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Shorthaired or the English and American cavy
has short hair;
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Abyssinian cavy has short rough hair formed
in whorls or rosettes; and
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Peruvian cavy has long hair often exceeding
6 inches in length.
All three breeds exist in a variety of colors.
Adult males weigh around 1000 grams, females weigh between 700 to
850 grams. Life expectancy ranges up to 8 years with 4-6 years
average.
Pictures above is a skinny pig named
Wilbur. These pigs are for the most part hairless except for
coarse hair around the head and extremities.
Diet
A pelleted diet formulated specifically for
guinea pigs should comprise the primary diet along with timothy
hay and greens. Stay away from the
new seed, dried veggie and pellet formulas. These tend to promote
stomach distress and dental disease. Make sure the pellets are
made for GP’s, these have additional Vitamin C. Vitamin C
degrades rapidly when exposed to heat, humidity and light;
therefore it is best not to buy pellets in large quantities.
Pellets should be used within 3 months of the milling date on the
package. Guinea pigs have an absolute dietary requirement for
vitamin C, without it they may become very ill. A daily supplement
of Vitamin C should total 100 mg. Children’s chewable Vitamin C
tablets can be offered. Refer to our healthy greens
for guinea pigs care sheet for fresh veggie ideas. New foods
should be introduced gradually; one at a time, to make sure your
guinea pig does not develop diarrhea. Timothy hay or oat grass hay
should be offered daily. Alfalfa hay can be offered until the pig
is 6 months old. Water should be supplied in a sipper bottle and
changed daily.
Handling
Pick up your pig by grasping it firmly but
gently around the chest. Hold it close to your body to provide it
security. A frightened pig will wiggle and squeal until it feels
secure.
Housing
Cages should be made of durable glass, plastic,
of metal. Wood is not recommended, since pigs chew on wood, and it
is difficult to clean. Pigs rarely jump or climb so they can be
kept in open top enclosures as long as the walls are at least 10
inches high.
Floor may be wire or solid. If wire is used,
the mesh size should be large enough to allow the leg to be pulled
back if the foot slips through the wire. Sore feet and broken legs
are more often occur in pigs kept on wire floor. An area of Plexiglas
should be placed in the cage to protect feet. Solid
floor is preferred but requires more effort to keep the cage
sanitary.
Hay, pellets, recycled newspaper, or aspen
shavings may be used as bedding. Do not use cedar or pine chips.
These woods contain aromatic oils that smell good to us but are
very irritating to the eyes, skin, lungs and mucous membranes of
the sinus of the pig.
Pigs tend to panic when frightened so their
cage should be located in a quiet spot away from excitement and
noise. Ideal temperature for pigs is 65 to 79 degrees, with 40 to
70 % humidity. Pigs prefer 12 hours of light to 12 hours of
darkness.
Reproduction
A female should not be bred until she weighs
500 g, or is 4-5 months old. Also, no female older than nine
months should be bred. Between the ages of 9 and 12 months, if she
is has never given birth, her hip bones (pelvis) will fuse such
that she can not give birth naturally. A later pregnancy will
require a cesarean section. Therefore, if you plan to breed your
female, or if you do not plan to spay her and the situation is
such that she may become pregnant later on, you should probably
see that she has at least one litter between the ages of five and
nine months.
If an older female does accidentally become
pregnant with a first pregnancy, you and your veterinarian will
want to plan on surgery to deliver the babies; otherwise she will
likely die giving birth. In addition, do everything you can to
avoid such an accident in the first place i.e. keep her away from
male GPs.
The gestation period (time between conception
and giving birth) for guinea pigs is approximately 60-70 days.
Guinea pigs do not normally require assistance in giving birth.
The babies are born with a full coat, open eyes, and can run and
eat solid food. They will nurse for two or three weeks even though
they are eating on their own. The young are usually in no danger
from either parent, although you may want to remove the male right
away, since the female is able to conceive again within the hour
after giving birth.
Litter size varies from one to eight, but
typically have two to four. Weaning is at 14 to 28 days, when pigs
are about 200 grams. Guinea pigs become sexually mature as early
as four weeks of age so it is important to separate the different
sexes by then. Therefore, the males of the litter should be
separated from the mother and their sisters directly after
weaning.
It is important to handle the babies soon and
often, to socialize them to humans. Like other animals that are
born precocial, guinea pigs form their social bonds shortly after
birth, sometime within a matter of hours, so human contact is
critical during this time to ensure that they establish strong
bonds to people.
Medical Concerns
Pregnancy Toxemia: Commonly seen in
stressed, heavily pregnant GP that are 56 days or more into the
pregnancy and carrying 3 or more fetuses. Acute death may occur
with in 24 hours with no previous signs of illness. Condition may
also present as ruffled hair coat, lethargy, loss of appetite 3-5
days prior to death. In most cases, the condition is fatal despite
treatment. The cause is not known but seems to occur more often in
obese pigs.
Sniffling, wheezing, sneezing, runny nose:
These signs are typical of upper respiratory tract disease. Other
signs include blood stained crusts around the nose, discharge from
the eyes, and difficulty breathing. Common causes include
bacterial infections, allergy, and irritation due to inhalation of
smoke, fumes or odors from cedar/pine shavings. Do not use cedar
or pine as bedding. These woods contain aromatic oils that are
very irritating to the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat
and lungs.
