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E-mail us: whartons@ozemail.com.au
"G'day"
You've arrived at our cavy stud in Townsville, Australia (on the coast alongside the Great Barrier Reef). We're pretty down-to-earth people, not cyberspace cadets trained in fancy website design, so please don't expect anything flash. Feel free to bookmark the site as a reference point and email us if you would like some 1:1 contact - we'd also appreciate a quick note in our guestbook if you have the time.
BACKGROUND:
"Guinea pigs galore" or "cavy chaos" is an easy predicament to find yourself in if you keep them long-term in a number of breed varieties like we do at our place. We have definitely been superceded numerically during our past 10 years of having a collection of pedigree cavy breeds ("cavy" is the term most fanciers usee for the common "guinea pig"). Sometimes we have had 200+ animals in our stud which has been a logistical nightmare in terms of housing and feeding and maintainting records on so many individuals, but we have managed to cut back to about half that now.
We currently have a collection of different breeds representing most of the main breed groups - Abysinnians and rex (coarsecoated breeds); agoutis and Argentes (ticked breeds, some of which are also "crested"), Dalmatians and Dutch (marked breeds) pink-eyed gold satins and Dutch satins (satin breeds) black and white shorthairs (selfs). We used to have some longhairs too, but we ceased our connection with them last year.
Our family registered as "Campbell" cavy stud back in 1992 and Christine got a few of the local fanciers together that year to form a cavy club so that we could learn from each other, put out a newsletter and hold official cavy shows in the region (something that hadn't been done until the Townsville Agricultural show of 1993). Everyone in the family has been involved over the years and Cassie and Jessie were so keen, they registered their "Piglet" & "Little Miss" studs in mid-1999. Cassie has recently moved >1000 km away to attend university, so sold most of her Aby's last year - we still have one as a reminder of the breed that got us started in pedigree "piggies".
GETTING STARTED:
You should have suitable housing, water bottle, etc. organized prior to acquiring your cavy, if possible.
HOUSING CONSIDERATIONS:
There are a wide variety of different styles of housing depending on climatic conditions, indoor/ outdoor location, and the presence of possible predators (e.g. dogs, cats, birds, snakes, etc.) You will need to take into consideration the full year of seasonal weather fluctuations and the effect of predators that come into your yard in addition to your own pets that may have a predator-prey affinity. (Most cats and dogs will understand that the guinea pigs are "part of the family", but shouldn't be left alone with guinea pigs without supervision "just in case".)
Most of our guinea pigs are housed in sheltered tiered hutches but we also have an aviary which we can keep a large group of animals in, if required. We use a bedding base of untreated (pine) wood shavings and a layer of grass hay on top. If we had only a few animals we would probably opt for a hutch on the backyard lawn which we would move around regularly in order for them to get their "greens". (As it is, we go out most days and pick a big basket full of fresh guinea grass for them to chew on - they love munching on the long blades of grass and can demolish it very quickly.)
The main factors to consider when making a hutch are: making it using non-toxic materials/ paint (because guinea pigs love to chew on things); ensuring it is strong and secure enough to keep predators out and keep babies in, as well as making sure it is suited to the climate i.e. well insulated/ventilated in summer, protected/ warm in winter and sheltered from the elements at all times.
DIETARY REQUIREMENTS:
The most important consideration in a cavy's diet is ensuring that they get enough Vitamin C. This can be provided through most vegetables and grass, with "the fresher the better" being a good rule of thumb. Cavies are vegetarians and enjoy many fruits and vegetables as well as grass. Most cavies will enjoy apples, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, caulifower, celery, cucumber, oranges, lettuce, melons, pumpkin and zucchini (i.e. the a - z of fruit & veg') but you'll soon find out their favourites by offering them a range of different food.
Too much of a good thing can sometimes be a problem e.g. eating lots of lettuce can cause diahhrea. It's probably best to feed them their fresh food at room temperature, although they do enjoy refrigerated food in hot weather. If you're not sure about whether to feed something to your animals, it's best not to make a "guinea pig" out of them and accidentally poison them - it's better to err on the side of caution. Root veges like onion and garlic are "no-no's" and milky/ sappy plants are likey to be toxic, so avoid them too. Dry feed mixes of chaff and grains can help provide a good balance in the animal's diet and improve their overall condition, especially if you want to exhibit them.
It's important to store their dry feed in a sealed container so that it can't get contaminated by other animals or get wet and mouldy - this could make them very sick. It is also important to provide your animals with an adequate water supply if you are supplementing them with dry feed, for the same reason as you provide water for cats and dogs that have a dry food component in their diet. Lucerne/ grass hay is also a good addition of fibre/ nutrition/ roughage in their diet - make sure to keep it dry so it doesn't get mouldy either.
CHOOSING YOUR ANIMALS:
You can usually find guinea pigs among the stock of most pet shops as they are very popular small pets. There may also be people in your circle of friends/ acquaintences who have surplus stock that they are trying to find homes for, so it may pay to ask around among people you know before heading off to a pet shop. Registered cavy studs will have a range of the fancy breed varieties and most animals will come with pedigrees for a small additional charge. There are many cavy clubs around the world that hold shows from time to time, so look around if you're keen on getting started with specific fancy breeds - cavy shows are great opportunities to see all the different breeds together in one place and you can make contact with people who can supply you with just what you're after.
DIFFERENT BREED VARIETIES:
There are more and more pedigree breeds being developed all the time, in addition to the "pets" that eventuate from mixing different colours and breeds together . There are about 7 different breed groups to pick from, but there is a range of colours/ breeds within each of these groups as well. The following summary is based on the current standard range of breeds available in Australia. Breed names may vary in other countries, although Australia has traditionally followed British standards.
