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What is a Guinea Pig?
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A Guinea pig is a small rodent whos real name is a cavy. Guinea pigs originally came from South America and wild Guinea Pigs were eaten as food all over the world. There are many different breeds of Guinea Pig and they also have various different hair styles such as short, long, wiry, tufty etc.

A few years ago now I brought two baby guinea pigs from a breeder. One was a short-haired guinea pig which had a smooth glossy black and white coat so he was named Badger. The other guinea pig was a white long haired guinea pig which my brother name John-Smith (after the dude in Pocahontas).

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Buying a guinea pig.
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As with any animal you should be sure that you will able to care for them properly and give them a good home before you consider buying them. Guinea pigs like to have company so you should get at least two who should be of the same sex to avoid breeding and fighting. Two males will get along happily but more than two kept together will fight so if you want to get lots of guinea pigs get females. Long haired guinea pigs are harder to care for than short haired ones as they require regular grooming and special care so short haired guinea pigs tend to be lower maintenance.
Guinea pigs can be purchased from breeders, pet shops or animal shelters. An animal shelter is a good idea although you are less likely to get a baby guinea pig. A responsible breeder should be able to give you some good advice on how to care for your guinea pig. I would only recommend pet shops as a last resort as the guinea pigs will not have been handled much and may have been kept in unfair conditions with many other guinea pigs and may have picked up diseases.
When choosing a guinea pig, pick one that looks healthy, well-fed and has bright eyes and a clean nose and ears and is lively.

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Housing
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Guinea pigs will need a large sheltered hutch to live in. The hutch should have a bedroom area where the guinea pigs can hide away and keep warm. These can be brought from most pet shops. Specially designed indoor cages are also available although are often harder to come across as they are not as popular as traditional hutches. Your guinea pigs will need a heavy large food bowl and a water bottle
The hutch should be secure (preferably high up so its above the damp and away from other animals) and lined with newspaper or other suitable paper before the bedding is put in. Soft shredded paper and dry, fresh hay make good bedding and your guinea pigs will also enjoy nibbling on the hay! Guinea pigs need something to gnaw on so a small branch of a tree is ideal. The best wood to give them is apple tree wood.
A guinea pig hutch should be cleaned out at the very least once a week and they should be given fresh food and water daily.

Aswell as the basic housing equipment, toys and cleaning equipment should be brought. Large cardboard tubes make great tunnels and my guinea pigs used to love running through them and hiding in them. Things like toilet roll tubes are also fun for them to through around or nibble on and carboard boxes with large holes in provide a good hiding place for your guinea pig.

To clean the hutch out it is a good idea to have a dustpan and brush to sweep out the used bedding, special disinfectant spray for the houses of small animals. A brush to scrub the hutch out and some rubber gloves are also a good idea.

In addition to the equipment to clean the hutch you will also need equipment to clean the guinea pig! Every now and again your guinea pigs will need to be given a wash. You can use a washing up bowl and special guinea pig shampoo for this although we used to use a dolls bath as it was easier to use! Guinea pigs should be bathed in warm water and should be held safely at all times. Once they are out of the water they should be kept warm in a towel and not put outside until they are dry. We found that our guinea pig with the longer hair needed more frequent washing as his hair got dirtier and greasier. A small brush is also a good tool to have so that you can keep your guinea pig well groomed.

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Exercise
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Because of their tubby bodies and short legs guinea pigs are not able to run fast but they do need to have plenty of space to potter round and get some exercise. A run, such as a grazing ark (triangular prism shaped run) is ideal. There should be a suitable sheltered area of the run where your guinea pigs can get some shade and hide if they are scared. Put the run onto grass so that the guinea pigs can graze on it. It is important to avoid giving them access to flowers or plants other than grass as some things will be poisonous to them.

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Guinea pigs and rabbits
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Many people keep rabbits and guinea pigs together as they quite often get on well. However it is recommended that you don’t keep a rabbit in the same hutch as guinea pigs as they could accidently or on purpose (during an argument) kick the guinea pig with their powerful back legs which could kill or serious injure your guinea pig.

