Homer the Guinea Pig’s “Guide To Cavy–Kind”

Crusty and Homer - Cavies of Distinction

Exclusively for www.egprr.org.uk I’m going to give you a ’pig’s–eye–view of what life should be like for us cavies (as we are more accurately called).

Guinea Pigs are social animals. We love company and if introduced at a young age will live quite happily in a single sex pair. Remember though, if you do keep male and female together, babies will almost certainly follow. It is not the policy of Essex Guinea Pig and Rat Rescue to re-home male and female guinea pigs together, only as a single sex pair.

Housing & Bedding

We are happy kept indoors or outdoors. There are some very good indoor cages available making it easy for cleaning out, feeding and watering. Please note – if you allow us to roam indoors ‘free range’, being a member of the rodent species, we may gnaw at the furniture or worse still electric/telephone cables.

Outdoor hutches should be well built with a generous overhang on the roof to keep out the wind and rain.

Whichever form of housing used it is a good idea to line the floor of the hutch or cage with an off cut of vinyl flooring over which a good layer of newspaper can be spread and topped with a generous layer of hay or straw. Woodshavings are not a good idea as they can dry out our coats. Clean bedding should be provided every three days to avoid unpleasant smells and to help keep us fit and well.

Feeding

Choose a dry food especially prepared for guinea pigs. We require plenty of fresh green food, as we are unable to absorb vitamin C which is essential for our health. Alternatively a vitamin C supplement may be added to our drinking water which should be freshly supplied each day. We don’t like our veggies too cold (ie direct from the fridge) as it can upset our tummies. Please make sure our meals are served at room temperature! Other favourite foods are

• carrot,
• celery,
• raw beetroot,
• melon,
• fresh greens,
• curly kale
• and apple in moderation.

Plants that have grown from a bulb are dangerous so please make sure we are secure in a run when let out to play in the garden.

Health

We cavies are clean animals and will really enjoy having our coat combed to release loose hairs. If you take us out each day for a cuddle, spend a few minutes to check our teeth and our nails, which may need clipping from time to time. Unfortunately, we sometimes ‘acquire’ unwelcome visitors in the form of little mites that live in our coats making them very itchy. You may gently clean our ears with an ear bud.

If at any time you are at all concerned regarding our health, please do not hesitate to contact Essex Guinea Pig & Rat Rescue for advice and referral to a veterinary surgeon if necessary.

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