Swelling around the neck: Lumps may
occur around the neck caused by infection and abscess formation in
the lymph nodes of the neck. This condition may or may not be
painful to the pig. Treatment varies from oral medications to
surgical drainage or removal depending on the extent of the
infection.
Bacterial infections: May occur in the
skin (sores, abscess), lungs (pneumonia), blood in urine,
intestine (diarrhea), or blood (septicemia). Infections may cause
depression, decreased appetite, and may rapidly progress to death.
Consult your veterinarian immediately if your GP is ill. Use of
medications without veterinary supervision may result in the death
of your pig, as many medications used in other animals can be
deadly to GPs.
Blood in urine: Bloody urine may appear
red or brown. This may indicate infection of the bladder or
kidneys, bladder stones or problems with the clotting ability of
the blood. If your pig is female, it can indicate a problem
with the uterus. Other reasons for abnormal color of the urine include
muscle damage, diet, and concentration of the urine i.e. very
dilute urine is clear where as very concentrated urine is dark
yellow to orange in color. These changes may be normal or may
indicate other disease is present. Normal urine is thick and white
to yellow in color.
Diarrhea: Diarrhea can result from
feeding your guinea pig a new type of vegetable, or an unusually
large quantity of fresh vegetables. Try not feeding that new
vegetable (or not feeding so many vegetables) for a day or so to
see if the problem clears up. Whether or not his/her vegetable
consumption has changed, if a day passes and your guinea pig still
has diarrhea, contact your veterinarian. Diarrhea is a very
serious problem. It doesn't take long for a small animal to
dehydrate. If the diarrhea begins after the GP has been on an
antibiotic this can mean that the antibiotic is killing off the
normal bacteria as well as the bad bacteria. Contact your
veterinarian right away. In many cases, feeding live culture
yogurt while your GP is on antibiotics can reduce the chance of
this occurring.
Scratching: Some scratching is a normal
function of grooming; however, if the places being scratched are
becoming red, irritated, raw or the GP is losing its hair, then
the scratching is excessive. Your guinea pig may have skin mites,
fleas, a bacterial infection or a fungus, such as ringworm. Pine
or cedar bedding can cause irritation and allergic type reactions
of the skin leading to redness and itching. Skin infections due to
fungus (ringworm) usually appear as scabby, scaly skin lesions
around the face and may involve other parts of the body. A
diagnosis is made by special culture and treatment is specific for
this disease. Lice and mites may occur on pigs. Depending on the
type of parasite, scratching may or may not be a factor. Consult
with your veterinarian for selection of appropriate treatment.
Trouble walking (stiff joints or stumbling):
GPs must have vitamin C in their diet. Like humans, they are not
able to manufacture Vitamin C in their body. If the diet is
deficient in Vitamin C, signs of scurvy rapidly develop. Lameness
due to Vitamin C deficiency may be seen after only 2 weeks on a
deficient diet with fast growing young and pregnant pigs being
affected first. The most common signs are decreased appetite and
joint pain. Always feed your GP a pelleted diet labeled for GPs.
These diets are formulated with higher levels of vitamin C. Buy
the pellets in small amounts (no more than your GP will eat in two
to three weeks) and buy bags labeled with an expiration date or a
milling date. Do not feed pellets that are older than 3 months
past the milling date. Do not buy pellets from bulk bins at
feed stores. This food may be old. As food ages, the Vitamin C
is one of the first vitamins to be lost. Adding Vitamin C to the
food is helpful. Children’s chewable vitamin C tablets can be
sprinkled in your pet’s food each day (50 - 100 mg per day).
Pododermititis, sores on the feet, commonly
occur in pigs kept on wire. Treatment consists of moving the pet
to dry, soft bedding, and caging on solid floor. Medications
selected by your veterinarian may be needed.
Loss of appetite: Being small animals,
guinea pigs usually eat constantly and metabolize food very fast,
so if an illness or other condition is preventing them from eating
they rapidly loose weight and become seriously debilitated in a
short time. Any illness, Vitamin C deficiency and overgrown teeth
can cause a GP not to eat.
Overgrown Teeth: GPs' teeth grow
continuously throughout their life. If the incisors (front teeth)
or molars (back teeth) are mal-occluded, i.e. they do not meet
evenly, then they do not wear down when the GP chews. This results
in overgrowth. Malocclusion is usually caused by a congenital
deformity of the jaw. Other causes can be injury or trauma to the
teeth or jaw and infection in the tooth roots. Overgrown teeth can
cause mouth infections, ulceration of the inner surface of the
cheeks or tongue and inability to pick up and eat food. GPs may
show interest in food but seem unable to eat, drooling seen as wet
fur around the mouth and neck and weight loss. Overgrown teeth
need to be trimmed and periodic trimming is often needed for the
life of the GP. If the molars are involved, or if the GP is very
skittish, a general anesthetic may be required.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to
provide helpful service to you and your pet. If you have any
questions, give us a call at 847-329-8709.
The
guinea pig (GP) or cavy, Cavia porcellus, is the
domesticated form of a rodent found native to the Andes
Mountains of South America. In the sixteenth century they
were brought to Europe and selectively bred into three main
varieties. Though more recently, a multitude of new
varieties have been developed through mutation of these
three basic types. I will add pictures of these
varieties when I can.