Choosing a Guinea Pig When picking out your guinea pig, there are several factors for you to consider. Not only must you select a breed, but you must also take care in choosing a healthy animal. The breed you choose will, in some cases, impact the amount of care that your cavy will require, and there are several "warning signs" that can help you determine whether or not your potential pet is ill. Why would I want a guinea pig? Aside from the fact that guinea pigs are incredibly cute, there are a variety of reasons why they make good pets. In particular, the common guinea pig is a low-cost, low-maintenance animal; you will need to change their bedding once or twice a week, supply fresh water every day or two and provide them with food and hay on a daily basis. A good cage will cost you around $30 to $40 if bought from a pet store, and $15-30 worth of bedding can last up to a month or more, depending on what you choose. Pellets are also inexpensive, running anywhere from $6 to $9 a bag, and hay is extremely cheap if purchased from a feed and garden store in bulk. Fresh vegetables can be obtained from the grocery store or grown in your own back yard. For children, the guinea pig is an ideal pet. They are extremely docile, rarely bite and are very sociable. They love to be petted, and will gurgle and grunt happily and nonstop when given this kind of attention. They are larger than most other popular small mammals, such as mice, gerbils and hamsters making them easy to handle (and catch, should they happen to get away). Although they aren't as intelligent as rats, the guinea pig is trainable and far more lively than the stereotypes may suggest. Table of Contents
For most people, including young children, owning one guinea pig is probably enough. The cavy will quickly adjust to being around humans, and will make an excellent playmate. Most commercially available guinea pig cages are designed to hold one cavy comfortably; people wishing to keep more than one guinea pig together are often times forced to custom-build a cage. And, of course, it is less expensive to care for one cavy than it is for two. There are, however, several advantages to owning more than one guinea pig. Unlike some rodents, guinea pigs get along very well if housed together (with some exceptions, listed below), and if you aren't going to be spending a lot of time at home with your pet, it is advisable that you do get it a companion. Otherwise, your cavy will become very lonely and its health will suffer. If you do opt for caging two or more guinea pigs together, you should be careful about their sex. Two females will get along very well together in a cage, though they may "bicker" over food and other treats. Two males will almost always end up fighting, unless you give them considerable room- enough so that they can stake out their own territory. If you ever introduce a female into a cage with two males, however, you are asking for trouble; they will fight mercilessly over the right to mate with her, and the weaker of the two will eventually be starved to death by the dominant male, being driven from both food and water. If you neuter one of the males, it may prevent this kind of fighting, as the neutered male will no longer be a rival to the other, but there are no guarantees. Without a doubt, a male and a female make the best company. The female will defer to the male, who is dominant, and the male will general act peacefully towards the female. If you do opt to keep an opposite-sex pair of cavies together, you will end up having to have one of them fixed, or your female will constantly be manufacturing little baby guinea pigs. With an estrus cycle of 18 days, and a gestation cycle of only two months, it is quite possible for one pair of guinea pigs to produce dozens of offspring in a year. Although each guinea pig is different, as a general rule, males are more active than females, and are slightly larger when fully grown. Males also give off a rather strong scent when they are sexually aroused; if the male is neutered, however, this odor becomes less prevalent. Females tend to be smaller and more docile, but they do present some unique problems. First of all, it is more expensive to spay a female than it is to neuter a male (this is true for animals of any type). Second, your female may already be pregnant if you bring her home from a pet shop or a friend's home, especially if no care was taken to separate her from her siblings shortly after weaning. And last, if a female does not have a litter before she is about 9 months old, you will need to spay her if there is ever any chance, no matter how remote, that she will become pregnant later. The hip bones of childless sows can start to fuse between 9 and 12 months of age, and future pregnancies can become life-threatening. Tips on Buying Your Guinea Pig There are generally four places where one can obtain a guinea pig: a pet shop, a breeder, an animal rescue organization or a friend who's guinea pigs recently had a litter. Many pet stores mistreat their animals, or provide them with inadequate care, either out of negligence, ignorance or financial constraints. Sometimes a pet store's guinea pigs will have lice or mites, be malnourished or even pregnant. Not all pet stores are bad, however; use your judgement and your common sense, as well as word of mouth, before making your purchase. In some cities, there may even be a local organization which volunteers to inspect pet store conditions, and provide certificates for those stores that meet up with their standards. Although these ratings carry no legal weight, than can provide you with more information which you can use in making your selection. In general, if you do decide to purchase from a pet store, inspect the animal for obvious signs of illness and inquire about the animal's age (especially if female, as any sow over four weeks old may already be pregnant). Breeders, as the name implies, breed guinea pigs, usually for showing. Any animals that aren't of show quality are