I do not know a lot about the origin of guinea pigs but I do think I have read that they come from South America and were said to be domesticated by the Incas. I am not sure were they got their name but there could be two possibilities: They were brought to Europe by Spanish Sailors from a country named Dutch Guiana in South America. OR, Guinea pigs were sold in England for a guinea (this is an england coin).
The scientific name for a guinea pig is "Cavy" and they are a member of the rodent family. They are born with thier eyes already open and with fur. They are funny to look at because their feet look to big for their body. The babies are called "pigglets"and will nurse immediately after birth. They will also try to nibble some of mom's food at a couple days old.
Guinea pigs run in herds in the wild, having one mature male and a harem of females. Guinea pigs reach maturity between four and seven weeks of age. The pigglets in the herds will not only nurse on their mother but also on any other guinea pig that has babies or milk.
If you are looking for a companion for a young child that is smaller than a rabbit but bigger than mice, gerbals, or hamsters a guinea pig might be for you. If you want an appartment sized pet that is very loving, loyal, and friendly, and can live along or in a group a guinea pig may be the right pet for you. Guinea pigs are low cost, low maintanance, self cleansing, lovable little hairballs. Unless you get a skinny pig and then there would be no hair,lol. They are fairly quiet with an occational squeel or wheep to let you know that they want attention, food or water. They are very smart and can easily be litter trained.
If you are looking for a friend that you can talk to and will listen and talk back to you in his/her own language the guinea pig may be for you. Guinea pigs love to communicate when you talk to them. They love attention, need a routine and a well balanced diet. If you are looking for these things in a pet the guinea pig is the "right" pet for you.
Guinea pigs are great little furballs. They are herbivores and love their vegetables. They are very friendly, cuddly, and tolerant of young children. Guinea pigs love to talk but are usually quite quiet. They are extremely gentile, loving, and rarely bite. They make excellent playmates for children or adults. They love to sit on your shoulder as you work and to ve near you at all times.
BE ADVISED: guinea pigs are like children and can be spoiled very easily. Because they like routine, if you start keeping them near you a lot they will look for it all the time and will wheep until you give in. I had a pig when I was a child that my father fed a piece of apple to every morning around 5 am when he returned from his night shift job. When he started working days the guinea pig would squeel every morning until he got up at 5 to feed her her apple because this was what she was used to. To this day my father does not like guinea pigs because of this experience. But that was his fault. So be warned, don't spoil your pig unless you are willing to give in to their every whim.lol. Seriously, you can slowly change the routine but you need patience.
Some of the body and vocal languages of a guinea pig are listed below in random order:
Vocal Lauguages:
1. Squeals, wheeping.- begging for food (from humans).
2.Squeals, shrieks.- warning of a young gp's cry of loneliness, pain, or fear.
3. Cooing.- reassurance (usually uttered to young).
4. Gurnts, gurgles, and squeaks.- contentment, comfort, contact with other gp's through sound.
5. Rumbles.- a warning (dislike of a sound or action).
6. Hisses or teeth chattering.- aggression (threatening or warning an opponent).
Body Languages:
1. Mouth open and showing teeth.- used by females to prevent advances by a male or by both sexes as a threat.
2. Touching noses.- sniffing contact to meet eachother.
3. Stretches.- to show comfort or relaxation.
4. Stretch head forward.- awareness, watching carefully.
5. Raising up with stiff legs.- threatening.
A guinea pig loves veggies and will beg for them with a squeek or a wheep. It is really cute! Guinea pigs have excellent hearing. They can hear sounds up to 30 khz in frequency were we only hear 20 khz. When an owner walks by the guinea pig's cage they can tell who it is by the sound of the footprints. Even distinguishing between different owners. And my Chloe knows the sound of the fridge and the when it is time for veggies. She goes hog wild when she hears me coming with her veggies. They do not, however, have great eye sight. They have trouble judging distance and hieght so you must be careful or this could lead to nasty falls. They have a great sence of smell, not like dogs, but still much better than us. They recognize other guinea pigs and people that they know by scent.
A guinea pig can live anywhere from 5- 7 years on average. Some have been known to live longer.
There are many different breeds of guinea pigs (or "cavies" being their real name).
Here is a list in random order...
1. Abyssinian. (Our Chloe) 6. Crested. 11. Skinny pigs. (Hairless)
2. Smooth coated. 7. Rex. 12. Teddy Bear.
3. Sheltie (silkie) 8. Alpacas.
4. Peruvian. 9. Texels.
5. Satin. 10. Coronets.
If you are wondering weather you should get a young or older guinea pig my personal opionion would definately be a young one. When they are young you can train them and tame them much easier and some (although not many but it does happen) older guinea pigs will not tolerate children or handling as much as young ones if they were not around children or handled much when they were younger. But most older pigs are great too and just need a little more time for adjusting. f you are looking for an older pig I suggest you adopt from a rescue or shelter. There are many unwanted animals out there.
Young guinea pigs between 1 and 3 months old are ideal. The younger the better but you must make sure they were weaned from mom a few days before you bring them home.
