Live Animals
Pet Owner Guide to Caring for Guinea Pigs
Guinea Pig Facts & Tips
Behavior
- Guinea pigs teeth grow continuously throughout their life. Chewing wears down teeth to an appropriate level.
- Guinea pigs rarely bite but can nip if they feel threatened. Try hand-feeding treats as a start.
- Always pick up a guinea pig by supporting its entire body. Squirming is normal at first, but make sure the entire body is supported — dropping a guinea pig can cause severe injury
- Guinea pigs are super vocal! They will grunt, squeal, and whistle to show excitement.
- Guinea pigs can be litter trained. They will often choose a corner of the cage to eliminate in. Once you see this behavior, place a corner litter box in that spot and put some of the soiled bedding in the litter box.
Diet
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Daily diet should consist of:
- 70-75% dried hay
- 10-20% dried pellet specifically for guinea pigs
- 5-10% fresh veggies and fruits high in Vitamin C (kale, carrots, turnip, greens, collard greens, blueberries, oranges, grapes).
- Should consist of 70% dried hay, 20% pellet dried and 10% fruits and fresh veggies
- Guinea pigs have a higher Vitamin C requirement than other small animals. Guinea pigs do not manufacture their own Vitamin C so you must feed them a vitamin C enriched food like bell peppers, romaine lettuce, snap peas, cilantro, and parsley.
- Vitamin C drops and supplements will support the need, however make sure to change water bottles daily as the drops degrade after 24 hours.
- Avoid: Chocolate or other candy, onions and iceberg lettuce
- They should always have access to fresh, clean water
Caging & Environment
- Guinea pigs should be housed alone, unless spayed or neutered
- Caging should include a hide area, food bowl, water bottle, salt lick, and hay manger.
- The larger the cage, the better! Look for a cage with a solid bottom that has a lot of surface area, rather than multiple levels
- A hide area is extremely important to guinea pigs — they love to play hide and seek!
- The cage should have a solid bottom (the same goes for exercise wheels).
- Bedding should be about 1” deep.
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