| Care For Your Guinea Pig |
| ~Buying a Guinea Pig~ You have to be very careful finding a guinea pig. Some places don't care for them as they should be cared for. NEVER buy one from a shopping store. (Meijer etc.) And you have to be careful buying from pet stores too. Make sure the person who is helping you know A LOT about what they are talking about. It's important to search around web sites, maybe buy a book or two, and ask people that have guinea pigs. If you know what you are talking about, you can tell if the breeder does too. I would suggest going to a breeder, if you can find one. Or a small family owned pet store that is focused on the few animals they have. If you ask them a simple question and they say they don't know, that should be a clue to find a guinea pig some where else. When you find a nice place, look at the cage. Is it clean? Is their food and water? Does the place around the cage look clean too? Most important look at the actual pig. Do the eyes look nice and bright? (Also clean around the corners) Are the nails too long? Is any bald spots? Also check the teeth, make sure that the teeth are not over-grown and too discolored. Ask an employee for help. If they look like they don't know what they are doing, DON"T BUY IT! I know it might be cute, and you think you can take care of it, but don't buy it. You will end up supporting places that sell abused animals. If they are sick, or just not taken care of properly, it's abuse! |
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| ~The cage~ There is two "no" rules. #1. No wire bottom cages. Their paws can get sore walking on the wire. And they can easily brake a foot slipping through a hole. Even if the holes are small, they can still get sore. #2. No aquarium tanks. There is no ventalaltion and it can make your guinea pig sick. Or, your whole room will smell so bad you will want to get rid of it all together. A tip, not a rule is not to have a wooden bottom cage. When it gets wet, it can rot. And again, not smell good. The best is a plastic bottom, with wire walls. It's healthy and very easy to clean. |
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| ~Bedding~ NEVER use cedar! The oils and fumes are bad for guinea pigs. Plus it obsorbs almost nothing. Pine is one step up, but I still don't think it is best. I have asthma, and pine gives me asthma attacks. People might buy pine for their guinea pig, and end up giving it away because it makes them sick. They think the guinea pig made them sick, but it was the bedding. Carefresh (or another off-brand type bedding) is best! Carefresh absorbs everything, and it does'nt smell bad. You don't have to change the bedding as often either. Carefresh looks like grey soft chunks of a paper material. Carefresh is 100% wood pulp fiber, with no added inks and dyes. Unlike some pine and cedar beddings. And it lasts longer because the odor control is unbeatable. I highly encourage you to use it too. Guinea Pigs like to sleep on it because it is soft. I also put a wash cloth in the corner of her cage because she uses it as a pillow. She is careful about keeping it clean. Yes, she is spoiled. |
| ~Food, Hay, & Vitamin C~ Guinea Pig plain pellets are best. I have tried everything, and if a guinea pig does'nt like it, they won't eat it! They will just pick out the things they don't like in "Special Blend" foods. So, I give her plain pellets and treat her every day. NEVER give a guinea pig rabbit pellets. They contain things that only rabbits can have, and it could kill a guinea pig easily. So be careful! Be sure never to give them anything with nuts, or hard items. One time I bought food called, "Special Blend" or "Cavy Buffet" and it had nuts in it. There were very hard round nuts I could not brake by stepping on them.. So how could a guinea pig eat it? They can choke, so I don't use anything but plain pellets now. And I give her hay (green timothy or alfalpha) in a hay bin, and give her romain twice a day. She easily can get sick of an apple every day, but she loves romain. Vitamin C is very important! Guinea Pigs can't produce it themselves, so they need a little help. Put Vitamin C drops in there food, or give plenty of orange slices! Mix it up too! Give apples, carrots, lettace, parsley and more! Contact me or another books or large website to find out if other foods are okay. Be careful what you feed them! Never give Iceberg lettace, it has too much water in it. My friends guinea pig died from it! If you have to, give only a tiny bit! Make sure what ever you feed them does not have too much water in it! |
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| *Care* 1* Buying a Guinea Pig 2* The Cage 3* Bedding 4* Food, Hay, and Vitamin C 5* Exercize 6* Litter Train |
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| ~Exercize~ Exercize is just play to a guinea pig. They can get over-wieght quickly and easlily. Olivia likes to burrow around under the blankets on my bed. (See ltter train 6) She has fun and is getting exercize at the same time. I also let her run around my room. She likes to look at everything she can find. Before you let yours do this, you must guinea pig proof the room. They love to chew anything in sight, so get ALL cords up and off the floor. Also block off large hard-to-reach areas like under your bed. Once Olivia got stuck under my bed and it took half an hour to get her out. I was getting a work-out while she was having fun running from me. It's not fun to chase around a fast fat guinea pig around in July with no A/C. : ) I use one of those "small animal" play pens to block off my bed. You have to be very careful on what they can run under. NEVER EVER use a wheel or exercize ball! They are ok for small rodents like mice or hampsters. But guinea pigs backs are not made for a wheel. Their paws can breakby getting stuck in a vent hole. The balls don't work either because they get scared in a small trapped area. And their backs can't handle it either. Just don't do it. They like running around freely and burrowing much more. |
| ~Litter Train~ It's easy to litter train. And very helpful with play time. But you have to have patience. First, switch around a few things in the cage, like the food dish, water bowl, etc. (So they know things are changing) Then buy a small corner litter pan. Every time they go, take a tisue and put "it" in the pan. They like clean cages, so after a while they will start going in the place you provided for them. |
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| Pictures |
| You can find a good play pen that I own at: Atlantis Pet Supply |
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| Hello Kitty |
| Links |
| I am trying out new colors. If you can't read the orange writing, email me and tell me! Fluteloop0014@yahoo.com |
| Tip: Don't let your guinea pig be the guinea pig for new products! I've heard of, and even been tricked into guinea pig "candy" "colorful treats" and other human-like products. But the truth is, your guinea pig does'nt like all those store bought foods. I have tried just about everything. But guinea pigs pick fresh veggies and fruit over and colorful "tastes like carrots" treats. And they are A LOT healthier. So remember to skip the "gardan blends" and "gummy treats" for your guinea pig. They will like carrots and romain more! (And for you, it's cheaper!) |
| Don't: Don't be tricked into toys either! Store bought toys are just for the owners to look at. Not for the guinea pig. Don't by mirriors, or bells, and I have even seen "Friends". They we little plastic snow men that were roundand heavy at the bottom so they could'nt tip over. And when you touched them, the little bell in them would ring. If I was a guinea pig, I would be scared! Not having fun! Do: Instead I give Olivia a large shoe box, or a small card board box to run and in out of. And a toliet paper (or paper towel) roll to chew on. Cheaper and better then wooden blocks. And their easier to chew. Olivia all day and all night likes to run in and out and around and under and over and any other way she can find in that cage. She LOVES it! |