Mini pigs! (Guinea Pig)

Member Name: PyrettaBlaze

Product:	Guinea Pig
Date:	08/12/07 (284 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cute, easily looked after, good for kids

Disadvantages: I find them a bit dull, personally, they poo everywhere

Staple children's pets everywhere, the guinea pig, less commonly known as the cavy, are members of the rodent family, and are quite closely related to chinchillas. Unusually for mammals, their young are born after a long gestation already fully furred, able to see and move. I would describe what they look like but I'm sure you've seen one of these fat little squealers before...they look little little blobs with legs. Oh, and in some countries they like to eat them.

It is best to buy a guinea pig from a breeder rather than a pet shop, as breeders often care a lot more about where their animals end up, so they can advise you on how to keep your little piggy healthy. Its also worth checking out rescue centres as sources of guineapigdom, although they seem to be rehomed less often than rabbits. Guinea pigs are best kept in pairs or small groups, but make sure you determine the sex of your piggies accurately before you take them home! A healthy guinea pig should be bright eyed and bushy tailed (metaphorically speaking, they dont have tails), with no discharge around the eyes, mouth nose or bum, and their breathing shouldnt sound as though they have a cold (guinea pigs often breath loudly when they are picked up however, because they are convinced you are going to eat them).

Keeping guinea pigs is very simple. You can keep them in a large indoor cage or pen (I'd recommend at least four foot long,substantially more if you are keeping a herd of guinea pigs) or outdoors in a hutch...bearing in mind that guinea pigs can be sensitive in cold weather so it is best if they winter in a shed or are brought inside over the winter. I recommend, if possible, you keep your little piggies inside. Keeping a pet outside makes it much easier to forget about. Also, guinea pigs are naturally terrified animals and the more they are around people the tamer they will become! Guinea pigs are not as smelly as rabbits, they do poo a lot but its not stinky or messy poo, so if you have room, keep them in doors.

The cage will need a nest-box (plastic is easier to clean, although old cardboard boxes can just be chucked when messy), food bowls and water bottles. Add a few tubes for interest (cheap pipe from the DIY store works just as well as the expensive Ferret-trail tubes often used), and a branch of a non-toxic tree to wear their teeth down on (fruit trees are fine). Most people bed on wood shavings, and this is fine. It may be best to avoid cedar, however, because it can cause allergic reactions in some small animals. Other choices include pelleted newspaper, plain newspaper and shredded paper (can get caught around little paws). Hay is the best thing to use in the nest box, a lot of these cotton woolly products can cause problems if eaten. It is best to use newspaper under another form of bedding, it makes cleaning easy and stops the cage getting permanently stained.

Guinea pigs and rabbits shouldnt really be kept together. There are cases of them being kept together happily, but its much like taking two people of entirely different culture, religion and languages and expecting them to get on. I kept a guinea and a rabbit together and they seemed fine for ages. Then my little gay male piggy decided he liked the look of my (also male) rabbit and kept trying to hump him...occasionally from the wrong end. My bunny was very mild mannered but he couldnt take this sort of uncivilised behaviour and eventually snapped, growling and snapping at the guinea pig whenever he came near. The poor little piggy started pulling his fur out with stress. Within days of them being seperated, they were both fine. Even if your bunny seems gentle, it is often a bad idea. If anything, you could keep guinea pigs and chinchillas together, but this isnt ideal either as they have very different dietary requirements. Generally, its just best to keep like species together.

Feeding little pigs is easy. Most people feed small animals ad lib. Get hold of a pelleted guinea pig food (as opposed to the colourful flake mix, this can lead to fussy eating and leaving out the healthiest parts of the food) and whack fresh stuff in the bowl every day, tipping out the stale stuff and keeping the bowl clean. Guinea pigs can eat fresh food daily as well. Its best to avoid things like iceberg lettuce and celery, as these arent very nutritious, and too much fruit might give the pigs the runs. Guinea pigs should also have a constant source of hay, kept in a rack. Guinea pigs should always eat guinea pig food, not food for rabbits or other animals. Unlike rabbits they cannot make vitamin C in their bodies, and their food is made up to reflect this...feeding them another species food may result in deficiences. Using a vitamin drop in their water once or twice a week will help, but sometimes they wont drink if their water tastes funny. Make sure each pig is getting enough to eat, and its not a bad idea to weigh how much is eaten daily and keep a record. If a small animal becomes ill and stops eating, it is a dire situation. Their metabolisms are so fast their guts can stop working in a matter of a day or two, they will then be unable to eat and deteriorate rapidly. Weighing how much they eat and measuring how much they drink is a classic example of the old saying "a stitch in time". Water should be provided in a dropper bottle, as water in a bowl will get full of bedding and food, but you may have to teach the pigs what the bottle is for.

