Category Archives: How to care for your guinea pig

Can Guinea Pigs Share A Water Bottle?

How to care for your guinea pig,

Guinea pigs need water.

They need to drink like we do.

Its the only way that they quench their food and keep themselves hydrated.

They are not keen on drinking other liquids, like we drink.

Drinks and liquids such as juices, soda and milk are of no interest to them. In fact, they can make them sick.

They only like water.

So water must be kept available for them to drink at all times.

They like to drink when they want to, just like we do and are most comfortable when food and drink is available for them to have when they want it.

There are different ways that you can give a guinea pig water.

Through a water bottle and by putting it in a bowl.

Giving a guinea pig water in a bowl can get messy as they are not accustomed to keeping water in it without them jumping or stepping in it or tipping it over.

This means that the best way to give a guinea pig water is through a water bottle.

So what happens when you have two or more guinea pigs. They all need water and need access to drink it anytime.

Can guinea pigs share a water bottle?

So if you have more than one guinea pig in the cage, is it possible for them to share a water bottle?

We have several guinea pigs together in a cage and they all share one large water bottle. It works out fine and they are used to it now. They have no qualms in sharing with other piggies.

Just make sure that the water bottle is topped up daily with fresh water and they will be fine with that.

They need fresh water every day and so by keeping it topped up you can ensure that they always have access to it.

do guinea pigs mind loud noises

Do Guinea Pigs Mind Loud Noises?

How to care for your guinea pig,

So there may be an occasion where your guinea pigs experience loud noise around their cages. Maybe you have fireworks going off outside, or maybe you have a party going on in your home or loud music playing?

Do guinea pigs mind loud noises at all?

image wikipedia

Unfortunately they don’t like loud noises at all. Guinea pigs like a nice settled environment and get startled very easily at any unforeseen noises.

This means that any bangs, blaring noise or such like, does not go down well with them and they are likely to run off and hide.

This is not to say that they don’t mind mild noise. If they are around your family for instance in the home, they may well enjoy the chatter and the chaos of family life.

But its the sudden loud noises that they won’t like at all.

do guinea pigs like the snow

Do Guinea Pigs Like The Snow?

How to care for your guinea pig, ,

With winter temperatures being prevalent at the moment, there may be places around the world where snow has fallen. This can present a problem to piggie owners. Do we keep our guinea pigs outside or do we bring them inside?

Do guinea pigs like the snow at all?

image wikipedia

Although they are hardy animals, guinea pigs should not be outside in temperatures below 10 degrees celcius, and definately not below 5 degrees celcius.

It is just too cold for them.

So if a guinea pig were to take a dip in the snow, they would get quite a shock as they are just not used to it. They don’t like freezing temperatures at all.

Like humans, if they encounter snow they will look for the nearest warm place to shelter in and get warm.

So when it is snowing, please make sure your guinea pigs are safely inside a sheltered environment amongst some warm hay. They will appreciate it a whole lot more.

do guinea pigs like the sun

Do Guinea Pigs Like The Sun?

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It’s easy to think that coming from a hot continent such as South America, that guinea pigs would like the sun.

Actually, the opposite is true in that they don’t like it at all.

They much prefer to be in the shade and if they are caught in a patch of sunlight will look to shelter in the shade.

Where they actually come from in the Andes mountains of South America is quite a cool place.

The temperature is quite variable and it can actually get quite cold up there.

They live at altitude when in the wild and so are used to keep trying to keep themselves as warm as possible in cold weather.

They do not feel comfortable in the sun at all.

This is why if you are keeping your guinea pigs outside or if they are just out in their run, then there must be some shade shelter for them.

If there is not, they will look to make something for themselves to shelter under.

For instance, when we got our first guinea pig ‘Rocket’, I didn’t realize this fact.

I left him in his run without any shade on a particularly sunny day.

When I returned to him, he had buried himself in the grass which was about 2-3 inches long in a patch.

At this point, I realized that I should have been much kinder to him and given him to shelter.

This is why I always leave somewhere where my piggies can shelter under from the sun.

They will always take refuge on a hot day in the shade and try and stay as cool as possible.

When the temperatures get over 75 degrees Fahrenheit they tend to start to overheat.

They can’t cool down like we can and are trapped in their fur coats which are naturally designed to keep them warm.

In extreme cases, they can even suffer from heat exhaustion and maybe death if they don’t find respite from it.

So if it is hot and you need to find some respite for your guinea pig then there are some good tips here;

Consider extra shading for the run and hutch.

If they are outside then considering putting extra shading up such as a parasol or panels over the run or hutch to keep out the sun’s rays.

This will help give them a place to retreat to and will be able to walk around without getting exposed to the sun

Bring them inside.

Of you can bring your guinea pigs inside and it is safe to do so then this is the best option.

They will enjoy the cooler option of being inside the home more and the provision of air conditioning if you have it.

Have more shelters that they can hide away in.

Again if they are outside then giving them smaller hidey homes to retreat to.

They love to hide out in places and will enjoy finding new places to go.

What about keeping them cool?
Frozen water bottles.

