Caring for your guinea pigs

Introduction

Guinea pigs are small and gentle-natured, but lively too, they love being handled, they're inquisitive, they're quite vocal and they rarely bite or scratch. They live for between four and eight years and they're not difficult to look after.

But looking after them properly does mean knowing about the right handling, housing and food - and that's just what this section is all about.

Read it carefully and you'll be ready for the enormous rewards of having a pet guinea pig of your very own.

Companionship

Guinea pigs love company and should ideally be kept in single sex groups or pairs - litter mates make the best companions. Males and females can live happily together, but should ideally be neutered to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Never keep guinea pigs with rabbits or chinchillas. They have very different food and housing needs and may fight.

Housing

The Hutch and Run

Whether your guinea pigs live indoors or outside, a hutch is the perfect place for them. But it's important to choose the right size, put it in the right place and put the right things in it.

The hutch should be at least five times your guinea pig's length and at least a foot wide - you'll need to get a bigger hutch if you have more than one guinea pig. As a general rule: the more space, the better. Use soft wood chippings or shredded paper along with some fresh straw bedding to keep your pets comfortable and warm. An upside-down cardboard box makes good extra shelter and can easily be moved around.

Guinea pigs live happily inside or outside, but the location of an outside hutch needs special care. Temperatures shouldn't reach lower than 18 °C or higher than 26°C.

Extremes of temperature, especially overheating will cause stress and discomfort. That means moving the hutch indoors during the colder winter months and keeping a careful eye on the temperature during hot summers. You should never place a hutch in direct sunlight.

An outside hutch should stand on bricks or legs to stop it getting wet in poor weather. Make sure the roof is waterproofed and sloped to let the rain drain off.

All guinea pigs need safe, daily access to an outside run where they can eat grass and exercise.

And finally, always, always keep the door locked - firstly to stop your guinea pigs escaping, and secondly to keep predators like dogs, cats and foxes away.

Cleaning

Clean the hutch out two or three times a week - especially in warmer weather, to keep flies away. In extremely hot weather, bedding may need to be changed even more often to stop it becoming mouldy and damp.

Out of the Hutch

Guinea pigs are hunted by predators in the wild, so they're naturally frightened of big, open spaces. Your pets will spend a lot of time around the edges of a room or run, so a few well-placed upside-down cardboard boxes will give them extra space where they can feel safe and exercise.

If the weather is bad, you can arrange all these things indoors. But life can get more interesting in an outside run. Firstly, make sure it's placed out of direct sunlight and that there is a shelter inside. Then fill it with places to hide, things to climb and tunnels to run through - making sure it's not too tight a squeeze and that they can't escape.

Interaction

Exercise and Play

Guinea pigs like to play, so make sure there are plenty of toys for them. Play makes them exercise, which is good for their physical health, and keeps them contented, which is good for keeping them happy and healthy.

Guinea pigs are natural foragers, so hide some food and your pets will enjoy looking for it. For example, try hiding some Excel Nature Snacks around their hutch or in Excel Herbage. In addition to providing nutrition, Foraging mimics their natural behaviour, keeps them occupied and prevents boredom.

Safe Handling

It's easy to scare your guinea pigs when you approach them, so it's best to crouch down and talk softly as you get nearer. Let your pets come to you - offer your hand to sniff, perhaps - then gently place your hand across their shoulder with the thumb tucked between the front legs on one side.

You should then be able to slowly lift your guinea pigs and support their weight by putting your other hand under the bottom. You should then hold your pets on your lap or, if you're standing, close to your chest.

Grooming

If your guinea pig is a long-haired breed, groom daily to keep the coat in good condition. But every breed likes some grooming - and it helps to strengthen the bond of friendship between you and your pets.

Neutering

Vets recommend that all guinea pigs should be neutered. It not only prevents unwanted pregnancies, it will also make your pets calmer and less aggressive. Please ask your vet about the correct age for neutering.

Feeding

Guinea Pigs need to keep their digestive systems busy with a mix of two kinds of fibre moving through the gut at all times (these types of fibre are called digestible fibre and indigestible fibre).

Guinea Pigs can't get enough nutrition from fibre when it passes through their gut the first time, so they pass it through a second time.

Indigestible Fibre

Indigestible fibre is moved through their digestive system and excreted as separate, round, hard droppings. This type of fibre keeps the digestive system moving and their appetite stimulated.

Digestible Fibre

Digestible fibre is moved up into an organ called the caecum – which is like a giant appendix.

Good bacteria in the caecum ferment the fibre, making it easy to digest. This emerges in the form of clumps of sticky droppings – we call these droppings caecotrophs. guinea pigs then re-eat the caecotrophs and their systems extract the essential nutrition when the digestible fibre passes through for the second time.

If guinea pigs don't get the right amounts of both digestible and indigestible fibre, it can rapidly lead to serious health problems. At Excel, we call the correct ratio of these two types of fibre 'Beneficial Fibre'.

Sticking to The Excel Feeding Plan will ensure your guinea pigs get the right amounts of fibre in their diet. The Excel Feeding Plan was developed in conjunction with one of the world's leading small-animal vets, to provide a perfect daily balance of fibre and nutrition.

Find out more about the Excel Feeding Plan

The Problems with Feeding Muesli

Muesli-style foods are a real problem because guinea pigs can become fussy eaters, eating sweet foods as an easy way to get a sugary fix. As a result, they can pick out the unhealthy bits in muesli-style foods and leave the rest. We call this selective feeding. It can lead to an imbalanced diet, that's lacking in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D as well as a diet that's low in fibre, which can have very serious consequences.