Cleaning guinea pigs up is also very easy. Their poos are dry and non messy, but they poo EVERYWHERE. Spot clean the cage for poos and urine once a day, topping up with fresh bedding if need be. Once a week, change out the whole bed...there is no reason to throw away dry, clean shavings however, so just toss the newspaper and soiled stuff and top up with fresh...the pigs will appreciate knowing their own scent when they come back into their cages.

Grooming is easy for short haired varieties, simply trim the nails once a week (piggies hate this and will wriggle, so its best to have two people and safety nail clippers) and give them a light brush over with a soft brush to remove loose hairs. Peruvian and sheltie cavies with long hair need combed and trimmed often...at least every two or three days.

Guinea pigs are naturally nervous so it pays to be gentle and quiet around them. You can almost see them pleading "please dont kill me please dont kill me" as you approach. Even once they are docile they tend to get scared at the approach of humans...although they can be cheeky about this (my old guinea pig used to pretend to be terrified until you held a piece of veg in your hand, at which point he'd run up and snatch it off you). Handling is easy, just scoop them up in two hands and hold them against your chest...they like to feel supported much as possible. Constant gentle handling should result in a friendly guinea.

Guinea pigs make perfect pets for children. They are cute, handleable and they very seldom bite. They are usually very easy to catch in their cages because, lets face it, they are a bit stupid. When you have them cornered they tend to need to think about what to do. They dont really jump or climb and although they can go in reverse gear they dont do it often. All of these make them ideal family pets, or pets for children (however bear in mind always supervise a young child when they are with an animal).

Guinea pigs are also very simple to care for so they make an ideal first pet for anybody. They are small and clean enough to be kept in an flat or small house, and if you work all day, your guinea pigs wont mind so long as they have another guinea pig to discuss current affairs with. They are ideal low maintenance pets if you want something cute and not too demanding.

Guinea pigs always make me laugh because of the way they move and the noises they make. They have a funny little trotting movement and usually move at the same pace...they only have two paces..."oh look I've just been fed" gear and "ohmygodohmygodohmygod that giant wants to eat me" gear. They make little grunting noises when they run and the way they talk to each other, with little squeaks, is just adorable. They often squeak when picked up, being brushed or having their nails cut too.

On the other hand, I find guinea pigs have somewhat limited interest as a pet. Dont go mad at me here, I guess they just arent exciting enough for me. I quite like pets that are interesting to watch, guinea pigs pretty much just eat and squeak. What makes them ideal pets for children can often make them slightly dull pets for grown ups In the end it all comes down to what you want in a pet however, and if inoffensive and cute is what you want, they certainly are that.

Guinea pigs poo constantly. Fortunately their poo isnt messy, but it still isnt nice when you let them out for a run on your floor and they poo all over it. Recently I was grooming a long haired guinea pig. It was on the table for maybe twenty minutes and had eight seperate pooing incidences and two peeing incidences in that time. It was probably partly scared, but honestly, why would you need to poo that much?

Because of their innoffensive nature, I suspect (although I cant prove) that guinea pigs suffer a lot of neglect. A neglected rabbit will stink to high heaven, and can cause quite a lot of damage with its back legs and claws (and teeth if it feels inclined), but a neglected guinea can do very little about it. Guinea pigs might occasional take a little nibble at your fingers (probably because they think they are edible), but seldom will they bite, they arent very smelly and wont fight back. I reckon this is why not a lot of guinea pigs are handed into shelters, because it is so easy to neglect them without suffering the consequences. With that in mind, I would ask that anyone who is considering getting ANY sort of pet to research it thoroughly and dedicate the necessary time and care to their animals, because they cant exactly let us know that they arent happy.

All in all, I would recommend guinea pigs as the perfect pet for people new to animals or children. They might not be my cup of tea but there is a reason millions of people love them. They are funny little characters and a great way to introduce children to the wonderful world of animals, without said child losing an important digit. Just don't tell them that they eat guinea pigs in some parts of the world.

Summary: The world's wimpiest animals