Guinea Pig Care Guide

Guinea pigs might well be the gentlest of all pets. Happiest in small groups, these rodents are delicate but reasonably easy to care for.

Guinea pigs, also known as “cavies,” are rotund rodents from South America. They are affectionate and gentle, and well-suited for households with children.  However, as true herbivores that are very low on the food chain, they should be kept away from dogs, cats, ferrets, and rats.

Also, they cannot jump more than a couple inches into the air. Make sure they are not in danger of falling off the edges of tables, beds, stairways, or other hazards.

ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT

Guinea pigs don’t need much equipment: cage, pet-carrier, food and water dishes, bedding, nail trimmers, and a brush. A safe piece of fruit wood to chew and a hidey hut completes the picture.

EXERCISE

Cavies should not use exercise wheels. Ever. Exercise wheels result in damaged backs, injured feet, and generally unhealthy Guinea pigs. Ignore the picture of the lovely wheel on the cavy cages.

Instead, provide a clear bit of floor for the Guinea pigs to just run around. You might even consider a play pen or an empty plastic wading pool. Some people have even started teaching their Guinea pigs to jump over very short toy horse oxers.

FEEDING

Cavies are messy. Be prepared for them to foul their food and water dishes. A water bottle hung on the side of the enclosure is a good back-up for the water bowl.

Fresh grass hay must be available at all times, and good Timothy-grass-based Guinea pig pellets ought to be the main part of your pet’s meals. Why Timothy specifically? Your other choice is usually alfalfa, which is much too high in calcium. Fresh vegetables such as carrots, broccoli leaves, and radish greens will round out the diet. Vitamin C supplements are a wise precaution, because the vitamin C in the pellets loses its potency quickly. Simply sprinkle the powder over the veggies.

GROOMING

The nails on all the feet need to be trimmed regularly, every month or so. Many people use nail clippers that are designed for humans, for this purpose. For the first trim, it is often easiest to take the piggy to the vet, and have the vet or technician demonstrate the correct technique. In fact, some people take their cavies to the vet for every trim.

Guinea pigs have fur coats. These coats need to be brushed. How often this brushing is needed will depend on what kind of Guinea pig you have. The gorgeous long-haired Peruvians need to be brushed once or twice a day. The other, much-shorter-haired breeds are brushed less frequently. A “Finishing” brush intended for show cats of the appropriate fur length is quite possibly the best equipment for this task. A fine comb may also be needed, especially for the Peruvians.

HOME ENVIRONMENT

Cavies neither climb nor jump very high, and so their enclosures do not need to be covered. As long as the walls are at least 10″/25″ tall, the Guinea pig will not get out. To avoid injury to the delicate feet, the floor should be solid plastic. Most commercial cavy cages are much too small. The piggy needs enough room to run and dig in the bedding. 10″x20″/25cm x 50cm per cavy is really the bare minimum, in terms of floor space.

Provide lots of bedding. The best and safest bedding is made of shredded paper. It will need to be changed every day, to maintain a healthy environment. Otherwise, the bedding will be soaked with urine and rotting vegetables. Do not use softwood shavings such as pine or cedar, because the oils from these woods are very unhealthy for your pet’s lungs.

A Guinea pig “hidey hut” is a nice addition to the enclosure, because it gives the piggy a place to hide when he feels nervous. He probably won’t spend much time in it.

Good ventilation is important, especially in warm weather. These animals do best at temperatures below 80F/27C. On very hot days, it’s a good idea to put some ice at one end of the enclosure. Of course, remember that these little guys are rodents: Be sure that whatever the ice is in, it is safe to chew.

TRAINING

Other than the mini-jumping mentioned before, there is very little training needed for a cavy. Handle the animal gently and often, and he will be a contented and gentle companion.

WHERE TO NEXT?

Guinea pigs are delightful pets that enjoy the company of their humans and of their fellow Guinea pigs. If you have decided that they are the right addition to your household, your next steps are to locate a veterinarian who has experience with rodents, to stock up on Guinea pig food, and to set up your cavy enclosure. Then you’re ready to adopt some adorable little rodents. Check out your local shelters and rescues!