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Handling
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The best way to hold a guinea pig is to put one hand under its bottom and use your other hand to hold the top end. Guinea pigs get scared pretty easily so try holding them close to you and not too high up. As with any animal, children should be supervised when holding them. It is a good idea to speak softly to your guinea pig when handling him as we found that as our guinea pigs got to know our voices they were reassured by them and didn’t get scared when being handled. Guinea pigs should be handled regularly so they get used to it. When we first got our guinea pigs they wriggled but once they realised we weren’t a threat they quite enjoy sitting on our laps and being stroked or groomed.

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Feeding
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We used to feed our guinea pigs ‘Gertie Guinea’ which is available at most pet shops. Tesco also do their own guinea pig food and so do many pet shops. We found that our guinea pigs preffered certain foods so try and work out which they like the best. Guinea pigs should always have dry food in their bowl as they will only ever eat as much as they need. We found that filling the bowl in the morning and then again in the evening worked well. In addition to dry food they should have access so fresh hay, grass and fresh fruit and vegetables. Foods which are safe for guinea pigs which ours particularly loved are; carrots, orange, pear, melon, apple, grapes, tomato, beans, peas, cucumber, sweetcorn, celery, cabbage, pepper, lettuce and dandelion leaves. Dandelion leaves were a firm favourite though!

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Behaviour
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Guinea pigs are usually timid but friendly creatures, however if a guinea pig yawns it is often a sign that he is angry as the point of yawning is to show his sharp teeth! Guinea pigs tend to make quite loud squeling noises as their way of communicating or showing that they are happy. Making chattering noises with their teeth means they are annoyed though so leave them alone if that happens! A scared guinea pig will often freeze on the spot, by recognising when your guinea pig is scared you should be able to reassure him and make him happy again. We wondered why our guinea pigs kept getting greasy patches on their backs (near their bottoms) and we found out that guinea pigs have a grease gland there which produces the grease they use to mark things with their scent. We were lucky that our guinea pigs never fought but if they do keep fighting they should be separated for their own safety. Guinea pigs quite like to cuddle up together so they feel safe and warm which is so cute to watch!

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Breeding
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If a male and a female guinea pig are kept together they will breed so you should make sure you find out what sex both your guinea pigs are before putting them together (a vet will sex them for you). As with breeding any pet you should be sure that you have the time, patience and money to care for a pregnant guinea pig and the babies once they are born. If you intend to sell them or give them away then you should make sure you have suitable owners lined up before even considering breeding. When baby guinea pigs are born they are born with their eyes open, fur and can walk around pretty soon after birth. The babies will drink milk from their mother so she should be given plenty of food and water to keep her strength up. At five weeks old the baby guinea pigs can be separated from their mother. By this age males and females should also be separated or they will begin to breed with each other and you will get all sorts of problems!

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Health care
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Guinea pigs should be checked regularly to check they havent developed any illnesses or infections. They should be weighed preferably every week and the weight recorded as the first sign that a guinea pig is ill is weight loss. If your guinea pig seems to have lost weight it is best to get him checked out by a vet. You should also check your guinea pigs fur and skin to make sure it is healthy and strange smells could suggest infection so it’s a good idea to get them checked out. A guinea pigs eyes and ears should always be clean, if they look sore or dirty or the eyes are watery and not bright or shiny they you should get him checked out. The length of your guinea pigs teeth and claws should also be checked regularly as if they get too long the vet may need to trim them.

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Overall
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We really enjoyed caring for our guinea pigs, they were friendly and fascinating to watch and listen to. They are quite noisy so I don’t think they would make a great indoor pet though! We were lucky that our two male guinea pigs got on really well, never thought and stayed healthy. They enjoyed eating grass but always liked somewhere to hide. They had a rabbit companion which they also got on well with. Guinea pigs do require a lot of care and attention but make great pets at the end of it. I would definitely recommend them if you want a small pet.