Vitamin C
The most important fact to know about guinea pigs is that, like us humans, they need a daily intake of Vitamin C. This can be provided by providing a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables. Most good guinea pig dry mixes now also contain vitamin C. Carrots and Broccoli are great sources of vitamin C, and a carrot a day keeps the vet away!
The dry food
Guinea pigs like a bowl of dry food a day. Make sure you get a brand made specifically for guinea pigs, as it will have vitamin C included in it. Only buy a quantity that they are likely to eat in 3-4wks, as if the dry food is kept longer and allowed to go stale the vitamin content will decrease.
Fresh food
Guinea pigs will eat virtually anything! As well as grass in the summer, they can be given a variety of wild plants such as dandelions, plantains, chickweed and milk thistle. When wild plants are not available they can be given vegetables, herbs and fruit. The key is to introduce as many different fresh foods when they are young, as they may be reluctant to try something new as they get older. The only no-nos from the kitchen are potato peelings.
Grass
During the summer, and when they are in their eglu, grass will provide the main component of their diet. They will graze (and fertilise!) your grass for hours. They make excellent lawnmowers. In the spring, when the first rapid growth of grass occurs, they should only spend 1-2 hours outside, as this grass can be very rich and cause digestive upsets. They can then build up their grass-eating hours, so that by the summertime they can be outside all day.
Hay - not straw
Hay is the other most important daily component of their diet. Only the best quality hay should be fed, and it should not be either dusty or mouldy. If you have somewhere to store it, it is often worthwhile to buy a bale from a farm, of a quality that would be fed to horses. As well as eating it, they will snuggle under it for warmth. Straw should not be used; it has no nutritional value, and the sharpness of its stalks often causes eye injuries as the guinea pigs burrow around in it.
Water
Water is very important, and their water bottle should be refilled daily. If they are eating a lot of grass and fresh food, which will be full of moisture, they may drink very little from their bottle, but it is still very important to provide water at all times. If the weather is cold the water may freeze, and need to be thawed and refilled more frequently. Over the winter soluble vitamin C can be added to the drinking water to make sure they are getting enough of this important vitamin.
Treats
There are lots of different treats available from pet shops, many based on carbohydrates, or sweets like yogurt drops. These are all expensive gimmicks, and your guinea pig will be far happier (and healthier) with an extra carrot!
Caecotrophs
Don't worry, your guinea pig will prepare and eat these by himself, you don't need to become involved! Caecotrophs are the soft (and smelly) droppings that the guinea pig produces, usually overnight, and are full of protein and vitamins. There are formed during the process of digestion, and are designed to be eaten as soon as they are passed. So don't be disgusted if you catch him eating his own poo he is doing it to stay healthy.
Some breeds will need more grooming than others, however even the short coated breeds like the attention, and regular grooming is the best way to keep a close look out for any skin problems. A soft brush is best for these guinea pigs.
The longer haired breeds such as the Sheltie and Peruvian need a lot more attention, and a comb, as well as a brush, is needed in the hairdressing kit. Daily grooming is best, and Peruvians that enter shows often have their flowing locks kept in wrappers to keep then clean and tidy. Long haired guinea pigs that are kept as pets benefit from having the hair around their bottoms trimmed short, otherwise they are forever weeing down their trousers!
The Abyssinians, those are the ones with so many rosettes that their hair grows in many different directions, are groomed most easily with an old toothbrush!
It shouldn't really be necessary to bath your guinea pig, unless you want it to look extra smart before a pet show. However, all guinea pigs have a grease gland where their tail should be, and in the older ones, especially males, their coat can become covered in dark grease. This grease can be loosened with a lubricant such as swarfega, and then the whole guinea pig can be shampooed and rinsed well afterwards.
Thankfully, guinea pigs are very hardy creatures, and if kept clean and fed well they rarely become sick. There are, however, some daily checks you should make, to ensure that your guinea pig stays well, it also helps you to notice any change very quickly, and visit your vet at the first sign of illness.
Eyes
The eyes should be clear and bright, with no sign of cloudiness or discharge. An eye that suddenly goes cloudy may mean that the guinea pig has got an ulcer as a result of a piece of hay in its eye. Any eye problems require urgent veterinary attention. Guinea pigs do normally secrete a milky discharge from their eyes, which precedes grooming, as they use it on their paws to groom themselves, if you see this you do not need to worry about it.
Nose
The nose should be clean, and as with the eyes, shouldn't be runny. Any discharge or sneezing may suggest that your guinea pig has a cold.
The coat
The fur should be dense and clean. Any patches of hair loss or areas where the skin is red and sore may suggest that your guinea pig has mites. Watch him closely, is he scratching more than usual? Mites burrow under the skin and cause a distressing condition called mange, and the sooner you spot any problem, the sooner you can get it treated, something your guinea pig will certainly thank you for. Sometimes you may see little tiny nits walking on your guinea pigs fur, these are hay mites, which are harmless and a simple shampoo will get rid of them for you.
The feet
Check the nails, and never let them get too long. Guinea pigs have no fur on the bottom of their feet, so check the bottom of their feet regularly for any sign of soreness. If their feet are sore their bedding wants to be as soft as possible, wood shavings and soft meadow hay is best.
The bottom
Yes, this bit needs checking too... The whole area should be clean and dry. If the guinea pig is wet and smelly between its legs it may have a urine infection. Old boys may also get a problem where their poo gets stuck, and they are no longer able to eat the sticky caecotrophs as they should. Your vet will be able to show you how to help them.
A Spring in your step
At the beginning of the year the grass may not be growing much, and you will need more trips to the supermarket for vegetable shopping! Once the grass does start to grow it will be very rich, and the guinea pigs will not be used to eating it, so they should initially only spend 1-2hrs on the grass a day, to avoid stomach upsets.
By April the weeds will be starting to grow (may be weeds to you, but are delicacies for your guinea pigs!) and you can start picking dandelions, milk thistle and plantains.
The Summer time
By now your guinea pigs are likely to be out all the time, and feeding them at this time of year will be cheap, as they can eat grass all day. They will be doing a good job of mowing and fertilising your garden at the same time! Do remember to provide them some shade from the heat of the sun. Guinea pigs do not appeared to be troubled by flies in the same way that rabbits are, but it is still important to check them daily to make sure they have clean bottoms.
Remember, Remember the 5th of November (and your Guinea Pig)
The most important date to remember in autumn is November 5th. Please think about all your pets at this time, as fireworks are very frightening for dogs, cats and rabbits as well as guinea pigs. It may be sensible to bring them indoors if you know of a fireworks party near you.
Brr - don't forget your Guinea Pig
By now it is getting cold again. The eglu is well insulated, and if it is also packed with hay, your guinea pigs will be cosy. There will be less grass around, so it's back to the supermarket again! Guinea pigs should not be put out on frosty grass, as this will cause digestive upsets (similarly, salad should not be fed directly from the fridge).
Remember that the drinking water may freeze, and need to be replaced more often. It is often easier to have two bottles, and rotate them, bringing a fresh one from indoors each time, rather than having to crack the ice each time.
It may be worth considering adding some extra vitamin C to their drinking water at this time, either in the form of sugar-free ribena, or as soluble vitamin C tablets.