One thing you can do to cool them down is to freeze some bottles of water.

Then lay them down in their run for them to brush up against.

Although this doesn’t solve the issue of being exposed to sunlight.

Ensure they have constant access to water.

Having constant access to water is vital for a guinea pig.

It is reassuring for them to know that their water bottle is full when they need to drink from it so top it up daily with fresh water.

It will help.

 

Damp towels or blanket.

Towels or blankets which have been soaked in cold water can also provide a good respite in hot conditions.

Just lay them down on the run floor for a short time and let the guinea pigs walk over them.

Don’t leave them there for too long though as they will start to smell.

can guinea pigs just eat pellets

How Do Guinea Pigs Clean Themselves?

How to care for your guinea pig

If you have had guinea pigs for any length of time you may notice that they don’t require that much maintenance in terms of cleaning. This is especially the case if you have a short haired cavy. Long haired guinea pigs require a bit more time on the maintenance side of things.
So how do guinea pigs keep themselves clean?

Like cats, they are very good at spotting when dirt or grime appears on their fur and as soon as this happens they need to do something about it. They are proud of their coats and strive to keep them as clean as possible.

So what they do is lick and nibble the spot of fur which is dirty and do so until the dirt or grime has gone.

This is a natural instinct and one which they learn to do as soon as they are old enough. When they are young their mother will do this for them until they learn how to do it.
But what about their faces?

If you observe them, you will notice that they clean their faces by licking their paws and then wiping their faces. Some even say that they use a milky white substance in their eyes in order to do this, but I’m not certain of this.

So in order to do this, they must be very sensitive to when there is something out of place on their face in order to do this.

So what happens when they get really dirty?

When they get really dirty they may need assistance in bathing, and the trick is to run a small bath for them with about an inch of water and then bathe them in it for a short time in order to get the dirt and grime off them. They won’t like it very much though, so don’t do it for long.

However, if you don’t do this, then they will eventually get rid of all the dirt and grime themselves.

can guinea pigs share a cage

Getting a Guinea Pig Insurance Quote for the First Time

How to care for your guinea pig,

We all love our guinea pigs. They are very precious to us and we do what we can to make their lives happy and content. However there maybe times when we need medical assistance for our piggies because their health has deteriorated to such an extent that we need to take them to a vet.

Just the mere thought of taking their loved piggies to the vets sends most owners into a cold sweat thinking about the cost of such a visit. It can cost £25-£30 just to get to see a vet in the UK, and that’s not including treatment fees and the cost of medication.

However, there is another way for guinea pig owners to pay for the treatment of their piggies and that is through pet insurance. Or do you just chance it that your guinea pigs won’t get sick or worse still, let them suffer because the cost is just too great?

So is pet insurance for guinea pigs worth it and what are the kind of things that need to be thought through before taking the plunge with it?

I decided to take a look and get a quote for myself to see if it was something that I wanted to pursue.

I know insurance isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I know some people may be interested in my experience so I have blogged about it here.

Note: The following details about the quote are correct at the date of this post. The policy and premium quote may change

Where did I get my pet insurance quote from?

There are not many insurers that offer it in the UK.

Most insurers only recognize two types of animals, cats and dogs!

However, Gocompare.com offered it through Exoticpetsdirect.com which is where I got my quote from.

Using Exotic Direct

Exotic Direct offer Small Mammal insurance which covers guinea pigs. However, they only offer one policy for a maximum of three guinea pigs. So for someone like myself who has 4 guinea pigs, I would need 2 policies.

Going onto the next screen they wanted to know each guinea pig’s name, breed, purchase price, and birth date.

I wasn’t sure on the birth date, so had to provide an estimate. Interestingly, they would not accept that I had got Charlie and Fuzzy-wuzzy for free, so I had to put their purchase price in as a £1. This was the minimum amount it would accept.

Next they wanted my personal details. As usual for insurance companies, they wanted to know name, address, phone numbers, DOB, and email for a basic quote.

Then the next screen took me to the initial quote.

How much does guinea pig insurance cost?

guinea pig insuranceFor 3 guinea pigs, there were two types of quote that were given entitled ‘available’ and ‘popular’.

‘Available’ gave me an annual premium of 389.60 and ‘Popular’ gave me an annual premium of £291.02. These can both be paid by direct debit in monthly instalments over 10 months.

The difference between ‘available’ and ‘popular’ is that ‘available’ insures all 3 pets individually, where as ‘popular’ only seems to insure one pet at a time.

The policy is underwritten by Allianz insurance who are one of the world’s largest insurers. and is for 12 months. I have dealt with Allianz before and I know they are a good insurance company.

What is covered under their guinea pig insurance policy?

It would cover my guinea pigs for loss by fire, theft, lightning, storm or wind.

It would cover them against death as a result of accident or illness.

Finally it would cover their veterinary fees for an accident or illness, up to a limit of £5000 in the policy period.

What isn’t covered under their policy?

However, it wont cover the loss of a guinea through escape or mysterious disappearance.

