Feed your guinea pig plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day and make sure they have enough clean water to drink!

                   

Never hit or shout at a guinea pig, because it will not understand what it has done wrong, so will just be hurt and confused by your actions!

General Care

Guinea pigs are not difficult to care for and make rewarding pets. Here are just a few tips to help get you started on the right track! 

Cleaning Out   

Most guinea pigs are quite messy creatures, and will poo and urinate anywhere in their cage. Their cages generally need cleaning out twice a week. This just means you will need to remove the soiled newspaper and straw, wipe out the cage floor (with animal cage cleaner) and put new newspaper down to cover the floor.

It is best to use straw or hay on top of the newspaper to provide them with a soft flooring and to stop them eating the newspapers! Do not use sawdust or wood shavings in your pets cage as this can cause guinea pigs respiratory problems and eye infections!

Housing  

The type of cage and accessories you use for your pet should be carefully considered. If an outdoor cage is what suits you then you should find an area in your garden that is well sheltered. To prevent them getting cold at night it is best to cover the cage front to stop wind and drafts, adequate bedding should also be provided for your guinea pigs to snuggle up in! (this could be extra hay, towels, or a 'cuddley cup', which is a type of guinea pig bed.)

If an indoor cage is what you prefer, then it is important to consider where you will put the cage. You should keep in mind that the guinea pig cage might begin to smell at times during the week. Guinea pigs also have very sensitive hearing and do not like loud or high pitched noise, so should not be housed near loud, noisey areas.

Feeding   

What you feed your guinea pig is also important, because certain foods can make them ill. Feeding a guinea pig potatoes, chocolate and unknown plants from the garden is dangerous and can make your pet very ill. However, there are plenty of foods that you can feed a guinea pig, such as strawberries, carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, grapes, bannana and grass (make sure that the grass has not been sprayed with chemicals or fouled by dogs/cats). These should be feed as a regular supplement to their diet.       

A guinea pig's main food should be a 'complete guinea pig food', which can be bought in pet shops and supermarkets everywhere. A complete guinea pig food contains many of the ingredients a guinea pig needs from day to day and provides a balanced diet. It is very important to purchase one that contains high levels of vitamin C, because guinea pigs do not make this in their bodies and need to ingest it to get the sufficient levels they need. The recommended minimum level of Vitamin C needed each day by a guinea pig, is between 10-50 mg. To achieve these levels they must be fed atleast half a cup of fresh greens (fruit and vegetables) each day.

Handling   

Handling your pet is a good way to bond with it and to make it tame. Not only does the guinea pig enjoy being stroked and cuddled, but you will find this rewarding aswell. It is neccesary to pick up a guinea pig carefully, supporting their bottom and middle with both hands. Never drop a guinea pig, because this can lead to broken legs, backs and fatal injury! It is important to supervise children all the time, when they are handling an animal because the animal and the child are unpredictable and the child may harm the guinea pig accidentally or intentionally. So it is important to stop this from happening.