A happy guinea pig for first need health feet.the guinea pig that you select should be healthy, properlyfed, and properly house. Remember that your guinea pig or guinea pigs are living things who depend on you. They depend on you for food,water, shelter,exercise,playground,veterinary care and love.they cannot take of their own needs,so they really rely on you. You can help your guinea pig stay healthy and enjoy a happy lifetime by being aware of potential problems and practicing preventive medicine.
Here we want to start out with most important aspect of guinea pig care.
Behavior: The guinea pig is among the most peaceful animals imaginable, and it has no natural means of defense against predators. Its long pointed incisor teeth are used only in fighting against its own for food or mating rights; however, these fights usually end without any bloodshed. Such fights consist generally of spectacular threat display behavior, whereby the protagonists face each other with their heads erected high, probably in order to impress the opponent. At the same time teeth grinding becomes audible. The actual fight consists normally of one or two short bites, which usually drive off the weaker animal.
Generally, the same animal consistently assumes the leader position: among most animal species there are typical “leaders” and typical followers.”
The leaders are usually the stronger, braver animals, and the qualities of a leader typically are little diminished in the captive setting- but there are always exceptions.
Diet: Probably the single most important step you can take to make sure that your guinea pig stays healthy is to feed her a proper diet. In order for the body systems to work properly, your guinea pigs need to eat certain foods. A correctly functioning system will help your guinea pig ward off a number of afflictions that often trouble
lea well-kept animals.
An extremely important element on your guinea pig’s diet is water. Your guinea pig should always have access to clean, fresh water to keep her body functioning properly. Lack of water can result in a number of life threatening conditions in Guinea pigs.
Food:
our first nutritional rule is to feed guinea pigs a source of vitamin C. Guinea pigs,people,and fruit bats are about the only animals that do not make their own vitamin c.
rabbits make their own,dogs do,birds do, but guinea pig do not. Sothey must be fed vitamin C in their diet. guinea pig pellets have vitamin C add at the factory.
That is one things that makes them different from rabbit pellets. Rabbit pellets also seem a bit richer than guinea pig pellets.
When you buy guinea pig pellets, be sure to buy fresh ones. Vitamin C breaks down in 90 days and is then no longer useful.
An easy way for the owner to feed vitamin C to guinea pig is for the owner to have fresh –squeezed orange juice or half a grapefruit for breakfast. The guinea pigs can than have the hemisphere –shaped orange or grapefruit rind to eat. many guinea pigs do not like to tangy fruit itself. When half a grapefruit is placed in with the guinea pigs, they will scurry over to investigate it, stop suddenly, and back up quickly! The sharp fresh citrus smell is a little toomuch, apparently.
Like people, different guinea pigs have different food preferences.my Abyssinian prefers tomatoes but banana peel if her friend is having one. like children, guinea pigs will their companions.
Playing: In the wild, Guinea pigs are playful creatures who love to engage in games. Like their wild ancestor, pet guinea pigs also like to play. Guinea pigs especially love to play with another. Solitary play is also a popular pastime of guinea pigs, who will happily amuse theme-selves with simple toys.
The best way to enjoy a guinea pig at play is to give her a toy or let her run loose with a familiar guinea pig companion and then sit back and watch the festivities. Guinea pig love to run around, leap on and off cardboard boxes, chase each other through tubes and jump over one another. Young guinea pigs also enjoy “pop corning,” jumping straight up in the air. Two guinea pigs will something play tug-of-war
There are number of household items that make excellent toys for guinea pigs. Try offering your pet any of the following objects: a paper cup, a toilet paper spool, a small cardboard box, straw baskets or a paper grocery bag, alternate your guinea pig’s toys so she doesn’t get bored with them.
Cleaning up
While your guinea pig is learning to use the litter box, clean up after him by facial pellets with a tissue and washing urine marks on carpeting with a mixture of vinegar and water. urine on wood floors can be cleaned simply with soap and water.
When it’s time to clean your guinea pigs litter box (once or twice a week), use a water and vinegar solution and dry it thoroughly before filling it with litter and returning it to its usual spot.
Remember that your guinea pig may never learn to use the litter box reliably and will more than likely have occasional accidents. patience, understanding and a sense of humor will help you cope with this situation. Try to come up with ideas on how to adapt to your guinea pig’s bathroom habits.
Grooming
One of the first thing you will notice when you start living with your guinea pig is that he loves to groom himself. Guinea pigs much like cats in the respect, always preening and primping.
Even though your guinea pig loves to groom himself, he will also appreciate regular grooming from you. Grooming can help in the bonding process, and will also provide you with a chance to look your guinea pig over for any signs of parasites or ill health.
It is best to set can hour one day a week for grooming your guinea pig. Gather your grooming tools and find a comfortable spot where you can sit with your guinea pig on your lap. While you are preparing to brush the animal, it is a good time to check eyes and ears for discharge and examine the bottoms of his feet for sores.
Guinea pigs tend to shed more at certain times of the year. In the early fall, hair begins to fall out in larger quantities than normal. In the winter, the shed hairs are replaced by more fur that will help keep the animal warm. During the shedding seasons, it is best to brush your pet at least every other day.
Health:
When guinea pig is properly fed and cared for and get enough exercise, they seldom get sick. You can help to keep your pet in good health by performing the examinations described below, periodically. appropriate care entails enabling the animal to live in a way befitting its species. If it ever sits around and seems bored and listless, that does not necessarily indicate a health problem.
1.tooth check.
2.anal check.
3.skin check.
4.ear check.
Happy home for guinea pig
“you don’t need anything special for Guinea pig; a cardboard box will do just fine,” I often hear people say. Although this comment reveals a great deal of ignorance, thereis some truth it.
It is true that guinea pigs have no characteristic patterns of behavior that make special housing necessary. they do not climb and do acrobatics like hamsters; they can jump into the air, of course but by no means so high as rabbit; nor are they bent on “breaking out” of their quarters at all costs. Guinea pigs, therefore, make no great demands – but that does not mean that you can neglect them completely. After all, you want them to stay healthy and frisky and feel happy in your home. That is only possible with the right kind of accommodations. You need to give your pet as much room to move around in as possible.
Exercise
It’s important that your guinea pig receive daily exercise. If you cannot bring her inside the house to play, then you’ll have to provide her with a completely enclosed run in the backyard to stretch her legs (the bigger the better, with four feet being the minimum length). or, use an empty plastic wading pool and let your pet run around in it and play with her toys.
Water
Water is very important to the guinea pigs.as it is to any living creature, and should be provided at all times, change your guinea pigs water daily and wash the water bottle out on a regular basis.be sure to keep a close eye on the water level in your guinea pigs bottle in the summer or whenever he is exposed to heat.
Conclusion:
If you care for your animal correctly, it is very unlikely that your guinea pig will get sick. If however, you should notice the onset of a disease, do not hesitate to seek the professional advice of a veterinarian who has specialized in the treatment of small mammals.
