~ Caring For G-Pigs ~

Food - Water - Housing - Bedding - Hygiene - Vitamin C - Breeding - A Hot Tip Food Guinea pigs love a wide variety of vegetables and fruits! They help to sharpen their constantly growing teeth, maintain a shiny coat, and keep them healthy. Check out our Cavies' Menu! Guinea pigs also need fortified pellets specially made for guinea pigs. The basic grey pellets are fine. There is no need to buy the more expensive bag with the colored things in it. They aren't any healthier for the pig, and cavies will just pick out the colored stuff instead of eating their much needed grey pellets. With these two elements in their diet, you're well on your way to a healthy cavy. Guinea Pigs also need the right amount of vitamin C. Water Guinea pigs need fresh water all the time. Two ways in which cavies can get water is by a water bottle or in a bowl. Our piggies loved the bowl best because they could dip their whole face in and get a real good drink. However, you do have to clean a bowl more frequently because shavings and stuff get kicked in there. A water bottle takes up less space. It all depends on what's best for you. Housing Try not to get a cage with a wire bottom. GPs tend to get their feet caught in the little niches, and in some cases they twist and wrangle themselves so much that they have to get the foot amputated. We used a kiddie wading pool as a cage and it worked great. GPs can peak over the top and see what's going on. Glass aquariums work okay, but they severly restrict a guinea pigs space and reduce air circulation. If you do purchase a glass aquarium, be sure to use a screen lid or no lid at all. Make sure you get a tank that provides about 20 gallons or more space for each pig! Plastic wading pools cost a fraction of what glass aquariums cost. If you do use a boxed aquarium, it'd be nice to also have an outdoor pen for your pigs to roam in on nice days. I've also seen many make-shift pens that work great. Bedding There are many different types of bedding available. Pine shavings make great bedding, but note that some pigs can develop skin allergies or respiratory problems to them, even after years! We alternated between pine shavings and the grey recycleable bedding you see in pet stores. Do not use aspen or cedar shavings! Guinea pigs will almost always choke — literally. Aspen bedding is very thin and sharp and can in no way be passed through their system if ingested. You can use newspaper as a bedding or if you run out for a little while, but it isn't very odor abosrbant, and you do need to clean the cage more freqeuntly. For an ideal bedding environment with reduced odor, sprinkle baking soda on the cage bottom, then line with newspaper and cover with shavings. Worked for us for years! Hygiene Just like any other pampered pet, guinea pigs need to have their toe nails trimmed! Do not trim the toe nails above the white part. Your pig will scream out in terror and probably bleed. If you don't trim the nails, they will grow out really long and eventually your pig may have to learn a new way to walk and his feet will become deformed. Not many pigs like it, but it is necessary for a happy, healthy cavy. Wheeep! If your guinea pig gets really gross, they can also be bathed. We bathed ours about every 6 months or so. For shampoo, use Bunny Bath. It can be found at your local pet store. Make sure the water is luke warm before you bathe them and try not to get soap in their eyes — it hurts them. Guinea pigs naturally groom themselves, just like cats, and bathing increases the amount of hair that they shed. This leads to an increase in the hair ingested when they groom themselves, which can lead to health problems and even death. It is okay to bathe them, just not often. Vitamin C Guinea pigs need the right amount of vitamin C. Their diet should NOT be more than 25% citrus, but they do need vitamin C or they can become sick, just like people. Foods that have vitamin C that our piggies liked are tomatoes, kiwis, and occasionally oranges. For greens, try broccoli, spinach, or romaine lettuce. Breeding Breeding guinea pigs is actually quite easy. They do all the work for you... You will know the female is pregnant when she gets so fat that you think she can't get any fatter. About a week before she delivers, you will be able to feel a lot of movement in her stomach from the babies. Be sure to separate the male from the pregnant sow before the cotton puffs are born. He will want to continue mating, which is very harmful for her within about two months after birth, and he will even smash his own offspring to get to her (on accident, of course). It would be best to give the sow at least two months rest between litters. Guinea pig babies are born with all their hair and their eyes open. They are ready to move around as soon as mom cleans them. Clean the cage very shortly after they are born. I recommend keeping mom and the new litter on newspaper for a few weeks before adding shavings. We kept ours without shavings at least until they were weaned, which is about 4-6 weeks. Usually closer to 4. You will know they are weaned when they are only eating mom's food, and no longer nursing. There isn't a cuter site in the world than a litter of baby cavies! A Hot Tip If you let your pigs roam outside and it gets a little hot, place a frozen water bottle out there with them. Fill a 2-liter or similar sized bottle with water and freeze it. On a hot day, lay it down on its side in the pigs' pin. They will lay right on it or next to it to cool down. It really is cute to see and it helps to keep them cool.