Hello, nice to meet you! I'll try to give you some answers to the best of my knowlegde!
1. What illnesses are guinea pigs prone to? Piggies can get a respiratory infection very easily, from allerigies, or just a cool draft. My piggies have never had one..so its not THAT commong - like 'happens-every-day' sorta thing but it happens. The signs of a RI are easy to see most of the time. Those are: drainage from the eyes or nose, and a clicking noise when they breathe. The vet can give you antibiotics for this. Also piggies tend to have some problems with their urinary tract. Stones, infections, etc. signs of this are blood in their waste, and vocalizing when urinating.
2. What is the best food for guinea pigs? They need pellets (from the pet stores- for guinea pigs only), timothy hay is a must it aids in digestion and not to mention they love it, and fruits/veggies daily or every 2 days or so. Not too many though. my piggies favorites are a slice of an apple, or a baby carrot, or 2 seedless green grapes, or even a slice of kiwi. all piggie's taste buds are different.
3. Do they need injections? Not regular's like dogs and cats do, however if your piggie get's a parasite or fungus on or under the skin, injections are needed. Also, piggies are hard to give oral medication to, so any other kind of antibiotics your piggie might need for illnesses are usually given thru injections.
4. Where is the best place to keep guinea pigs (winter,summer)? I keep my piggies inside all year round. A lot of cavy savy's build hutches for their piggies so that they can be outside and in a cage at the same time. Piggies cant be in the direct sunlight for long periods of time, they CAN develop heat stroke which is serious.
5. Whats the minimum size for a hutch (as i would make it double this size)? it depends on how many piggies you have. you have to make sure they have enough room for water bottle, food bowls, someplace for them to hide (a tube, wooden house, etc.), and ample room for playing, scurrying, and "pop-corning" around.
6. What can you do about mites? Mites is easily treated with usually 3 injections of invomec, one every 10 or so days. each shot costs approx. 12$
7. How can you convince my Dad to let me have a pair of piggies? My dad dislikes animals. He would never let me have a puppy or a cat or ANYTHING. However, he loves one kind of animal... GP's. Believe it or not! My family has raised guinea's since i was very young, and my dad loves them. Their so cute! How could he resist!? They're pretty low maintenance. Cage cleaning about once a week. Food everyday, and of course plenty of cuddle time.
8. Are guinea pigs crazy? no way! they're soo adorable. each one has their own personality! They have such a sense of humor is cute!
9. What size should a run be? However big you want to make it. Make sure if your run is built on grass that the grass has not been blemished my dog/cat feces. That can give your piggie e.coli.
10. what do they like the best, vegetable wise? Different piggies have different tastes. you just have to try differnt things. Most piggies like carrots & grapes.. but each one likes other things also.
11. Whats the best bedding? NO CEDAR SHAVINGS! this is very harmful to the piggie. they are allergic to it and they could develop a respiratory problem. I use "softsorb" which is pretty much just balls of paper. You can buy it at your local pet store. its not expensive and its flushable.
..and we dont mind at all! You're inquisitive..
if you need anything else you can check my profile - my sn's are on there, feel free to I'm or email! Or visit my website if you'd like! It's just been started up so it's not fully rolling yet, but feel free!
Piggie Talk!
-Shannon
:smitten:Tucker&Ellah
;D
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