Whether or not you get a male or female is entirely up to you. Some people prefer one over the other for personal reasons or from past experiences. I personally have had both sexes as pets and eithor one is a great friend.
Males are a little more vocal than females if you want someone to communicate more. (Although we often wonder about Chloe as she can talk up a storm. I rechecked her 5 times in the first couple months she came home. "S".) Males are more active and dominant than females and will be a little larger but they are both great, adorable, loving companions.
Females are more docile and smaller. The only problems with females is that if they were not separated from their male siblings as soon as they were weaned you could be bringing home a pregnant piggie. This is not good for them to have a litter at such a young age. Also if they do not have a litter by the time they are 9 months old they should never have one. Between 9 and 12 months their hip bones will start to fuse, if they have never had a litter. Having a litter under these circumstances could be deadly to your little friend and her young.
If you are a first time owner or buying a cavy as a pet for a young child you should only get one. Also when buying a cage at a pet store they are only custom to fit one guinea pig. If you get more than one usually you have to build your own cage or use a large rabbit cage with a wireless bottom.
A reason for buying a second guinea pig could be for companionship for the first. If you feel you will not have a lot of time to spend with the guinea pig a second is a suggestion. Two females is best. They may bicker over food but that would be about it. A male and female will just bring a lot of unwanted babies unless one was neutered. And two male guinea pigs is a definate "no no" in my opinion. It can be done but you must make sure they have LOTS OF ROOM and never introduce a females to the two males or it would be disasterous. Males are very territorial.
My personal opinion "NO!" I don't think you should ever breed unless you think you are bettering the breed standerd, if you have a very healthy couple, and homes for all possible babies. So if you have read all about breeding and you know that a guinea pig can have up to 5 litters a year of 2 to 4 possibly more pigglets and can have birth problems that may need an emergency vet and still want to breed, that is your decision. I do hope you are responsible when you breed and wish you all the best.
Guinea pigs are low maintanence so their is not a lot of care and unless you have a long haired cavy you will not have to brush them. Although a brush every now and then can do any cavy wonders.
Food. They will eat almost anything given to them. So you must not over feed them. The best food for them is guinea pig pellets and hey. Hey is a very important part of a guinea pigs diet, they need it every day. They also like fruits and vegetables. LOTS OF VEGGIES! These mainly depend on what your individual guinea pig likes. But NO raw beans or rhubarb as these are extremely poisonous. No shelled nuts or seeds (this inclueds sunflower seeds), no dairy products as cavies are lactose intolerant, and no iceberg lettuce or long celery stalks.
Water. They must have fresh water every day. Guinea pigs drink lost of water. If you use a water bottle guinea pigs often love to play with them and blow the water back up the bottle to see the bubbles. This is very cute but must be watched carefully that no food enters the bottle or it must be cleaned daily not to contaminate the water and make your pig sick.
Housing. you must have a big enough cage approccimately 2 sq. ft. (this is the minimum space allowance). Guinea pigs love to have two houses. One would be the cage, the other would be a dark place they could go to get some privacy. This could be a rubbermaid containor with a hole cut into it for a door or a type of doggie door made onto it. A good bedding would be aspen or carefresh as pine and cedar should not be used with small animals for respatory problems. Also lay out some hey in the bedding, this allows for extra heat for the piggie.
Cleaning the cage. The cage must be cleaned at least once a week. If it starts smelling clean it sooner. I clean mine every three days. A guinea pig will not eat if it feels dirty and this can cause it to become sick.
The best place to purchase a guinea pig is through a reputalbe breeder but if this is not possible you can try a rescue or shelter or a reputable pet store. One that has clean, large cages and will be able to tell you the breeders name and/or phone number, or will know the date of birth, sex of the cavy, and able to answer any questions you have with no difficulty.
Here is a list in random order of some of the things you will need to purchase before you bring your guinea pig home.
1. A large cage. (at least 2 sq. ft.)
2. Food dish. Ceramic is best. You need something that is heavy so it will not get knocked over.
3. Water bottle or dish. Medium sized bottle or dish same as food dish.
4. Plastic container or Wooden gp. house. For a home inside the cage for privacy.
5. Good bedding. Aspen or carefresh. (NO CEDAR)
6. Food. Guinea pig pellets. you can use a mix too but make sure it does not contain sunflower seeds and pellets are best.
7. Hay. Timothy is best, just ask Chloe. Too much alphalpha is not good.
8. Salt stone. Something all small animals should have available to chew on.
9. treat bars. Optional but should not contain sunflower seeds.
10. chew stick. Also optional, helps trim down teeth but are not needed as long as they have lots of hay and a good pellet diet.
If you have read all about guinea pigs and have decided to go for it I wish you all the best in finding the perfect little friend and many years of happiness. If you ahve decided not to purchase a cavy I hope my information was helpful to you and that you find the right pet for you and your family. Maybe you would like to visit one of the other members of the family. If so, click on the site map. Thanks for visiting.
