squeakysmallpaws
Junior Guinea Pig
So I love reading and I have a tonne of books on guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters - not to mention a stack on my kindle!
I was wondering what books that most people recommend? I thought I'd put together a book review and hope others would do the same!
My favourite:
Training your Pet Guinea Pig: Gerry Bucsis and Barbara Somervile
This is a completely modern book with advice such as, how to build a C&C cage - and repeatedly stresses how big the cage should be. It also refers to the web a lot and has a list of useful websites for a reader to turn to.
Quote "In the past, the recommended habitat space per guinea pig was only 2 square feet. This translates into a cage that is about 12 x 24 inches. Can you imagine that? That would be like being cooped up in a small bathroom all your life..........Two cavies need atleast 10.5 square metres..........A good sized cage might cost more than you're expecting.......if you can't afford something suitable put off your pet purchase until you've saved enough for a cavy-friendly cage."
She lists the noises and what they mean and helps the reader learn when a good time to play with your guinea pig is.
Some chapter titles I know you'll think are good include:
An only cavy is a lonely cavy
Learning your guinea pig's mood
Settling in - stress free homecoming
Bonding takes time
Everything is about keeping things positive and I think overall giving your guinea pig a more interesting and enjoyable life.
Now I'm not one for making a guinea pig walk through a hoop, walk with a leash etc but I still gained a lot from this book overall and from the way it's written nothing in the book appears cruel of mean. "Tricks" they teach are, 'rolling a ball', "coming when called" and all is about learning through treats - plus there's lots of things about making toys and playing with your guinea pig.
Her general guidelines for "training" is listed in a serious of do's and don'ts, for example,
DO
Speak nicely to your pet
Keep training sessions short
DON'T
Scold or punish
Yell out your cues
For me the book brings about a postive message for the general owner - guinea pigs aren't pets you can't do much with and therefore end up left in a hutch and forgotten about. I think this would encourage children to keep with their guinea pig rather than getting bored.
The books general overall message is, I think summed up in this paragraph:
"Think how bored you would be if you had to sit around in a small room all day with nothing to do. Wouldn't you go stir crazy?....{So take a long hard look at the life you're providing for your guinea pigs. Are you letting them languish day after day, or are you providing them with interesting and stimulating activities?"
It's written for adults/teenagers - but best bit about it - there's no long chapters on breeding etc - I mean why the collins FAMILY guide to guinea pigs needs to includes several pages worth of information on how to breed your guinea pig is beyond me! This book instead has an entire chapter dedicated to introducing guinea pigs to one another and what to do if your guinea pigs fall out - much more useful!
I particularly like the fact that she made a point of including the below;
Quote, "Guinea pigs can become sexually active by the time they're three or four weeks old, so males and females should be seperated as soon as they're weaned. Unfortunately, not everyone selling guinea pigs knows how to tell the sex of a young pup, and many guinea pig owners end up with more pets then they paid for. To avoid a surprise litter, check with a knowledgable breeder or vet, or do some internet research and learn to tell the sexes apart. This way, when you're looking at a group of guinea pigs, you'll know if the sexes have been properly segregated."
Deffinietly not everyone's cup of tea - some readers may take the view, guinea pigs aren't dogs! But I think using a degree of your common sense when approaching this book there's a lot to gain from it.
Overall score - 7/10 - there's a number of things I'd change about this book but with it's reference to the internet and it's overall approach it does a lot to change the mentality of guinea pig owning and goes way beyond the days of 'you can keep your guinea pig in a hutch outside, as long as they have hay they'll be warm' and "if your guinea pig is nervous take away all it's hidies and tunnels, it will have to get used to you then." - the writings of Margaret Edward - Guinea Piglopaedia. Although Margaret does do a lot for the illness side of thing.
So out of a small pool of guinea pig books to choose from, this is the one I'd recommend. Not perfect but a step in the right direction.
Book can be purchased from amazon £6.39.
