Guinea Pigs - Atkins,AR

Do not leave them out in direct sunlight. My friends kids did that and the poor thing died from heat stroke and then the second one "cried" all the time because it was lonely.

We adopted one from the humane society about 4 years ago, and he is the best! Leroy is loving, always was calm, and he came that way, but I hear that you will need to handle them gently, a lot, so that they are not afraid. Ours likes to sit on your sholder and he purrs.

The hay is essential, and most of the GP food is enriched, but the drops are good too. You can get an additive to put in the water that keeps their urine for stinking too much too, but a quick change of the cage is better. I can't stand cedar shavings, and we just use news print, roll it up and toss it, very easy.

I am going to try the butter wrappers!

Enjoy!

M.

I just placed six piggies that were left at the animal shelter that adjoins our dog/cat rescue. Some things I learned about them:

They are not hypoallergenic. Many people are allergic to them!

They are nocturnal, like other rodents.

They can pick up human diseases (and give them), so don't handle them if you have a cold!

Cedar shavings, and pine (I think it was pine), are toxic to them. You can use shredded newspaper or special guinea pig bedding.

They love empty toilet paper rolls.

Males can be neutered, but females can't be spayed due to their intolerance to the anesthesia.

Doesn't affect you, but interesting - if females are bred, it must be before, I think it is 6 months of age?; otherwise their pelvic bones fuse and they will die giving birth.

I think everything else I learned during the short time we had them has already been covered with other people's answers.

Have fun!!!

We had guinea pigs when my daughter was in the 4th or 5th grade. She didn't play with them and they became wild. I gave them to my cousin and they were not able to tame them. They were wild, like feral animals. They would not allow anyone to touch them, let alone pick them up. Therefore I urge you to be sure to handle them daily. Guinea pigs do well when loved and handled every day. But if they aren't handled they can be terrors.

The biggest thing is that they need Vitamin C in their diet. Most animals do not, their body is able to make it themselves, but GPs cannot (neither can primates, including us, which is why we need it in our diet too). There are special guinea pig pellets that contain Vitamin C, but you will also need to supplement. There are supplements you put in their drinking water and ones that you feed directly. The ones you give directly are preferable. If you do the ones that go in the water, you make sure it is adequately concentrated and that the water is changed daily. There are also lots of fruits and veggies high in C that they can eat as a treat.

Another thing to realize is that from the time the pellets and supplements are purchased, the vit C in them is only good for about 30 days - after 30 days, the C actually starts to break down and is no longer enough to meet their needs. I am an emergency veterinarian and had to see a GP as a patient and based on it's symptoms, I think it had a vit C deficiency - scruffy coat, muscle weakness. Essentially it had scurvy. The owners bought special GP food and vit C supplements so they thought they were doing OK, but their food was a 50 lb bag of pellets that lasted 6 months. They were not sure how old the supplement was, and I suspect that they kept feeding a diet that actually did not provide enough C like they thought they were.

Just for reference, GPs need about 15 to 25 mg of vit C a day.

A veterinarian in your area that is experienced in "little furries" should be able to advise you further. Good luck and have fun!

OH -I loved my guinea pig! He was so sweet and I gave him lots of affection -even dressed him in doll clothes and rode him around in my Barbie cars! Let them pet and play with them and be very gentle. They love fresh carrots with the green tops and lots of celery. We kept our cage filled with fresh cedar shavings. Sometimes the males, um, get excited and find release if you know what I mean, so keep an eye on that! I was amazed at how much of it there was! I know it sounds gross, but it's just something to know about. Mine lived to be 8 years old, so they can be a long-lasting pet if you treat them really well and they don't get sick.

My sister and I had them when we were younger and just loved them! They are so easy to take care off. This is funny...ours loved to eat/chew on stick butter wrappers...the papers ones, not the foil ones! Our neighbors also had them and told us that trick...they loved chewing on those things! Ours also loved lettuce and carrots...couldn't get enough of them!

Have fun with them...I'm sure your girls will love them!

They make great pets. They will need a wooden block to chew on as most rodents do because their teeth never stop growing. They gnaw to keep their teeth filed down.

Keep their bedding fresh. They also enjoy occasional fresh vegetables like celery, carrots, sweet potatos, lettuce but the food you get from the pet store for them is best. Use fresh veggies as a treat.

They can be very smart. My aunt's guinea pig, "Ernie" used to whistle when she came in the room. He died recently (old age). He was 5. He also loved his fitness ball to run around the room in and she would also let him out in the back yard in his ball on the patio where she would watch him. He was a great pet. He was long furred and loved to be brushed gently with a baby brush.

Oh, your girls are going to love their guinea pigs!! One of the foods they will need is timothy hay. It is sold in packages in the pet store and the little guys mow it down. Ours always associated the sound of the plastic bag as food time (any plastic bag noise!) and we would hear that guinea pig squeel. Ours preferred to be out of the ball running around durning play time.

Good luck!

I love our guinea pigs!!. I put a little plastic or cardboard (my guinea pigs dont eat it) wall against the walls of the cage so they wont throw the bedding out. I also do this from the outside of the cage. Give them their hay every day, and take them out of their cage for exercise and give them lots of love. They need their vitamin c, I give them orange and they really like it. I hope you really enjoy them. Good Luck!!

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Ditto everyone! They are adorable, wonderful pets! Good call getting male's, I picked a female when I was younger and a few weeks later...I had 3 more :)

Have a large cage. Don't bathe them with human shampoo. Only use specially made guinea pig shampoo. We washed ours with Garnier Fructise and they both died. I called the pet store and they said yes, that is what killed them. You can feed them guinea pig food or rabbit pellets (they are cheaper). Keep plenty of water around at all times. Give them cut up pieces of lettuce and carrots as treats; they love these. Good luck, you will have lots of fun with them!