The unhealthy ingredients in muesli-style foods are high in sugar and starch; these are difficult for guinea pigs to digest and can lead to health problems and obesity. Obese guinea pigs often can't reach the caecotrophs around their bottom that contain so many of the important nutrients nutrients, which can again lead to problems.

Poisonous Plants

There are several plants that are poisonous to guinea pigs. Never feed them to your pets and make sure there's no access to them in the house or garden - preferably, your home should be free of them altogether. This isn't an exhaustive list, but some plants and flowers that are poisonous to guinea pigs are: bindweed, bryony, buttercup, bluebell, crocus, daffodil, dock, dog mercury, foxglove, hyacinth, laburnum, poppy, ragwort, sorrel, toadflax, tulip and yew.

Fresh Greens

Guinea pigs also need fresh greens or fruit - around a teacup a day. But be careful; not every fruit and vegetable is actually good for guinea pigs. Here's a brief guide, but it is by no means exhaustive. Always check before feeding something new to your pets.

Good - apples, asparagus, basil, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe melon, carrots and carrot tops, cauliflower leaves and stalks, celery, chicory, Chinese parsley, coriander, cucumber, dill, garden cress, grapefruit, gooseberries, honeydew melon, kale, kiwi fruit, mangoes, oranges, parsley, parsnips, peas, red cabbage, red chard, romaine lettuce, Savoy cabbage, spinach, strawberries, tangerines, tomatoes, turnips and water cress.

Bad - potato and potato tops, rhubarb and rhubarb leaves and tomato leaves.

Health

There are many different health problems that guinea pigs face, but most can be avoided by good diet and a healthy lifestyle. The rest need medical attention, so quick attention by a vet is vital. Although there are no specific vaccinations that your guinea pig should have, there are viruses and infectious diseases which can make your pet very unwell. Once they become ill, guinea pigs can deteriorate very quickly, so if you think your pet is off-colour, always see your vet as soon as possible.

Health Checks

Every guinea pig is different, and it's good to get to know how. Once you're familiar with your pets' normal habits and behaviour, it will be easier to spot when they're ill.

You can help to maintain your pets' good health by learning to do some simple health checks every week. It's a good way to increase the bond between you and these quick and easy checks are best done when your guinea pig is feeling comfortable and relaxed – you might find that an Excel Nature Snack helps.

And never forget: if in doubt, always consult your vet immediately.

Ears	gently look inside and make sure they're clean and free from mites and fleas.
Eyes	make sure the eyes are clear and shiny. Dull, swollen eyes are often a sign of illness and can lead to blindness.
Teeth	check to make sure there isn't any excessive drooling which can be a sign of dental problems. Be careful with this health check: your pet might not be comfortable with having its mouth inspected and may bite.
Feet	Gently hold and feel the feet to make sure you pet hasn't injured itself. Check their claws too – they need to be clipped to keep them at a safe length; ask your vet to show you how to do this properly.
Fur	Gently feel and look to check that there are no bald patches, no signs of mites or fleas and no injuries.
Weight	Weigh your pet on a regular basis to see that it is maintaining a constant weight that is healthy for its age. Regular visits to your vet will tell you what the weight should be. Watching the scales is important – obesity is a serious illness that can lead to other health problems.

Medical Emergencies

Poorly guinea pigs will often show a set of non-specific symptoms. As soon as you see any of the symptoms on this list, which may be a sign of serious problems, take your guinea pig to the vet as soon as possible:

Refusal to eat or drink; lethargy; difficult or laboured breathing; sneezing; crusty eyes; limping; loss of balance; excessive scratching; hair loss; uncontrollable bleeding; extreme drop in body temperature; diarrhoea; blood present in urine; signs of temporary paralysis.

You should also know that penicillin-based medication is poisonous to guinea pigs.

Problems caused by poor diet

The following problems are often due to poor diet, lack of exercise and lack of general care. They're easily avoided by giving your guinea pigs the right food and plenty of exercise and, most importantly, by carrying out regular health checks. To find out if your pet is the correct weight please click here

Dental problems

Your guinea pigs' teeth will continue to grow all their lives and overgrown teeth can be the cause of potentially fatal health problems

Symptoms	excessive drooling and loss of appetite.
Effects	A guinea pig's teeth will continue to grow around 10-12cm a year all its life. Vets say that three-quarters of the guinea pigs they see have problems with their teeth- the most common problem being overgrown molars and spurs which can cause extreme pain.
Action	Check your pets' teeth on a weekly basis but you must visit the vet for a dental check every six months as you will be unable to check their back teeth.

Hypovitaminosis C

This condition is more commonly known as scurvy and it stems from a lack of vitamin C. It's something that your guinea pigs can't produce naturally.

Symptoms and Effects:	lameness, loss of teeth, rough coat, loss of hair, pain on handling and anorexia.
Action	You must be absolutely sure your pets' diet compensates - check that the nugget food you're feeding them has added vitamin C. There are extremely high levels of protected vitamin C in Excel Tasty Nuggets for Guinea Pigs. That's why you should never feed your guinea pigs on rabbit food – there's nowhere near enough vitamin C in it for a guinea pig's needs.

General problems

Abscesses – guinea pigs are very susceptible to abscesses which can be caused by knocks or fights. Skin complaints – these are very common, particularly mange, which is caused by a mite burrowing under the skin. Look for the symptoms: little raised spots which are itchy and cause your pet to scratch, and that leads to scabs and loss of hair. Always see your vet for a correct diagnosis and treatment.