How long can guinea pigs live?
Most guinea pigs are expected to live 5 to 7 years. Occasionally, the pigs can live over 10 years, if they are given proper care. Aging guinea pigs can suffer from cataracts, stroke, heart attacks, arthritis, dementia. My guinea pigs (3 of them) lived to be just over 8 years. So, I am happy to share some tips.1. Buy the largest possible cage to provide adequate room to exercise. Place the cage in an area and with enough light, and in an area your guinea pigs can see you. Use guinea-pig bedding bought at the pet shop and change it regularly so your guinea pig doesn’t live in its own feces. Place the cage in a room with a stable temperature. Guinea pigs can't stand too high or too low of room temperature.2. Provide a balanced diet. Grass hay should be a main staple, and I think highly of the brand Oxbow. Well washed vegetables, including leafy greens are a treat for guinea pigs. Bell pepper is a good choice because it is high in vitamin C and low in Calcium, as well as green leaf lettuce, escarole, red leaf lettuce, cilantro, and curly endive. So, be sure to feed your pet vegetables high in vitamin C on a daily basis since pigs are not able to produce this on their own. Avoid food with large concentration of calcium, a potential cause of urinary infection. You may include fruit such a apples, strawberries and bananas in small quantities a couple time a week.3. Add a few toys such as ball or tunnels. Make an obstacle course with various objects. Be sure your pet has some good places to hide.4. Be sure to own more than one pig. Guinea pigs are very sociable and love company (including your company). Keep guinea pigs of the same sex or already spayed/neutered pairs. While guinea pigs are social animals, they can still fight with each other.5. Play regularly with your pet. Guinea pigs love action and will welcome a good playing session with you. We found our animals enjoyed music like soft jazz, classical and smooth R& B. If you take them in the garden, be sure to protect the pigs from predators such as cats or birds.6. Find a veterinarian who has expertise in exotic pets. Don’t wait for a problem to happen to bring your guinea pig to a specialist. Bring your pet regularly to the vet (perhaps annually) to check-up to detect potential health issues, or sooner if you think pig has issues.
I have an overpopulation, of guinea pigs. help ! ?
Firstly, about your pregnant females. There is no problem with having females that are pregnant or have very young babies living together. They don't need to be separated (not even by splitting the cage up) AS LONG AS they got pregnant at the same time. While there is no risk of either mother harming the other's babies (sometimes they'll even share the feeding of all the babies together!) it can be dangerous to have two pregnant mothers together if their babies are due at different times. This is because one female giving birth can often trigger the other to go into labour as well, and if her babies aren't developed enough to survive they will die. We once had a major disaster of this kind when one of our pregnant females gave birth and triggered off all the others (and we had lots at different stages!) and we had a lot of miscarriages of premature babies and underdeveloped foetuses and all sorts of gruesome things! If you're confident your two pregnant females are due at the same time, let them just share the whole cage together! And you can put the other mother and babies in there too provided they get along okay. That might help your space problems. However if your mothers are likely to be due at different times, keep them completely apart - not just partitioned - or it could end in disaster! As your babies grow up, remember to separate the male babies from their mothers and sisters at around 3 weeks of age. Although it can be as late as 8-10 weeks, some male guinea pigs are capable of breeding from as early as 4 weeks, and I'm sure you don't want any more population explosions! The pups finish nursing at around 3 weeks anyway so they'll be fine away from Mum. Personally I'd advise you to try and find new homes for at least some of the male babies if you can. The females can all live together in a nice cosy 'herd' if you want, but males do not always get on with each other, especially if they can hear/smell females anywhere nearby. They may start to fight when they're older, even if the two you have now don't. EDIT: I don't know if you realise this or not, but female guinea pigs become receptive again immediately after giving birth. I'm kind of confused as to whether all the males and females are separate at the moment or what, but just make sure the males are not with any of the females - those expecting or those that have given birth!
My guinea pig is panting.. i think?
