Does anyone have any advice about buying/keeping a guinea pig?

I was thinking about getting one and was just wondering if there is anything i should knowDoes anyone have any advice about buying/keeping a guinea pig?
Of all the pets that I have treated, guinea pigs are the gentlest. They do not have a mean bone in their body and it is hard to believe that they were once capable of existing in the wild. The Spaniards introduced pet guinea pigs to Europe in 1554. They obtained them from the Inca Indians of Peru who kept them as pets as early as 1450. These rodent-like animals no longer exist in the wild. They are also called cavies. Guinea pigs are very shy by nature. They are active both in the daytime and occasionally at night. Guinea pigs are very vocal and this vocalization plays an important part in socialization with other pigs or humans. Guinea pigs love company. Researchers have counted at least eleven different sounds that guinea pigs make in communicating with each other and their owners. Their social nature, temperament and low maintenance make them excellent pets. Guinea pigs are the gentlest of all the pocket pets, which include mice, hamsters, rats and gerbils and so are ideal pets for responsible children. I would not purchase any living pet for a child younger than nine. They love to be petted and will squeak and grunt with pleasure when they are gently handled. They will pine away and their health will suffer if they are not handled or kept with others of their kind. They are very clean. I got my first guinea pig when I was nine. We named her Mrs. Crawford, after one of my parent’s bridge partners who also had droopy jowls.





Like swine, boy guinea pigs are called boars and females sows. Adult female guinea pigs weigh about a pound (450gms) while males weight in at about a pound and a half (700gm). They come in four basic varieties, long and shorthair, straight and swirled and an endless variety of colors. With good care and proper diet, guinea pigs should live 4-7 years. A few will reach 8 years of age.








Choosing The Right Guinea Pig:





If you decide to purchase two pigs, make them both immature females. Males are more active than females and grow up larger. They also have more odor. If you purchase a male and a female you will have to have the male neutered or be resigned to endless litters of baby pigs and a shortened female lifespan. Females can become pregnant as early as two months of age so it is quite common for them to be already pregnant when you purchase them at a pet shop. If no males are present, there is no need to spay a female. Spaying a female guinea pig is considerably more expensive than neutering a male.





Housing:





Like all animals that are eaten in the wild, guinea pigs are very uncomfortable with people and other pets hovering over them. Provide them with containers or objects that they can get into and out of sight. Guinea pigs left free to roam the house eventually get into trouble. So keep them in a cage or pen. Powder-coated cages for guinea pigs are available at most pet stores. Most are designed for one, not two, guinea pigs and many are too small.. I like to have four to six square feet of floor space for each pig - considerably more than National Research Council guidelines suggest for scientific institutions. Put a small wooden or cardboard box in the cage for the guinea pig to hide in. It is important that the cage not have a raised floor grid. These grids cause the guinea pig’s feet to become sore and inflamed. My guinea pigs never jumped, (although readers of this article report theirs do). In any case, no cage lid is required if the walls are at least 18 inches high. I do not like to keep guinea pigs in glass aquaria - they become too humid. Keep the cage in an area where temperatures range between sixty-five and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit (18-25C). Guinea pigs handle cold quite well but they are very susceptible to heat stroke. Allow them plenty of exercise time outside of their cage. Be careful, particularly if children are involved, the most common accidents that occur are being stepped on and falling off tables. Be careful of toxic plants, electric wires and cats and dogs. Pick up guinea pigs with both hands; one round their shoulders and the other supporting their hindquarters. Be very gentle with pregnant females and youngsters.





Bedding:





My favorite bedding is large flaked pine wood shavings. Several guinea pig breeders have taken exception to this and reported cases of liver damage associated with pine bedding. If you use pine flakes, try to select one with low aroma. These are from low-resin pine species that do not contain large amounts of aromatic organic compounds. .They can be purchased in large bales at feed stores. I try not to purchase bedding that is dusty or mouldy.. Hard wood chips are also fine for guinea pigs but they are messier. Shredded newspaper with soy inks also make excellent bedding. I do not use cedar shaving because of their strong aroma but I do not actually recall a case where cedar’s aroma was linked to a health problems. Bedding should never be allowed to get damp. Change the bedding once or twice a week.





Diet:





Like human beings, guinea pigs need a daily source of vitamin C or ascorbic acid. A lack of vitamin C causes a disease called scurvy. Scurvy in guinea pigs causes eye infections, hair loss and pneumonia. All guinea pig pellets are fortified with vitamin C. But after a few months of storage much of this vitamin is lost. That is why I suggest that vitamin C be added to their diet or drinking water. 500mg of ascorbic acid can be crushed in 500ml (one pint) of drinking water. It should be changed daily. Alternatively, the tablet can be crushed and sprinkled on one to two pounds of diet. Although guinea pigs can be maintained on pellets alone, I like to feed mine timothy hay, kale, spinach, collard and turnip greens as well. Iceberg lettuce is valueless but romaine lettuce – especially the outer leaves is a good source of nutrients. You can pick and wash dandelion from your yard as well. Alfalfa hay and cubes can be feed sparingly if other hay is also fed. Alfalfa is too rich to be a major component of their diet. Fruits, starchy vegetables and sweet items are best not fed because they can upset the normal intestinal flora or bacteria on which these pets rely.


