food can encourage them to explore with their mouths, and we would hate for any resident to misunderstand this.

As a small business, we are very flexible to the needs and requirements of your finance department. We can be paid on account by invoice, we accept cheques, cash and bank transfers also. Many of our customers have requested we complete an accounts form prior to attending, which is never a problem.