Giving your guinea pig the best care

Guinea pigs are fantastic pets that will live for between 3- 8 years, given the right care. They are social animals who should be kept in pairs or groups and ARC will only rehome a single guinea pig if we can bond them with one you already own.

All guinea pigs are different and have their own personalities. Some are extremely confident whilst others are a little more flighty and sensitive at first, but with patience they will learn to trust you.

They make an ideal pet as they don’t bite like hamsters and are much happier to be picked up and cuddled. They are best held in the lap rather than carried about.  Small children must always be supervised whilst handling them as they have very delicate bones and can be easily crushed or suffer serious injury or worse if dropped.  Adults should supervise or be fully responsible for feeding, cleaning and overall care and weekly check-over of your guinea pig is very important.

Guinea pigs will ‘talk’ to you and make a variety of noises – ‘wheeking’ to shout for food, (they quickly learn that the sound of the fridge door, a rustling bag and chopping mean food), ‘purring’ when happy and ‘chattering’ their teeth when cross.

Food

Every day guinea pigs need:

  • water from a bottle or bowl
  • a big handful of hay
  • pellets such as Excel (not muesli as they pick out the nice bits)
  • a handful of fresh food containing vitamin C. This could be grass, parsley, apple, carrot, carrot tops, grapes, pepper, spinach, broccoli or dandelions. Lettuce is not recommended as it does not contain enough vitamin C which is vital for a guinea pig’s health.

Guinea pigs need fresh fruit and vegetables every day as they can’t store Vitamin C in their bodies. They will get extremely poorly without it.

Guinea pigs need company

Guinea pigs can be kept in same sex groups or pairs. A neutered male can be kept with a female (see neutering tab above for more information). Pairs of young males may need to be separated and neutered to later bond with females, if they start to fight as they grow up.

It is wise to have your guinea pig professionally sexed if you are looking for a companion. Many innocent mistakes have been made and it is extremely dangerous for females aged over 10 months to breed as their pelvic bones fuse, resulting in obstructed birth which can be fatal. All ARC rescue guinea pigs will have been sexed before re-homing.

Guinea pigs should never be kept with rabbits, as rabbits can accidentally kill or injure them by kicking them with their strong back legs.

Housing

Guinea pigs are best housed indoors where they get plenty of interaction with their owners. They need a cage measuring 140cm for a pair, 150cm for a trio and bigger for a quad or more. ARC does not recommend 2-storey cages with ramps as guinea pigs have suffered injury and fatalities from falling off ramps. There is a wide choice of guinea pig housing these days from reputable online shops such as Kavee who sell C&C set ups which offer lots of space for your guinea pigs to run around.

Alternatively you can find 140cm cages on sites such as zooplus (we always recommend you go bigger than the minimum if you can).

If you do choose to keep your guinea pigs outside, outdoor hutches need to be single-level, raised slightly off the ground, wind and rain-proof and of solid build. Guinea pigs suffer from the cold, so hutches must be covered with tarpaulins, thick plastic or bubble wrap in the winter, they should have lots of extra hay to keep warm and heat pads such as snuggle safe pads. They should be brought indoors during the coldest months.

Hutches must be fox-proof, with secure bolts and strong rigid wire – be advised that chicken wire is easy for foxes to bite through. Please note that ARC do not rehome to outside set ups.

Newspaper is great to line their cage and a big pile of hay as bedding. Avoid straw which can hurt their eyes. Sawdust and wood shavings can also cause causing breathing problems. Other bedding options are Megazorb, Fitch, fleece or chenille bath mats which are a firm favourite of ours! These will need changing at least twice a week and of course daily spot cleaning is a must.

When cleaning their cage spray with an animal friendly antiseptic before putting newspaper and hay back down.

If your guinea pig lives outside, please make sure that ‘out of sight’ is not ‘out of mind’. Guinea pigs need daily care in all weathers. You will also need someone to care for your guinea pigs when you go away for the weekend or on holiday – guinea pigs need daily fresh food and water and must be cleaned out regularly with daily spot cleaning. Fresh hay must be available at all times and topped up daily.

All guinea pigs love to graze on grass in warm weather. They need a secure run with a roof to keep them safe from predators and a shelter to protect them from sun and rain. They love an upturned cardboard box to hide under (cut a piggy sized doorway in it first!) Avoid using plastic hides in the summer as these get extremely hot.Access at all times to water is also a must.

Other guinea pig resources

Guinea Pig Awareness Week (GPAW)

Here at ARC we are big supporters of guinea pig awareness week (GPAW). You can download this handy guide to guinea pigs for more information on taking care of your piggy pals.

Guinea pig diseases

The most common diseases to be aware of are:

  • Scurvy – caused by lack of vitamin C. This causes difficulty walking, and swollen joints. Guinea pigs need fresh fruit and vegetables daily.
  • Taxacarus Caviae – many piggies carry this skin mite and show no symptoms unless they become ill or stressed. A vet can treat it.
  • Ring Worm – fungal infection which can be caused by living in damp conditions. The hutch/home must be cleaned out regularly.

Go to the vet if your guinea pig has:

  • Intense itching and scratching
  • Raw skin from self inflicted rubbing
  • Serious loss of weight due to little rest owing to the itch

All guinea pigs in the group should be treated even if only one is infected.

  • Respiratory Infections – these can develop and worsen very quickly in guinea pigs.  Go to the vet urgently if your guinea pig is sneezing, has a runny nose or has breathing difficulties.  Treatments include antibiotics and steroid injections.  Prevention includes keeping piggies out of drafts, cleaning them out regularly and not using sawdust or woodchips for bedding.
  • Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and bladder stones – if there is no urine, or urine is smelly or contains blood, your guinea-pig needs urgent vet treatment. UTIs can be treated with antibiotics. Bladder stones may need surgery to remove them. To reduce risk, restrict high calcium foods such as curly kale, spinach and strawberries.

Neutering

Guinea pigs are born furry with their eyes open and can start breeding from a very early age. ARC recommends that the males and females are separated aged 1 month and that males who are 6 months and over are neutered if they are going to be paired with a female.

A period of at least 4 weeks must elapse before putting a newly neutered male with a female.