typically sold as pets. One advantage of going to a breeder is that you can typically find a breeder that either specializes in, or generally keeps, a specific breed that you may be wanting. In general, most breeders treat their animals well, but you should always be on the lookout for bad breeding practices (such as excessive inbreeding or poor living conditions) before making your choice. Once again, word of mouth and common sense are important. The animal rescue organizations, which can encompass everything from the local animal shelter to private rescue groups, specialize in abandoned animals, as well as animals that were originally destined for scientific research, or even snake food in pet stores. These outfits tend to treat their animals with the best of care, but there is an element of randomness in the age, overall health and personality of the animals, depending on where they came from. However, it is these animals that are in the greatest need of finding a home. If you have a friend whose guinea pig(s) recently had a litter, and they are selling them or giving them away, this is an excellent opportunity for you to inherit a pet. There are several advantages to obtaining a guinea pig from a friend: generally, you have a pretty good idea of how the animals have been treated, you can view the entire family before making your choice, and it's libel to be less expensive than purchasing a pet from a breeder or a store. As long as you are allowed to inspect the animals and their home, you can be reasonably certain that you are getting a healthy cavy. No matter where you decide to get your guinea pig from, you should always inspect your potential pet before taking him or her home. There is nothing more disheartening than to bring home a new cavy, only to have it die a few days or weeks later due to an illness that was present before you picked it out. Examine both your guinea pig and any cavies it was housed with; here is what you should look for:
Guinea Pig Breeds and Varieties Photographs of many guinea pig breeds and varieties can be found at Kurt and Karin Stueber's Cavy page. Some of the more popular guinea pig varieties are described below. Note that different countries recognize different standards for guinea pig breeds. If you plan on showing guinea pigs, you should contact your local cavy club for breeding standards. Each guinea pig is classified by its breed and variety. Some of the breeds that are shown in the United States include the American, Abbyssinian, Peruvian, Silky, American Crested and Teddy. Each breed is most easily recognized by the hair type, though there are other differences, too. Within each breed there are varieties, which specify (essentially) the markings and color of the guinea pig. The American breeds are short, smooth-haired cavies. The Abbyssinian is a short-haired cavy that features "whorls" in their coat, which are referred to as rosettes. The Peruvian is a long-haired cavy with a coat that parts down the center of the back. Silkies (called Shelties in Great Britain) are also a long-haired breed, but unlike the Peruvian, the hair does not cover the face, nor does it part down the back. The Teddy is a relatively new breed that is being shown in the United States; it has a coarse, short and thick coat with "kinked" hair shafts without ridges or rosettes. The American Crested cavy is a short-hair breed with a single "whorl" of a contrasting color on the forehead. Varieties The list given below is neither complete nor definitive; rather, it is intended only as an introduction to some of the many guinea pig varieties. The Selfs The Selfs are smooth-coated guinea pigs whose coats are all one color, including the hair on the feet. Several colors of Selfs are bred:
The Agoutis The agouti guinea pigs have short, silky hair that is "ticked" throughout the coat, which gives them a "shimmering" effect. This is the pattern of the guinea pigs' wild ancestors. Various colors are bred:
The Himalyan The Himilayan guinea pig has a white, silky coat with black or chocolate ears and feet. The nose is also black or chocolate, and is often times referred to as the "smut". The points on the Himalyan guinea are not as pronounced as they are on the Himilayan rabbit. The eyes are red. The Himilayan breed can not be easily identified at birth. Himilayan young are born all-white, and are easily mistaken as Self Whites. Their markings gradually appear over the first few months after birth. The Dutch The Dutch are difficult to breed to show quality. Their bodies are a Self or Agouti coloring with a white "saddle" across the back and around to the belly. There is also a white "blaze" running from the forehead down to the nose, where it meets with the white belly coming up the neck. The ears should match the body color, and not be flesh-toned. The Dutch also have white foot-stops. The Dalmation As the name implies, the Dalmation guinea pig has a white body with black spotting well distributed across the animal. The head has a white blaze, and is black on either side. The eyes are generally a deep ruby that may appear black in dim light. The ears and feet are black. The Roan The Roan guinea pig has a black body with an even mixing of white hairs throughout. Only the head and feet have solid black hairs. Both the ears and the eyes are black. Some Roans are also bred in colors, such as red and white, and red and black and white. Tortoiseshell, and Tortoiseshell and White The Tortoiseshell is also a difficult variety to breed to show quality. The ideal markings consist of well-defined red and black patches that are evenly spaced and uniformly distributed across the body. The Toroiseshell and White cavy ideally has square cut patches in Red, Black and White on the body. The dividing line between the four patches should run down the middle of the back and across the middle of the belly with colors alternating on each side of the division. This care guide was taken courtesy of Seagull at the following URL: www.aracnet.com/~seagull/Guineas/ |
