There is no denying the popularity of guinea pigs as pets, especially for children, mainly thanks to the wonderful temperaments that they possess.
These guys are quite social, rarely bite anyone even if they are under stress, and they are known for their ability to stick to a schedule throughout the day.
In addition to those good points, the guinea pigs are also quite the lookers with their chubby body, fur as soft as a feather, and those incredibly adorable legs.
That is exactly why there have been not many pet owners can resist the heart-melting charms that these guys ooze.
As they are, at the end of the day, domesticated pets, it is only natural that guinea pigs will be requiring quite a lot of love and care throughout their life.
However, they are still quite different from the other kinds of pets in that they are actually quite a lot less demanding to raise.
That said, it is still quite a chore raising them, so let’s look at some frequently asked questions, shall we?
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FAQs-Knowledge About Guinea Pigs
Why is my guinea pig always so hungry?
As you may know, guinea pigs are indeed herbivore. Thus, they have a tendency to eat all of the time while they are not sleeping.
As such, you should be giving the guinea pig access an unlimited amount of fresh, clean grass hay. In addition, you can also feed your guinea pigs some commercial pellets that have vitamin C.
Each day, you should be feeding each guinea pig fresh leafy green of about one cup worth. They can be parsley, kale, spinach, or lettuce.
You can also provide them some other kinds of vegetable like zucchini or carrots. However, remember to limit this to two or maybe three times each week.
There is also the possibility of treats, which can be any kind of fruit cut to small pieces such as banana, blueberries, or apple.
Remember that treats can only be given every now and then.
While they can get a lot of water from the foods mentioned above, you should also never forget to give them sufficient clean water.
If the piggy is having trouble accessing the hay constantly or the suggested additional foods are not provided, then you are simply feeding it insufficiently.
Click here for some great food for guinea pigs!
What should you do if your guinea pig is getting thin?
Please, make sure to first check if you are feeding the piggy sufficiently.
As I have mentioned above, the piggy will be requiring one to one and a half cup full of green every single day.
Just remember that you should be giving him access to plenty of grass and unlimited hay as well as the additional stuff.
After making sure that it was not your insufficient feeding, then you should check if the little guy is being bullied away from the food.
More often than not, the other pigs in the same cage are the culprits. If this is true, then you would need to start feeding him alone.
In the case of the pig being the only one that you are raising, then there is a high chance that it is getting lonely.
I’m completely serious, as guinea pigs are sociable in nature, so they need friends in order to thrive. Thus, you should consider getting the piggy some new friends.
However, you should also never forget about taking the piggy to the vet if there is no apparent reason or if you are not confident in your own judgment.
After all, due to their size, guinea pigs can actually die from some seemingly harmless infection.
How can I treat a broken tooth on my guinea pig?
First of all, you should always remember to take the little piggy to a vet, preferably someone who specializes in exotics.
Depending on the piggy’s condition, the location as well as the severity of the break, the vet may need to perform x-rays to be sure.
After running the tests, the vet will be deciding if any of the remaining teeth need to be trimmed. This is to make sure that there will be no overgrowth problem as the broken teeth grow back.
Remember that vet’s help is the first thing in your mind whenever something similar in nature to this happens.
After all, there can always be some underlying medical condition which causes the tooth to become weak.
If that is the case, there is no way that you are qualified to deal with those kinds of issues. In addition, there can also be some additional trauma residing somewhere in the pig’s body if a fall was the cause of the break.
See some great water bottle for your injured pigs here!
Is it normal that my guinea pigs love going into dark places/spots?
Yeah, it is in fact quite normal for the piggies to hide in dark spots.
This is due to the fact that they are, after all, small rodents. Thus, they are burrowers in nature and the need to tunnel and dig has been ingrained in their DNAs.
In fact, it is quite essential for you to provide the pigs some hiding huts as well as some little dark nooks.
You can purchase them quite easily at any kind of pet store or even online in many shapes and forms, with cardboard, wood, or even plastic models.
Basically, guinea pigs will always require some spots that can make them feel secure and safe. After all, the little guys are tasty prey for quite a large deal of animals of different types.
In addition, the pigs are actually quite small. Thus, they are quite vulnerable and hiding in dark corners, tunnels, or huts is the one defense mode that they know of.
In the wild, these guys often live inside underground caves.
However, a cage is not capable of providing them something like that. Thus, you should remember to give them some sort of compensation.
Click here for some great cages!
Never forget about the environment!
These little friends can prove to be quite tiresome. However, at the end of the day, you will feel that it was all worth it.
Remember that you should always pay attention to the environment for the piggies. Click here for some tips!