COARSECOATS come in any colour/combination and should have a coarser texture than other breeds. They include the popular traditional Abysinnian which has a spikey coat that stands out from its body due to the rosettes it has in two rows of four across it's body and rump; many/most also have a couple more rosettes near their shoulder as well. The rex has a short dense crimped coat that stands away from its body. The Sheba Mini Yak is a longer-haired breed with many rosettes and facial features a bit like an Abyssinian.
CRESTED animals are smooth-coated shorthairs that have a single funnel-shaped rosette on the top of their head between their ears and their eyes - as soon as it has a crest, it's a "[whatever other breed it is] crested" and you can get them in all the self coloured shorthairs as well as a range of agouti/ marked breeds sometimes. "American cresteds" have a crest in an alternative colour to the rest of the body (traditionally, a white crest on any other self coloured body).
LONGHAIRS come in any colour/ combination and have hair that keeps on growing. They all make impressive show animals when they have grown a full length of coat, but require more attention because the hair can be chewed/ ruined from wear and tear in the cage unless it is "wrapped" up most of the time. The two "basic" varieties are the Peruvian and Sheltie.
The Peruvian is presented with a fringe ("frontal") and it's coat has a part along its back from it's shoulders to the two rosettes on its rump - it's soft, silky hair flows every which way so that it looks like the shape of a dinner plate when it has its coat brushed out fully; the Alpaca is similar but has a dense, wavy coat.
The sheltie has no fringe and no rosettes - it's soft, silky coat flows back and out to give more of a fan-shaped effect; the coronet is like a sheltie with a crest and has a part along it's back when presented at shows; the texel is like a sheltie with a crimped springy coat and a Merino is like a texel with a crest.
MARKED varieties are bred for their particular markings.
Brindles have black & red hairs evenly intermingled all over their body.
Dalmatians* have a white body and blaze up their nose, with self/agouti coloured head, feet and spots on their body.
Dutch-marked animals have white blazes, bodies and feet with self/ agouti rumps and cheek patches.
Himalayans are white with black/ chocolate "points" on their ears, feet and nose (smut).
Roans* have a self/ agouti coloured head and feet and that same colour intermixed with white hairs to produce a "roaned" body.
Sables are a bit like Himalayans but have darker head and feet on a sepia brown coat which fades down the chest and flanks to a beige belly.
Tortoiseshells have alternating patches of black and red down each side of their body to give a patchwork effect; torti' and whites have patches of black, red and white to give an even more colourful patchwork. (Tri-colours and bi-colours are similar to Torti's and torti & whites, except they come in any other colour combo' than black, red & white.)
There are also some rare varieties like harlequins and magpies which have different colour combinations of patches/ brindling.
*Special consideration should be given when breeding the Dalmatians and roans as they can produce deformed offspring if they get a double dose of these genes - it's safer to breed these varieties to their non-marked counterparts / "dilutes" from the breeding programme.
SATINS have coats with hollow hair shafts that reflects light to give extra briliance to the coat. This is a recent genetic feature and can be bred into every other breed, so there is a wide variety of animals in this category. Like crested varieties, if it has a satinised coat, they are called a "[whatever other breed it is] satin".
SELF coloured shorthairs are one of the most popular varieties because they are easy to keep, and the breed has been well developed and improved in most cases. They are available in a range of colours including pink eyed/ dark eyed white, cream, buff, saffron, pink eyed/ dark eyed gold, red, black, chocolate, beige, lilac and slate.
TICKED varieties have two-tone hair shafts with a base colour and "ticking" colour on the tip of each hair. They have a "solid" belly stripe in the ticking colour - although each hair shaft still has two colours, the proportions are reversed, giving the visual impression of it being solid.
They come in a range of colours including golden agouti (black base colour, dark gold/ mahogany ticking), lemon agouti (black base colour, lemon ticking), silver agouti (black base colour, silver ticking), chocolate agouti (chocolate base colour, orange ticking), cream agouti (chocolate base colour, lemon ticking), cinnamon agouti (cinnamon base colour, silver ticking) and a variety of Argente`s with either lilac/ beige base colour and gold/ white ticking.
Good luck finding your "favourite" breed...we all like different breeds, so we have a real variety in our caviary. Christine owns the Peruvians and the black/ crested shorthairs; Vince owns the white/crested shorthairs; Cassie owns the satin/ Abysinnians and Sheba Mini-Yaks, Jessie owns the agouti's and Argente`s (some now with Dutch/ Dalmatian markings); John owns the rex and Vicky owns the pink-eyed gold satin shorthairs...quite a collection and definitely "guinea pigs galore".
Despite the fact that we have had guinea pigs galore for quite a few years now, we're the first to admit that we don't know everything there is to know about cavies. There are also different names and standards for some breeds in other parts of the world, so here are some links to get you whizzing around the globe in search of more detailed/ local information. Happy hunting!
LINKS TO MORE GUINEA PIG/ CAVY SITES:
AUSTRALIAN CAVY CLUBS:
Hunter Valley & Central Coast Cavy Club (New South Wales)
New South Wales Cavy Club
North Queensland Cavy Club Inc. (based in Townsville)
AUSTRALIAN CAVY STUDS:
Blackgold Cavies (New South Wales)
Caesar Cavies (Western Australia)
Leeash Cavies (New South Wales)
Merioneth Cavies (Victoria)
OVERSEAS CONNECTIONS (CAVY CLUBS):
(These will more than likely have local breeders listed as well.)
AMERICA:
Utah Cavy Breeders Association
CANADA:
UNITED KINGDOM:
Southern Cavy Club
UK Dalmatian & Roan Club
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