A Very Basic Guild to Pet Guinea Pig Care.
Did you know the Guinea Pig is also Known as a Cavy?
COMPANY.
Probably the most important thing after physical needs, is a Guinea pig friend for your pet. They are best kept in pairs or larger groups. Please ask me for advice on how to safely pair up your pet with a new friend. It's really much easier than you think if you know what you're doing. YES even the boys!
It simply isn't necessary for most guinea pigs to live alone.
Guinea pigs I think make more friendly, tame and cheeky pets when kept indoors most of the time. And with dedication they are also wonderful outdoor pets.
You can easily spend lots of time with them indoors and you can enjoy watching them play and eat all the goodies you feed them.
The more time you spend with them the friendlier they will become, so if you can keep them in a room where they can see lots of people this will help.
They love being able to get out on to some grass in the summer as well.
If they are kept outside they do not like extreme changes in temperature, and must be kept out of drafts in the cold weather as well as being kept out of the sun on a warm day. They can quickly die of heat stroke. So their hutch needs to be in the shade in the summer.
Moving the hutch into a garage or shed in the winter is a good idea, not only does it keep them out of the bad weather, but you also benefit from not having to brave the elimants to attend to them.
Which bedding you use is up to you, I use BedSoft, with a layer of hay on top, which gets topped up when they have eaten some.
Wood shavings is also very good. I change the bedding once a week. But I might spot clean their favourite corner more often.
I once had a free sample of a product called Back 2 Nature, it was really great. Sadly it isn't available in the large amounts I need, and therefore wasn't as competitive on price.
I have also seen people use fleece blankets indoors and wash them regularly. The fleece does not soak up the guinea pig wee though, so lots of news paper underneath is needed.
FEEDING.
Guinea pigs need Water & Hay all of the time. They need the hay to chew on every day to stop their teeth from getting over grown, it can be just put on the floor or you can buy hay racks for it.
Guinea Pigs also need vegetables every day and a little dry mix. They can eat most types of vegetables, grass, fruit and Herbs.
Onions and grapes are bad for them.
I try to give them two different vegetables each day. Only feed as much veg as they will eat, as it's not good to have fresh food sitting about for too long.
My Guinea pigs like;
Fresh picked Grass. (Every day if possible.)
Dried Grass such as Readi grass or Just grass.
Spring Greens,
Carrots & Carrot tops,
Celery,
Sweet Peppers,
Kale,
Beetroot,
Broccoli,
Mint,
Cauliflower leaves,
Parsley,
Apples, Even just the core.
Corn on the cob, Husks and all.
Dandy lions, yes that common weed is a favourite for piggies.
Wheat or Oat Grass. (Home grown from seeds.)
GROOMING.
You will not need to groom the short haired Guinea pigs very often, but you may like to give them the odd bath. I use Johnson insecticide shampoo as this helps to stop them from picking up some types of mites easily. And it smells really nice too. Give their nails a clip when you feel they need it.
HEALTH.
Keep an eye out for hair lose. This is one of the more common problems seen in Guinea pigs, and can be caused by an number of things.
Mites, which can be brought in on the hay, or Fungal/ring worm. Fungal isn't very common with indoor pigs, but isn't very nice.
Otherwise Guinea pigs don't have many common problems and are generally healthy.
It's best to just keep a very close eye on them and notice if they are looking or behaving differently.
One more thing to add. Female Guinea pigs have an increased rick of complications in pregnancy if allowed to have babies for the first time once they are over 1 year old.
You may well not want you're Guinea pigs to have babies, but it's worth mentioning as many people do not realize.
I have covered as much as I can think of.
It would be a really good idea to buy a book about Guinea Pig care as a reference.
COMPANY.
Probably the most important thing after physical needs, is a Guinea pig friend for your pet. They are best kept in pairs or larger groups. Please ask me for advice on how to safely pair up your pet with a new friend. It's really much easier than you think if you know what you're doing. YES even the boys!
It simply isn't necessary for most guinea pigs to live alone.
Guinea pigs I think make more friendly, tame and cheeky pets when kept indoors most of the time. And with dedication they are also wonderful outdoor pets.
You can easily spend lots of time with them indoors and you can enjoy watching them play and eat all the goodies you feed them.
The more time you spend with them the friendlier they will become, so if you can keep them in a room where they can see lots of people this will help.
They love being able to get out on to some grass in the summer as well.
If they are kept outside they do not like extreme changes in temperature, and must be kept out of drafts in the cold weather as well as being kept out of the sun on a warm day. They can quickly die of heat stroke. So their hutch needs to be in the shade in the summer.
Moving the hutch into a garage or shed in the winter is a good idea, not only does it keep them out of the bad weather, but you also benefit from not having to brave the elimants to attend to them.
Which bedding you use is up to you, I use BedSoft, with a layer of hay on top, which gets topped up when they have eaten some.
Wood shavings is also very good. I change the bedding once a week. But I might spot clean their favourite corner more often.
I once had a free sample of a product called Back 2 Nature, it was really great. Sadly it isn't available in the large amounts I need, and therefore wasn't as competitive on price.
I have also seen people use fleece blankets indoors and wash them regularly. The fleece does not soak up the guinea pig wee though, so lots of news paper underneath is needed.
FEEDING.
Guinea pigs need Water & Hay all of the time. They need the hay to chew on every day to stop their teeth from getting over grown, it can be just put on the floor or you can buy hay racks for it.
Guinea Pigs also need vegetables every day and a little dry mix. They can eat most types of vegetables, grass, fruit and Herbs.
Onions and grapes are bad for them.
I try to give them two different vegetables each day. Only feed as much veg as they will eat, as it's not good to have fresh food sitting about for too long.
My Guinea pigs like;
Fresh picked Grass. (Every day if possible.)
Dried Grass such as Readi grass or Just grass.
Spring Greens,
Carrots & Carrot tops,
Celery,
Sweet Peppers,
Kale,
Beetroot,
Broccoli,
Mint,
Cauliflower leaves,
Parsley,
Apples, Even just the core.
Corn on the cob, Husks and all.
Dandy lions, yes that common weed is a favourite for piggies.
Wheat or Oat Grass. (Home grown from seeds.)
GROOMING.
You will not need to groom the short haired Guinea pigs very often, but you may like to give them the odd bath. I use Johnson insecticide shampoo as this helps to stop them from picking up some types of mites easily. And it smells really nice too. Give their nails a clip when you feel they need it.
HEALTH.
Keep an eye out for hair lose. This is one of the more common problems seen in Guinea pigs, and can be caused by an number of things.
Mites, which can be brought in on the hay, or Fungal/ring worm. Fungal isn't very common with indoor pigs, but isn't very nice.
Otherwise Guinea pigs don't have many common problems and are generally healthy.
It's best to just keep a very close eye on them and notice if they are looking or behaving differently.
One more thing to add. Female Guinea pigs have an increased rick of complications in pregnancy if allowed to have babies for the first time once they are over 1 year old.
You may well not want you're Guinea pigs to have babies, but it's worth mentioning as many people do not realize.
I have covered as much as I can think of.
It would be a really good idea to buy a book about Guinea Pig care as a reference.