Hope other people can make some recommendations/give their opinion on guinea related books
x
I was wondering what books that most people recommend? I thought I'd put together a book review and hope others would do the same!
My favourite:
Training your Pet Guinea Pig: Gerry Bucsis and Barbara Somervile
This is a completely modern book with advice such as, how to build a C&C cage - and repeatedly stresses how big the cage should be. It also refers to the web a lot and has a list of useful websites for a reader to turn to.
Quote "In the past, the recommended habitat space per guinea pig was only 2 square feet. This translates into a cage that is about 12 x 24 inches. Can you imagine that? That would be like being cooped up in a small bathroom all your life..........Two cavies need atleast 10.5 square metres..........A good sized cage might cost more than you're expecting.......if you can't afford something suitable put off your pet purchase until you've saved enough for a cavy-friendly cage."
She lists the noises and what they mean and helps the reader learn when a good time to play with your guinea pig is.
Some chapter titles I know you'll think are good include:
An only cavy is a lonely cavy
Learning your guinea pig's mood
Settling in - stress free homecoming
Bonding takes time
Everything is about keeping things positive and I think overall giving your guinea pig a more interesting and enjoyable life.
Now I'm not one for making a guinea pig walk through a hoop, walk with a leash etc but I still gained a lot from this book overall and from the way it's written nothing in the book appears cruel of mean. "Tricks" they teach are, 'rolling a ball', "coming when called" and all is about learning through treats - plus there's lots of things about making toys and playing with your guinea pig.
Her general guidelines for "training" is listed in a serious of do's and don'ts, for example,
DO
Speak nicely to your pet
Keep training sessions short
DON'T
Scold or punish
Yell out your cues
For me the book brings about a postive message for the general owner - guinea pigs aren't pets you can't do much with and therefore end up left in a hutch and forgotten about. I think this would encourage children to keep with their guinea pig rather than getting bored.
The books general overall message is, I think summed up in this paragraph:
"Think how bored you would be if you had to sit around in a small room all day with nothing to do. Wouldn't you go stir crazy?....{So take a long hard look at the life you're providing for your guinea pigs. Are you letting them languish day after day, or are you providing them with interesting and stimulating activities?"
It's written for adults/teenagers - but best bit about it - there's no long chapters on breeding etc - I mean why the collins FAMILY guide to guinea pigs needs to includes several pages worth of information on how to breed your guinea pig is beyond me! This book instead has an entire chapter dedicated to introducing guinea pigs to one another and what to do if your guinea pigs fall out - much more useful!
I particularly like the fact that she made a point of including the below;
Quote, "Guinea pigs can become sexually active by the time they're three or four weeks old, so males and females should be seperated as soon as they're weaned. Unfortunately, not everyone selling guinea pigs knows how to tell the sex of a young pup, and many guinea pig owners end up with more pets then they paid for. To avoid a surprise litter, check with a knowledgable breeder or vet, or do some internet research and learn to tell the sexes apart. This way, when you're looking at a group of guinea pigs, you'll know if the sexes have been properly segregated."
Deffinietly not everyone's cup of tea - some readers may take the view, guinea pigs aren't dogs! But I think using a degree of your common sense when approaching this book there's a lot to gain from it.
Overall score - 7/10 - there's a number of things I'd change about this book but with it's reference to the internet and it's overall approach it does a lot to change the mentality of guinea pig owning and goes way beyond the days of 'you can keep your guinea pig in a hutch outside, as long as they have hay they'll be warm' and "if your guinea pig is nervous take away all it's hidies and tunnels, it will have to get used to you then." - the writings of Margaret Edward - Guinea Piglopaedia. Although Margaret does do a lot for the illness side of thing.
So out of a small pool of guinea pig books to choose from, this is the one I'd recommend. Not perfect but a step in the right direction.
Book can be purchased from amazon £6.39.
Hope other people can make some recommendations/give their opinion on guinea related books
x