This year, and for the first time ever, guinea pigs have had their very own GPAW - ‘Guinea Pig Awareness Week’. It started on Monday 22nd March and runs until Sunday, 28th March.

Guinea pigs make great pets, but please do your homework before buying one, firstly they can live for 8-10 years! They are a lifelong commitment and need the correct care and love, as any other pet.

Sadly, in 2020 the RSPCA received calls on 600 incidents involving guinea pigs. This includes 119 involving abandonments and 317 about neglect. The reason for this dedicated awareness week is to educate people on what a guinea pig needs, such as diet, husbandry, and basic care.

This article is full of knowledge, fun facts, and top tips to help you with your guinea pig or help you decide whether they are the right pet for you.

Diet

First, we are going to discuss diet - one of the most important things for a guinea pig. Guinea pigs require 85-90% of their diet to be fresh, good quality hay. It should have a slightly green tinge and smell fresh. If the hay is too dry and dusty, your guinea pig won’t eat enough of it!

The hay has two benefits; as guinea pigs are hind gut fermenters, they need fibre to keep their guts moving and create energy. The fibre also helps to wear their teeth down, which is necessary because they have open rooted teeth, which means they are constantly growing.

They need nuggets containing Vitamin C (or Vitamin C put in their water), and we recommend a balanced nugget food not mixed. They need an egg cup of dry food a day. Guinea pigs also like a supply of fresh greens and peppers, which can be used as a snack. Hiding the treats in a paper tunnel filled with hay will mean your pig has to work harder to find the food. Constant access to fresh water is also essential.

Housing

Guinea pigs can live indoors or outdoors. If your guinea pigs live outdoors, their housing should be permanently attached to a larger space where they can exercise freely at any point in the day or night. The housing itself should be as big as possible, but an absolute minimum of 1.5m x 1m with an additional 2m x 1m predator proof run.

Guinea pigs living indoors must also have the same size requirements as a minimum. The enclosure should be placed in an area that is quiet and peaceful and free from drafts, chills, extreme heat, and sudden temperature changes.

They need lots of places to hide; cardboard boxes, igloos and tunnels are great hiding items but can also be used for foraging opportunities. Fill the cardboard boxes up with hay and hide some dry pellets or greens.

Health & Wellbeing

Guinea pigs are social creatures and prefer to be in groups. We would highly recommend that you always have more than one guinea pig, and if they are different sexes, neutering is essential.

Guinea pigs should be health checked every year by a Vet. If your guinea pig stops eating, becomes quiet and sheepish, these can be signs of pain and you should be taking your guinea pig to the Vets for a check.

Dental disease is the main reason we see guinea pigs in our clinic. It is extremely important that a guinea pig’s diet is mainly hay. Guinea pig’s teeth constantly grow, if they do not have the correct diet, their teeth will not be naturally worn down and this can cause overgrowth of the molar teeth. This, in turn, can stop your guinea pig from eating.

If your guinea pig is due a health check, please call us on 01665 0252 250.