Guinea Pig Chow should make up two thirds of your pig’s diet. Purchase only name brand guinea pig pellets and be sure they are fresh. Large retail outlets tend to turn over their stock of feeds more rapidly than smaller stores so purchase them at the big outlets. If you purchase more than can be used in two months keep it in the refrigerator or freezer.


I use heavy lead-free ceramic food dishes. Water can be provided in bowls but quickly get soiled with loose bedding and food. Water bottles with stainless steel ball bearing sipper tubes are much better. Guinea pigs drink a lot and love to run the water out of the bottles. That is why the sipper tube must have a metal ball at its spout.


Some say guinea pigs are rodents and some say they are not. Like rodents, guinea pig’s teeth are constantly growing. They need safe wooden or bone objects in their cage on which to wear their teeth down or the teeth will overgrow.





Breeding:





Guinea pigs are rather easy to sex. If you pinch or squeeze the genital area the penis will extrude in young males. Adult males are quite obviously male. When I kept cavies, I was taught that female guinea pigs are fertile at as young as two months of age (55-70 days)! And that males mature slightly later. My favoite pocket pet husbandry book The UFAW Handbook also states these ages at puberty (fertility). However, a reader recently informed me that guinea pig females can become pregnant as early as three weeks of age and that males can be fertile as early as four weeks of age. I never separated males from females at so young an age and I have never observed pregnacies occurring so young but apparently this is the case. So play it safe and separate the males babies from the female babies as soon as you can demine their sex.





They have estrus or fertile periods just after giving birth and throughout the year. The length of their estrus cycle is sixteen and one-half days. They are fertile for 6-11 hours, usually beginning in the evening. They come into heat again shortly after birthing. Although female pigs are fertile at two months of age or earlier, they should not be breed until they are 4-5 month old and weigh a little over a pound. The male used should be about double her age to insure potency.. A bigger problem is breeding female guinea pigs for the first time when they are too old. At 7-12 month of age the female’s pelvic bones fuse, making natural delivery next to impossible. So guinea pigs of this age that are having a first litter often need it delivered by cesarean section (dystocia). Baby pigs arrive after a pregnancy of 60-70 days. They are precocious and arrive fully developed. Babies suckle their mothers for about three weeks (180gms) and then are able to eat the same foods as their parentddddddds. Litter size ranges between one and eight. Be sure to handle the babies often at this age so that they become tame.





Diseases And Problems:





The most common illnesses I see in guinea pigs are pneumonia and hair loss associated with malnutrition (lack of vitamin C and other nutrients) and the diseases of old age. The most common disease I find is newly purchased pigs at breeders and pet stores is Pasteurellosis. Pasteurellosis is caused by a bacterium, Pasteurella multocida that is present in some breeding colonies. It causes respiratory and eye infections as well as abscesses The next most common disease is streptococcal infections. . Although pasteurella and streptococcus can be cured with antibiotics these antibiotics can be fatal to the guinea pig. Guinea pigs are notorious about handing antibiotics poorly. The problem is that these antibiotics also kill the “good” bacteria that reside in the pig’s cecum and are essential to proper digestion. If these bacteria are killed, the pig soon succumbs to toxic products that accumulate in the intestine.





When you purchase your guinea pig, be sure it appears healthy. Its eyes should be bright and clean, never crusty or lacking luster. Check it’s nose, eyes, ears, and rear end to be sure it is free from any crusts, discharges, redness or inflammation. . The guinea pig should be alert and active, and plump. Its coat should be full and lustrous. Check its skin for flakes, and redness, and check carefully for parasites such as lice. When you pick up the guinea pig it may be quite skittish and fearful. It should quickly relax in your hands as you stroke it. Don’t purchase a guinea pig that is too calm or too skittish. Keep guinea pigs toenails clipped short every month with human toenail clippers. If you should accidentally cut one too short, push the nail firmly into a moistened bar of Ivory soap to stop the bleeding. Longhaired varieties may need occasional brushing. Use a slicker comb designed for Persian cats.





Owning a guinea pig or any other pet is not something to go into lightly. When you are responsible for someone else, you need to keep their best interests in mind. So it is with owning, loving and caring for a guinea pig. Here are some good rules to go by:





1.





Keep your guinea pig's pen nice and clean. A guinea pig has practically no odor unless they have an owner that doesn't help them keep clean. Guinea pigs eat a lot, and what goes in one end comes out the other very quickly! When we were using wood chips as bedding, Mom and I cleaned our guinea pig pen every day, and changed it twice a week. After that we started using shredded paper (Dad got a paper shredder for Christmas gift) and Mom changed the pen every day. Now we have decided the best bedding is straw. We buy a big bale for about $4.00 from the feed store and it lasts for months! We change the pen about every three days and it makes the guinea pigs smell like a fresh barn.


