Tell me all about guinea pigs?

Question

And where you can adopt one

Answer 1

Guinea pigs need at least a 3 ft by 3 ft cage (it should be bigger if you have more than one). It should not have a weaved floor (like a bunny cage). The floor needs to be a solid piece. Choroplast (what business use to make posters) is a heavy kind of plastic that is a good floor material to use. I have it as the floor and two inches on the side so it is easier to clean. Some people just line the bottom of the cage with newspaper, but I find that it makes it more smelly and more of a chore to clean (surprisingly). You can find choroplast at any poster store. They may even give you a discount if you say you're using it for the bottom of a guinea pig's cage.

Guinea pigs need hay (as well as regular guinea pig food) as part of their diet. Timothy Hay is the best hay for guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs need a salt/mineral wheel because they do not get enough salt in their diets out of their native enviornment. They also need wood strips (or anything wood related) to chew on. Their teeth keep growing and in order to keep them under control they need to chew! If you cannot find any salt wheels there are also pills available that you can drop in their water bottles that will supply them with the same nutrients. And your piggie might not eat the whole wheel, my piggie only chews on the wheel every now and then (usually when I'm running low on fresh veggies and fruit!).

Guinea pigs need lots of water so a large water bottle is key.

A vet might be in order if your guinea pig gets sick! If your guinea pigs start eating or drinking less or more than usual something may be wrong with them so monitor them carefully. Also, guinea pigs may pick up mites. This could cause at it's most severe seizures (my guinea pig had seizures when he contracted mites) but mostly it causes his skin to become a sickly color, his fur to fall out and he becomes very (VERY) sensitive to the touch (since the mites are under the skin, you can imagine why). Luckily, most vets are able to give you a sulfur-smelling (rotten egg) "dip" that you can scrub your piggies with using a few cotton balls. Also, they may give your piggies some shots or even a formula to give your piggies orally. But this is all if they contract mites. Since guinea pigs are prey animals they usually try very hard to put off the "I'm-alright" facade. They act like they're fine even if they're in a lot of pain. This is why its important that you really pay attention to your piggies!

If your piggie does become ill it is best to clean out the cage fully. A regular cleaning involves the sweeping out of bedding (pine is best as cedar is prone to causing lung problems) and then washing it down with vinegar (vinegar is best to pick up that stubborn guinea pig poop!). After that wash it again with bleach and wash the food containers using bleach and soap too. If your guinea pig has a hammock (my guinea pig LOVES his hammock ) wash it in the laundry with your rags that you use to clean his cage and items. If your hammock is a colored hammock, don't be afraid to clean it by itself (I have a colored hammock and I don't want to lose that color!).

Guinea pigs are a wonderful pet to have and after enough handling will welcome being picked up and petted (my first guinea pig immediatly liked the attention my current piggie doesn't like it so much but I'm trying to get him to like it over time).

Even though guinea pigs fair well on their own they will be stimulated more with another guinea pig. Two females are best since they are, on average, less smelly and more gentle. Two males are prone to fighting (my guinea pigs were both male and did fight a bit at first but then it just became "don't-come-to-close-to-me-whe... and they both respected each other's boundries (and I worked to put them together over a period of many weeks - so it was a slow process)). And a female and male put together will obviously create mini-guinea pigs!

Guinea pigs love fresh vegetables and fruits (and they need a good heaping serving each day). Most piggies love celery, corn husks, apples, carrots and lettuce. My piggie doesn't like carrots but loves lettuce (as long as it is not wilted). Cabbage, grape vines (not the grapes, they're too squishy), peaches and potato skins are also favorites!

Avocados are posionous to guinea pigs so do not feed them acocados! Pears are also bad for guinea pigs. Your piggies might even like orange peels (not oranges or limes or lemons because they're a little too acidic for the piggies). But they might like the peels. You'll notice with time what your piggies like or don't like.

Piggies also love shredded paper. It's healthy for them to have paper. In fact, when I give my piggie hay I put it in a toilet paper roll tube. It's a toy because he has to wrestle the hay out of the tube but then it's food because he can eat the whole tube throughout the week. (I feed my guinea pig hay whenever I clean his cage - twice a week).

Your piggie itself might become stinky sometime throughout the year. Guinea pigs only need bathed no more than twice a year (there are exceptions, of course). If your piggie is super stinky you can give him a bath in the sink using baby shampoo. The "no-tear" forumla is best!

Most of the guinea pig maintance is an experience. If you notice that your piggies are getting too hot in the summer put a frozen water bottle in the cage (wrapped in a rag so they don't get "burned" by the ice). If they have a lot of poop in the cage before you usually clean it - clean it up. If your piggies nails are getting long - cut them (you can use a normal nail clippers and a buddy to hold your piggies).

Guinea pigs should have something to hide in or under. I use to have an igloo for them to hide in but when his roommate died I bought a slightly smaller cage since my piggie suddenly became a bachelor! Now the igloo doesn't fit but he hides under his hammock when he's scared.

A ball, similar to what hamsters run in, is not a good choice for a guinea pig because guinea pigs are prone to back problems (short legs and long body). Nor do they need a wheel like a hamster to play in for their cage. They do not climb very much unless you introduce unsteep ramps into their cage (depending on how long your cage is some people do add ramps to their cage).

And guinea pigs are vocal! If you place your guinea pig in the dining room near the kitchen he will soon learn where all his fresh veggies and fruits come from! He might even remind you himself if you are running late giving him his veggies! Mine reminds me when I'm running late for dinner (he starts squeaking at five excatly and gets louder and more upset if you don't get up right away to feed him!).

You can buy a piggie at any pet store or adopt one at an Animal Shelter.

I wish you luck with your pig!

Answer 2

You can go to a pet store and find one. They are nice pets to have. A teacher I had back in grade school had a few guinea pigs, and he told me that they originated in the island of Guinea, and that is how that got thier name.

Answer 3

Guinea pigs are quiet, social, gentle herbivorous creatures. They have the same needs as a rabbit does, but don't bother feeding it rabbit food (Except for greens).

They usually get along well with other creatures their size (like rabbits, for instance), but don't leave it unsupervised with another creature. You only need to change it's bedding every five days or so, and it's a good idea to have a salt lick for them.

Answer 4

http://www.guineapigcages.com
http://www.cavyspirit.com
http://www.guinealynx.info

And to find piggies to adopt:
http://www.guineapighome.com
http://www.petfinder.com