Keeping Guinea Pigs

Guinea pigs are usually thought of as the 'low maintenance' pet, people buy them without doing the appropriate research which means the pets aren't given the best care possible. So let's get back to basics with a general guide to keeping guinea pigs.

Housing

Guinea pigs don’t take up much room, they can be kept almost anywhere in the house. The best place to keep them is in a wooden hutch with a strong wired bottom and sat on the grass outside, or kept inside in an enclosure with a plastic bottom. Keep in mind, they may be small but they too need regular exercise, the preferred measurements for enclosures are 1.4m x 70cm for two guinea pigs, 1.6m x 80cm for three guinea pigs.

Temperature Control

Guinea Pigs should not be kept in places where the temperature exceeds 30°C as they could suffer from heat stroke, keep them in shaded areas or inside and in hot weather put a frozen water bottle inside your pet’s enclosure, they will lick it and lie on it to cool themselves down if needed, cold watermelon is also a great treat on summer days. In the colder months try to provide your Guinea Pig with extra bedding, drape a towel over the cage and a hot water bottle, be sure to allow room for them to get away from the hot water bottle if they need to. Your Guinea Pigs’ appetites will increase during the colder months and they will require higher doses of vitamin c to help keep away colds and pneumonia, Oats are great to add to your Guinea Pigs’ pellet mix to keep up their condition.

Bedding

Bedding can consist of Fresh hay, wood shavings, breeders choice kitty litter or shredded newspaper. Be aware of crystal kitty litter as this can be poisonous to your guinea pigs. All substrates will need changing regularly.

Temperament

Guinea Pigs can be very social animals, but like all rodents, should be handled from an early age if they are to be regularly handled. They love to be held and love company. It is recommended to house sows (female guinea pigs) with other sows, boars (male guinea pigs) when housed together tend to be aggressive.

Diet

Guinea Pigs are strict herbivores and should not be fed dairy or meat products. Their diets should consist of fresh fruit and vegetables, grass, commercial Guinea Pig pellets, fresh hay which aids in digestion and of course they require fresh water. Guinea Pig pellets should consist of at least 16% crude fat and the same, or more fibre.

While Guinea Pigs are easy to care for they do have some special requirements in relation to diet - Guinea Pigs are unable to store vitamin c in their bodies and therefore need to be given vitamin c daily, Choko, Capsicum and Parsley are good sources of this. Their teeth constantly grow so they will need some suitable items to chew on to help wear them down such as commercially bought wood chews, carrot, hay etc.

Worming

Guinea Pigs need to be wormed regularly, small animal wormer can be bought either at your veterinarian’s or in a pet store.

Grooming

Try to bathe your guinea pig at least once every 3 months, long hair Guinea Pigs will require regular grooming and bathing once every 2 months as well as regular coat clips. Nails need upkeep also, keep an eye on them and trim them when needed.

If you feel that I have missed anything out or have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you.