2.





Guinea pigs need fresh food and water with lots of variety every day. Check their food and water bowls frequently, and if you use a water bottle, change the water often. Guinea pigs also need to wear down their front teeth by gnawing. Give them something to gnaw on; our pigs like alfalfa blocks and cardboard boxes.


3.





Never keep your guinea pig in a pen with an exposed wire mesh floor. These types of pens are meant for rabbits that have big feet. A pig is not able to walk easily across the wire and will develop sores on his feet. A pig pal wrote to us recently and said to soak your pig's feet in warm water and epsom salts if any sores develop. This will help the swelling and clean the feet. Then be sure to cover up the wire mesh floor to avoid any more foot problems! We have a hutch for our pigs with a wire floor, but we cover it with several layers of newspaper for easy clean up.


4.





Learn to properly pick up, hold, and carry your guinea pig. Always support their bottoms, and hold them firmly so they feel secure. But don't squeeze them!


5.





Give your pig lots of company. Talk to her, hold her a lot, bring her to school, take her outside to eat fresh grass...just be a good friend and companion. They will return your kindness with affection. You might even consider having two pigs, keeping in mind that a boy and girl pig will have babies, even if they are related.


6.





It's a good idea to get a special book about guinea pigs so you can read up on them and learn what to do in case of illness. Pet stores always have good books about guinea pig care and feeding. Your local library will have books too. Our favorite is called Guinea Pigs, Family Pet Series by Katrin Behrend.


7.





Keep your pig's nails trimmed. A good guinea pig book will tell you how to do it.


8.





Guinea pigs have sensitive hearing, so don't ever make loud noises into their ears.


9.





A good rule for anything is the Golden Rule. Do you know it? It goes like this:





Treat others the way you want to be treated.





Guinea pigs don't have visible tails. We went to a library's book sale where they sell old books and bought an old dictionary. We looked up guinea pigs and it said they have tails! You can't believe all that you read! They do, however, have a tail vertebrae, but to look at them and hold them, they don't have a tail.





Guinea pigs are born with fur and with their eyes open. They are not like rabbits or mice that are born hairless and helpless. They are so small they can fit in the palm of your hand. Their feet look too big for their bodies! They nurse right away on their mommy, and even nibble a little on her food a day or so later. They grow up fast!





Guinea pigs eat a lot of food, at least Hunny did! No wonder they are called pigs! Guinea pigs are not related to pigs at all, though. They are really named cavies and they are members of the rodent family, which means they like to gnaw. Don't put your guinea pig near any books or she'll take a bite!





Guinea pigs came from South America, and the Incas domesticated them. They are members of the cavy family. Some think they are called guinea pigs because in England they were sold for a guinea, which is a coin. Some think it is because they were brought to Europe by Spanish sailors from a country called Dutch Guiana in South America.





Guinea pigs need to gnaw to wear down their teeth. Otherwise, their teeth will grow too long and then they won't be able to eat. That is a terrible thing for a pig.





';Cavy'; is the official word for guinea pig!Does anyone have any advice about buying/keeping a guinea pig?
There's a lot of knowledge required to owning a guinea pig.


Also a lot of time, effort and money. Also, guinea pigs must live in a pairs or larger herds. They are social animals and cannot be housed alone.





These websites explain the most about caring for guinea pigs, and if you decide to adopt two will be the most helpful throughout their life.





www.guinealynx.com


www.guineapigcages.com


www.cavyspirit.com
Okay, if you are just getting one they will need LOADS of attention as guinea pigs are used to living in a pair or more. Get two females or two males. They will need shavings, unlimited timothy hay as they need this for digestion, hidey bed or igloo and obviously a bowl and watter bottle. They need guinea pig food as some people think it is okay to feed them rabbit food this is not the case they have diffrent nutritional needs, a cup of veggies rich in vitamin c each day. Cages should be spot cleaned(usually they soil a certain corner) each day and thoroughly cleaned out three times a week. They need to be taken out into a secure enclosed area for 1 hr a day for excercise and checked weekly for any signs of illness (eyes,clean nose, hair etc). It sounds like a lot of care and they do tend to be a little more expensive to keep than other rodents as the daily need for veggies but they are well worth it with the way they interact with you once they are used and trust you. If they are kept outdoors if tempreture drops below 10c then need to be brought indoors or in a draught proofed shed.
Richard Gere would be the best authority on this
they taste good
Make sure they can be handles easily. they are real great pets. Keep the cage clean with fresh water %26amp; food. you can buy a book on them which would help you a lot!! They are so friendly as long as they get used to being held. I even use to put mine on a leash %26amp; take her outside!