This article’s link is found here: https://www.lovethatpet.com/small-pets/guinea-pig/

Here are some other informative Guinea Pig websites:

 http://www.2ndchance.info/guineapigcare.htm

 http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-a-Pet-Guinea-Pig

Below is a link to a Guinea Pig article that was written

here at PetFriendlySites.com: Click Here for My Guinea Pig Article

Thank you for liking and sharing.

Grier Holliday
www.petfriendlysites.com
Your Pet Friendly Resource Destination™

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I hope you enjoy this helpful Guinea Pig Infographic.  I wish I would have known more about their behaviors and the fact that one can teach the guinea pigs tricks when I had my two guinea pigs a decade or so ago.  I have recently influence a friend to get a guinea pig for his two little girls.  Every time I see the little girls they mention their new little furry friend that they named, Bubble Gum..  🙂

To visit the above Guinea Pig Infographic original link Click Here



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Thank you for liking and sharing.

Grier Holliday
www.petfriendlysites.com
Your Pet Friendly Resource Destination™

The post Guinea Pig Infographic appeared first on Pet Friendly Sites.

Pablo-My First Guinea Pig- from my midtown terrace in Manhattan-pre Claudette

Guinea Pigs are more like a tailless and more cuddly rodent than a pig. They originated in the Andes of South America and not from Guinea which, if you didn’t already know, is on the west coast of Africa just north of Sierra Leone for our geography enthusiasts out there.

Regardless of their origin and misnomer, they can be very cute pets for any age range.

Many school rooms will have a pet guinea pig for the class mascot. I discovered that because, when I realized I couldn’t take my pet Guinea Pigs on the flight with me as I was moving from New York City to New Orleans, that’s where I sent mine.

Prize-winning lilac-and-white Silkie

Guinea pigs come in quite a variety nowadays with short hair varieties to long haired ones.  For More on All of the different Guinea Pig varieties I have provided a link to the wikipedia page for you to click here.  To the left is a picture of a prize winning “Cavy” as enthusiasts refer to Guinea Pigs. They are usually loveable and cuddly and great for teaching kids how to take care of living things. They do require cleaning and a bit of nurturing like any mammal. They are not climbers, but they are very curious and have a look in their eyes that is quite engaging. It’s like they know they are cute. They also make little squeaky, squealing type noises. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend taking them on a walk on a leash, but that wouldn’t be too far of a reach of what you can do with these cute little critters!

Even though they are a lot of fun, before getting a guinea pig, one must realize that they live a long time for a rodent. They have an average age range of five to eight years. That is a lot of litter cleaning and cage cleaning, water bottle filling, treat giving and hair removal from your clothes and such-much like a dog, or a cat. Because of the commitment level of these pets there are many folks that realize it was too much. Having said that, last year, Petfinder.com listed over 10,000 guinea pigs looking for forever homes. So, adoption would be a good way to get started for many prospective guinea pig owners.

If you wanted to add a companion to your single guinea pig, make sure of the gender and the size of the container that you will be keeping them is large enough. Two males together do not mix well from my experience. My first male guinea pig had a long flowing hair on the back that fanned like a rooster tail as shown in the first picture compilation in this article taken from my midtown Manhattan terrace. Once I introduced another guinea pig that I was sure was a female, but might not have been in hindsight, my first guinea pig became unfriendly to me. When I say unfriendly, I mean they have a very serious bite!  He used to be so fun and cuddly until I brought in Claudette. Maybe I should have called her Claude, as it might have been a “he”. One must figure out the room in the house or backyard and provide at least four feet by two feet per guinea pig.

What Claudette aka “Claude” in hindsight looked like-male champion Abyssinian cavy

Claudette aka Claude in hindsight looked like the guinea pig “Cavy” to the left.

Guinea Pigs are a lot of fun. They can be quite endearing like any mammal can. They hop around like a bunny sometimes when they are happy and cuddle on your shoulders and nudge your neck and face like a dog, or a cat would. They are a low cost and enjoyable pet to have. Keep them in mind and all of the points I mentioned in this article if you are in the market for a new pet. Also, consider adopting.

I hope you enjoyed this article. I have included some more information below and some links to some favorite sites that, as a pet owner, are good to be a member of including this one. 🙂

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