Taking Care of Your Pet Cavy
INTRODUCTION
Guinea pigs, or cavies as they are properly known, make an ideal indoor pet. Their requirements are simple and easy to provide and they can give years of companionship and entertainment. This pamphlet has been designed to help you provide good care for your Peruvian cavy so that it can live a long and healthy life.
HOUSING
Cavies should be kept in a well-ventilated cage. The ideal housing is a cage with wire sides and a wire top. These cages can be bought in discount stores such as Walmart, or at feed stores such as Horse and Hound Feed or Tractor Supply. Cages can also be built using a wood frame and welded wire or hardware cloth on the sides. Do not use chicken wire as this does not provide a secure cage. Be sure to use a cage that is large enough. A cage for a single cavy should be at least 3 square feet (18" by 24"). Allow two square feet per animal in group cages. The cage should have a solid floor covered with wood shavings. Pine or aspen is fine but avoid cedar because the oils can be harmful to cavies. You may want to put a layer of newspaper below the wood chips to make the cage easier to change. If you have a roomy enough cage, you will probably only need to change the bedding every five days to one week. You should keep your cage in a well-lit and ventilated area, but out of drafts and direct sunlight. As a good rule of thumb, cavies are comfortable in the same range of temperatures as people (55°-80°F). Temperatures 85° and over for long time periods can be fatal. You may wish to periodically disinfect your cavy's cage. An effective and inexpensive disinfectant can be made using one part chlorine bleach diluted with 9 parts of water. Be sure to rinse the cage well after washing with the disinfectant.
FOOD AND WATER
Cavies should have fresh food and water in front of them at all times. Because guinea pigs are playful, they will turn over their food bowl unless you use either a heavy crockery bowl or a metal container wired to the side of the cage. The ideal food for cavies is commercially prepared guinea pig pellets with at least 18% protein and added vitamin C. We feed Mazuri timothy based formula. Other sources for pellets are or the major pet retailers like Pets Barn, PetsMart or Petco. If you can, continue feeding Mazuri. Other good feeds are Oxbow Performance/Young Guinea Pig (but not Cavy Cuisine), Small World (available at WalMart), Kaytee Supreme or Forti Diet. Do not buy pellets which are mixed with seeds, nuts, and/or colored bits. Get smaller bags of feed, 10 lbs or under. Do not buy a 50 pound bag of chow for only one animal, as it will lose its nutritional value before your cavy can eat it all. When changing brands of chow, be sure to mix new chow into a partially filled bowl of old chow. Just keep adding the new brand and mixing each day until your animal is completely changed over. In addition to Guinea Pig Chow, we sprinkle a teaspoon of Calf Manna which is a protein supplement on top of the feed. Unlike guinea pig chow, Calf Manna will keep a long time without losing nutritional value. You can buy 10 pound bags at Tractor Supply Company stores
The easiest way to give your guinea pig water is with a water bottle that has a metal drinking tube. Do not use bottles with glass sipper tubes as cavies are strong enough to break them. The best tubes have a metal ball in them which helps to keep the bottle from leaking. It also keeps the cage much drier. You should buy at least a 16 ounce bottle for your cavy. In an emergency, you can provide water in a bowl, however, your cavy will kick shavings into the bowl, spoiling the water and requiring frequent changing. Be sure to change the water whenever it looks cloudy. If the bottle gets dirty it should be washed out with a bottle brush. Be sure to clean the drinking tube with a piece of wire, pipe cleaner or Q-tip.
Guinea pigs enjoy a treat of fresh fruit or vegetables. Individual tastes vary, but guinea pigs in general will eat kale, lettuce, and other greens or freshly picked grass. This should be fed daily in modest quantities (about ˝ cup per day and absolutely not more than 1 cup a day). Carrots, celery. apples, pears, melon, sweet potato and citrus fruits can be given as treats. in relatively small quantities a few times a week. A good-quality, grass hay is a welcome addition to their diet.
GROOMING
Your Peruvian cavy should be brushed or combed on a regular basis. The best brush to use is made of natural bristle, since this provides some cleaning as you brush as well as grooming the coat. You may bathe your cavy when it needs to. Put an inch or two of warm water in the sink or a plastic wash tub. Wet the cavy all over and soak it well with baby shampoo. Rinse the coat thoroughly with warm water and towel the animal dry. Finish the drying with a blow dryer. Make sure your cavy is thoroughly dry, before putting it back in its cage. When your cavy's coat gets to be about 3 inches long, you will have to decide if you want to trim it or start wrapping it like show breeders do. We recommend that you trim your pet's coat periodically. Should you be interested in wrapping your cavy's coat, call us when your cavy is 3-4 months old and we will give you a demonstration. You should also trim your cavy's toe nails . You can use a pet nail clipper or one designed for humans. Be careful not to clip into the quick (the blood filled core of the nail). If you do, dip the nail in corn starch, quick stop (available from pet stores) or alum (available from drug stores).
HANDLING
You cannot handle your cavy too much. In the wild, cavies are social animals, and they will enjoy your company. Be sure that your cavy's feet are well supported at all times. Even relatively young children are capable of handling cavies. The easiest way to carry a cavy, especially for a small child, is to place the animal so that all four feet are on the carrier's chest, with one hand supporting the rump and the other behind the head. When taking your animal out of the cage, it is best to put your hand in front of it, so that it can see that it is you. Cavies' natural predators are birds of prey like hawks, so reaching down and grabbing it will make your animal nervous.
HEALTH CARE
Cavies are remarkably healthy animals if you provide them with proper food, water, and housing. Cavies will occasionally catch cold. If you believe that your animal is sick, you should take it to the veterinarian at once. Like most prey animals, guinea pigs hide symptoms of illness so they can be sicker than you think when you discover symptoms. We use Calista Animal Hospital which has experience with cavies. If your animal needs medication, never give it penicillin. Cavies are naturally sensitive to this antibiotic, and many will go into shock if exposed to it.
It is unusual for single pet cavies to get external parasites such as lice or mites. Should your animal show signs of external parasites (hair loss, scratching or black spots (nits) on the hair), you should get ivermectin from the veterinarian.
OTHER QUESTIONS
If you have questions about any aspect of your cavy's housing, feeding or health care, please call us. We can also give you information about breeding or showing your cavy. Do not hesitate to call us if you believe that there is anything unusual or abnormal happening with your animal. We would much rather have you call us about something which turns out not to be a problem, rather than to fail to call about something which might be serious