They wont cover any vet fees or death benefit in the first year as a result a of pre-existing condition. This means that if your guinea pig already has a poorly leg for example, before you took out the insurance, the policy would not cover you for it. You would have to pay for the vets fees yourself. However, if the poorly leg continued for past the first 12 months of the policy then you could claim on the insurance for it.
11.

They wont cover the cost of a post mortem report which may be required in the event of a mortality claim, any further excess due under a recurring condition. So you would be liable for the excess on each claim.

They also don’t cover the cost of your vets fees for completing the insurance claim forms (this was a surprise!)

source https://www.exoticdirect.co.uk/whitedragon/documents/file/Policy%20Summary.pdf

Both policies have an excess of £50 for veterinary treatment, although a larger excess may apply for certain treatments. This means whenever I make a claim, I will have to pay £50.

If I wanted to take it further, there were further questions they wanted to know and it would have to go up to their underwriters to review.

What to do?

I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet, but will look around at other policies and see what they have to offer and see how their price compares.

Pet insurance for guinea pigs certainly provides peace of mind for owners, especially if the vet bill is high. But the cost is the main factor and weighing it up against just paying vets bills out of my own pocket.

But its certainly been an interesting exercise.

Have you taken out pet insurance for your guinea pigs, if so it would be great to hear from you about your experience in using it.

can guinea pigs swim in a bathtub

Can Guinea Pigs Swim in a Bathtub?

How to care for your guinea pig
Can Guinea Pigs Swim in a Bathtub?
Guinea pigs are animals who are great at keeping themselves clean.
If you have a short-haired cavy, you will see that their ability to clean themselves is extremely good and they don’t need any help with this.
image wikipedia
However what if they get themselves ever so dirty and that you do feel they need a hand cleaning themselves?
You may also have a long haired cavy who are much more prone to attracting dirt and grime to their hair.
First of all, they don’t need regular bathing. They do look after themselves really well.
Secondly, if you do feel that they need bathing then fill your bath with about an inch of warmish water and let them walk about in the water so as to get rid of the grime and dirt.
Guinea pigs can swim if they need to, like most animals, but it stresses them and they shouldn’t be being put into the water where their feet can’t touch the bottom.
Another related article on this subject is Can guinea pigs swim
can guinea pigs eat plastic bags

Can Guinea Pigs Eat Plastic Bags?

Guinea pig foods, How to care for your guinea pig, , , ,

A plastic bag, polybag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile.

Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste.

It is a common form of packaging. (source)

Most plastic bags are heat sealed together. Some are bonded with adhesives or are stitched.

Can guinea pigs eat plastic bags?

If your guinea pigs need something to chew on then one of the things that you should probably avoid are plastic bags.

There are three good reasons for this;

  1. The reasons are that they could get stuck in them if they play around with them.
  2. They are not the best things for guinea pigs to chew on as they can be chewed into smaller pieces which are not easily digested.
  3. What they are made of is not especially healthy for guinea pigs

So if you are looking for something for guinea pigs to chew on, then steer clear of giving them plastic bags.

There are much better things for them to chew on, such as cardboard or paper which will be much better for them.

For more things that guinea pigs can and can’t eat, check out our guinea pig food list.

Can guinea pigs drink water from a bowl?

How to care for your guinea pig, , , ,
We know that guinea pigs can drink water and drink it often. They live to drink water and it is the only liquid that they can really drink.
The most common way do feeding guinea pigs is to give them tweet fro a bottle.
Can guinea pigs drink water from a bowl?
But what if you dint have a water bottle, can Guinea pigs drink water from a bowl instead?
Well yes they can.
Water is fine for them to drink from a bowl.
However the thing is with using a bowl for guinea pigs to drink from is that guinea pigs will very easily step in it, pee in it, excrete in it and anything else they fancy doing in it.
In fact, they don’t really care if they do.
So giving guinea pigs water from a bowl is not as good an option as giving them water from a bottle but still enables them to be fed water without a bottle.
However, the water in the bowl does nee do be changed very often to make sure that any contaminants are removed and that the bowl is refreshed properly.
Once they are refreshed properly then they can be given to guinea pigs again.

Can guinea pigs eat too much vitamin c ?

How to care for your guinea pig

So if you know Guinea pigs you know that they need vitamin c in order to supplement for what their bodies don’t produce. Its one of their many quirks, but one that if it isn’t addressed by their owners, they will have a pretty short life.

One of the things that guinea pigs do is that they eat and eat and eat lots and so often what owners do is to feed them many foods with high amounts of vitamin c in them.

But what happens if they eat too much vitamin c, will that do them harm at all? Its a valid concern as often too much of some nutrients, can cause an animal damage.

Well it’s good to be concerned, but just like us, their bodies have ways of not using what vitamin c they don’t need. So if they do eat more vitamin c than what they need then it will just excrete it out.

That way, their body says ‘thank you very much for giving me what I don’t have, but I don’t need the rest’ and gets rid of it.

This saves us having to worry about feeding them too much. In fact if in doubt, feed them too much and they’ll get rid of what they don’t need.

So don’t worry about feeding them too much vitamin c, in this case ‘they can’t have too much of a good thing’.