What is happening with your guinea pig sadly is very common and it is going to lead to his death if you do not get him to an exotic vet asap. Guinea pigs often get upper respiratory infections while in transportation to the pet store from the stress of it all, of they are shipped with rabbits the chances are much higher as rabbits carry a bacteria that is harmless to them but will give the guinea pig an URI. Guinea pigs are prey animals and will hide all signs of illness until it reaches the acute stages, this is how they survive in the wild, however, it makes it difficult to get them medical care in a timely manner.My guess is your little tyke has been ill but kept it hidden and now is at the point he can no longer hide it and he needs medical help asap. If you do not know how to find an exotic vet just call what ever vet is close to you and ask for who is treating guinea pigs in your area and they will know. Guinea pigs are difficult to treat as they are very sensitive to many medications, what will cure your cat will kill your guinea pig and the exotic vet is on top of all of this.
How do I help a guinea pig get better from a cold?
The very first thing you do is ensure habitat, dietary, and sanitation needs are being met. Without these, any guinea is more susceptible to illness. It's all but guaranteed. I'll touch on dietary and sanitation in this answer. Dietary Your guinea needs a diet high in fiber. Look for a high quality pellet diet as the base or staple food. In addition, your guinea will require hay and vitamin c supplementation. Both are very important. Hay is primarily for fiber content and digestion aid but can not be overlooked. Guineas, like humans, can not synthesize their own vitamin c. They require pretty much daily doses of it to avoid becoming ill. You can do this through a slice or two of orange every day or any of the many commercial supplements available from your local pet store. Guineas also benefit from fresh veggies and fruits. Dark leafy greens, carrots, squash, etc. These should also be given daily. Sanitation Your guinea requires a clean habitat to remain healthy. These guys are eating and pooping machines so regular cleaning is a must. At the bare minimum, the habitat should be stripped down, cleaned, and sanitized weekly. Use commercial products which are safe for your pet for cleaning and sanitization. You can also use a 3% bleach solution (1 cup bleach to 1 gallon water) for sanitizing. Just make sure you rinse the habitat and allow it to dry before placing your guinea back. Despite following these important steps to help prevent disease, your guinea can still become ill. The key here is being observant. If you see runny nose, snot bubbles, weepy eyes, lethargy, heavy breathing, wheezing, etc, it's time for a vet visit. 99% of diseases can be cured if caught early and antibiotics are starting. If you wait, it may be too late. Hopefully this helps.
Will other female guinea pigs help to take care of new babies that are not their own?
Make sure you get the boar out of the cage before she gives birth. Guinea Pigs are extremely fertile for a few hours right after they give birth. The boar will mate with her immediately after she gives birth. And she will get pregnant. Don't make this mistake. A back to back pregnancy is extremely hard on a sow, especially while she's nursing a litter. She will have a riskier pregnancy and could possibly die too.If always left my sows together. If I had 2 sows that had litters at the same time I noticed that the babies would nurse from whichever sow they could. One of my sows, Brownie, refused all babies except her own but the others used to interchangeably nurse each other's babies.
When can guinea pigs eat vegetables?
That is not true. Guinea pigs of any age should be fed a variety of vegetables twice a day. This should mainly be made up of leafy greens.
Guinea pig question, why is he acting weird?
OMG, these kind of things really get to me, i can't believe you did not do any more research than you have. You have to get the mom away form both males asap and just pray she is not pregnant as of yet as back to back pregnancy's on guinea pigs is a most certain death sentence. A female guinea pig goes into estrus just after giving birth and can get pregnant, she just can not be around a male. I am going to assume i got to you to late so here is what must be done. The mom must have Alfalfa hay in her cage at all times, I mean all times so she will not loose weight while nursing these pups and her body is growing the new ones. She must have at least 1 cup of dark green leafy veggies a day + vitamin C in her water. She should have unlimited pellets.The pellets must have 18% protein and 600 mg of C per lb. You must take extra careful care of her so she stands a chance with the second litter. The males are simply fighting over who was going to mate with her, and clearly they figured that out.
Can the average guinea pig swim?
Most guinea pigs can swim. Some actually like it, most do not and do so as a survival skill. Despite what some others have said here, they are not terrified of water if introduced to it gently. What terrifies them is being put in the totally unfamiliar environment suddenly. When we bathe pigs and put them in a dry sink and then slowly add the water, we don't have any panic at all, even with first timers. That said, please do not plunk your pig in water to see if he will swim. It serves no purpose and the odds are good he won't like it so why put him through it! Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should! As to hamsters, I have no idea but my bet is that it isn't a good idea for them either!