Search Results for: guinea pigs

Liberty or Guinea Pigs?

Next week, we are going to visit some friends. These friends live a ferry ride away, in the capital of our province. We will drive to the ferry after work and preschool and visit our friends for a couple of days before heading back home. In June, my daughter and I are flying to New York to visit my brother and his fiancée. I’ve been saving for this trip for a year, and on my daughter’s birthday I’m going to take her to Stomp – she loves percussion and I got discount tickets. While I love seeing our friends, I … Continue reading →

Guinea Pigs are Herd Animals

Studies of guinea pigs in the wild have shown that they tend to live in herds of five to ten. A herd generally has one adult male and the rest female or sexually immature children. You may not want an entire herd of guinea pigs in your home, but your pigs will be happiest if they aren’t alone. Both anecdotal and experimental evidence points to domestic guinea pigs being happiest and healthiest when living with other guinea pigs. So how do you pick the right partner for your pig? A very young pair (under six months) may experience personality changes … Continue reading →

What Do Guinea Pigs Eat?

So you’ve got a guinea pig, and you’re wondering what to feed it. Do they eat what rabbits eat? Or hamsters? Pigs? You find guinea pig food at the pet store, in lots of varieties. But which kind is best? There are four staples to a guinea pig diet: Water – Plenty of clean, cold water, is vital to health. You’ll want a water bottle that is simple to remove/replace for refilling, and one that is easy to see when the level is low. Our bottles have “floaters” inside them, so you can spot the level. Pellets – You can … Continue reading →

Guinea Pig Feeding

Guinea pigs — like people and many other animals — are happiest with a varied diet. Kristen brought this up when she succumbed to guinea pig mania — guinea pigs cannot manufacture vitamin C in their bodies. They NEED vitamin C supplements in order to stay healthy. Adult guinea pigs need between thirty and fifty milligrams of vitamin C per day. Experts suggest skipping the vitamin drops that can be added to water. Why? Vitamin drops may have other vitamins and minerals that your pigs don’t need. Some may potentially be toxic! Vitamin C deteriorates rapidly in water and light, … Continue reading →

Guinea Pig Cages

When it comes to housing your guinea pigs, bigger is better. If you have only one guinea pig (this isn’t recommended, as guinea pigs are social animals), you should be sure to provide at least seven and a half square feet of living space. That’s about three feet by two and a half feet. If you have two guinea pigs, provide at least ten and a half square feet of living space (approximately thirty inches by fifty inches). Three guinea pigs will be happy with around thirteen square feet of living space (approximately thirty inches by sixty inches). Why so … Continue reading →

Guinea Pig Fact and Fiction

After talking with fantasy author Joshua Palmatier about his guinea pigs, I noticed that we don’t have a whole lot of info here at the Pets Blog about the breed! Time to remedy that. Here are some basics about guinea pigs (also known as cavies). The average body temperature of a guinea pig is between 99 and 103 degrees Fahrenheit. Like many other house pets with fur, that’s warmer than the average human! An average adult male guinea pig weighs (called a boar) between two and three pounds. An average adult female guinea pig (called a sow) weighs between one … Continue reading →

Your Baby, the Guinea Pig

Did you know that every time a new vaccine comes out, companies use your baby as their guinea pig? It is true that vaccines have to be tested and approved by the FDA. But as science advances, or frankly, even as more research is done, some vaccines are found to have undesirable side effects and are then quickly pulled from the market, like the rotavirus vaccine. Well now Suzanne Garland, a specialist in the field of the microbiology of infectious diseases is meeting in the United States with doctors to convince them that giving the new HPV vaccine to babies … Continue reading →

Guinea Pig Mania

I did something very strange and unexpected one Tuesday. For no reason whatsoever, and without warning, I brought home two guinea pigs. Now, I did this in a way that is not considered politically correct: I bought them from a (gulp) pet store. (Some Guinea Pig fans say you MUST purchase them from a breeder.) But my kids were flabbergasted. And thrilled. They gathered around me, squealing with delight as these two round little bundles with bright eyes stared up at them. “Can I hold one?” “I want to hold one too!” “I’m next!” “No, me!” We caught guinea pig … Continue reading →

Teaching Responsibility One Step at a Time

Today Logan and I embarked on a great adventure. While this adventure was more for fun, it is definitely one of those teaching moments you never want to pass up. This afternoon I made the crazy decision to take my son to the pet store. Like any four year old, Logan wanted to bring the entire store home with us—the cats, the dogs, the birds, the guinea pigs, the mice, the fish, the turtles, the frogs, the snakes, he wanted them all. Seeing as for the time being we are still living with Grandma anything with fur was out of … Continue reading →

Sprinkle Some Pesticide to Sweeten Your Cereal

I have made it known that I am no friend to fake sugar. I check labels for high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, and artificial sweeteners, before buying any food item. If a food contains any of the three, a combination or frightfully all three, I put it back on the shelf. I cannot sit idly by while I or my family eats what I consider to be poison. There are times when I or even my kids consume yogurt. I made exception for some brands of yogurt that contained fake sugar because it was a source of calcium, … Continue reading →