Do you think you have what it takes to care for a guinea pig? Are you positive? Well okay, if you say so. We will cover multiple things throughout this session, such as What is a guinea pig and how to care for one. So lets get started. Based on what I know, and a little help from guineapigcare.com, let me tell you what you need to know to prepare yourself for your little guinea. Now, lets start with what exactly a guinea pig is. A guinea pig, or Cavy (pronounced “kay-vee”) as it’s scientific name is pronounced, is a tail-less rodent native to the coast of South America. They usually weigh 3 ounces at birth and 1-2 pounds fully grown. An adult cavy will usually measure 8-10 inches vertically. They can have long, short, or short and curly hair.
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A cavy needs to be kept in a wire mesh cage with soft bedding. Shredded paper is recommended but you can use wood shavings, however be wary. Your cage needs to have at least 2 feet per piggy. Make sure you don’t have cage with a wire mesh flooring, this could hurt their feet. They’ll need fresh water and food every day. A water bottle and food bowl that can attach to the wall of their cage is recommended, so they can’t flip it over. They’ll need a rack or separate bowl for their timothy hay or any greens you give them. For their food, they need no more than two scoops a day. A cavy is special. They can’t produce their own Vitamin C so they rely on you to get it for them. A few ways to do this is to give them a specialized food or even a pill. An easier way is to give them an orange slice. Do NOT use Vitamin C drops. They deteriorate in sunlight and will make the water taste bad for the cavy. Now, lets focus on your cavy’s external beauty. What is recommended is to bathe them on the same day you clean their cage. Also their nails need to be trimmed once a week. Their teeth also constantly grow, so they need stuff to chew on in their cage. Wooden blocks and salt licks are the most common. They also need lots of exercise so make sure they have toys in their cage. However please do not get a wheel for them. No matter how cute they look on it it will cause them more harm than it’s worth. They also need their
A cavy needs to be kept in a wire mesh cage with soft bedding. Shredded paper is recommended but you can use wood shavings, however be wary. Your cage needs to have at least 2 feet per piggy. Make sure you don’t have cage with a wire mesh flooring, this could hurt their feet. They’ll need fresh water and food every day. A water bottle and food bowl that can attach to the wall of their cage is recommended, so they can’t flip it over. They’ll need a rack or separate bowl for their timothy hay or any greens you give them. For their food, they need no more than two scoops a day. A cavy is special. They can’t produce their own Vitamin C so they rely on you to get it for them. A few ways to do this is to give them a specialized food or even a pill. An easier way is to give them an orange slice. Do NOT use Vitamin C drops. They deteriorate in sunlight and will make the water taste bad for the cavy. Now, lets focus on your cavy’s external beauty. What is recommended is to bathe them on the same day you clean their cage. Also their nails need to be trimmed once a week. Their teeth also constantly grow, so they need stuff to chew on in their cage. Wooden blocks and salt licks are the most common. They also need lots of exercise so make sure they have toys in their cage. However please do not get a wheel for them. No matter how cute they look on it it will cause them more harm than it’s worth. They also need their