You do need to clean the Guinea Pig Hutch regularly

Keeping a guinea pig as a pet is a lot of fun, but it isn’t all fun. There’s some work involved to keeping a happy and healthy guinea pig, much of it to do with cleaning the guinea pig hutch. And you need to pay attention to your guinea pig’s diet as well.

Piggie should be fed twice a day. He needs a range of fruit and vegetables for general health and for vitamin C, which we’ve spoken of before. And he also needs dedicated guinea pig pellets which also, if they are well made and fresh, should contain vitamin C.

Whether it’s cold, or raining, or you just don’t feel like it you need to go out to his cage twice a day, every day, and feed your guinea pigs properly.

And don’t forget to check whether they have adequate water as well.

If you’re guinea pig is suffering from low vitamin C you will notice weakness in his back legs. This is a sure sign that you need to increase his vitamin C intake. In this case you can use vitamin C tablets from a supermarket, crush one up and dissolve it in his water to give him a quick burst of vitamin C.

Of course feeding you’re guinea pig should be a pleasure, not a chore.

But there’s more work involved in keeping the guinea pig hutch nice and clean. Of course guinea pigs leave droppings in the hutch, and these need to be regularly cleaned out. How often this is done depends on how big your guinea pig cage is, of course bigger cages need to be cleaned less frequently.

However as there are many small guinea pig hutches available for sale many owners keep their piggies in very small cages. If this is the case you need to clean his hutch at least every 2nd day if not daily. Read the rest of this entry

I’ve seen a plastic guinea pig cage for sale. Is it a good cage for my guinea pig?

One of the most common problems with guinea pig hutches is that they are generally purchased too small. Often the same applies to plastic guinea pig cages. If you do see one for sale, and they are not common, they are usually too small.

Whilst most of the guinea pig cages on the market are made from timber it is quite possible to buy a plastic guinea pig cage however. The problem with these cages is that they can be close to airtight, and therefore there is poor air circulation and your guinea pig can develop respiratory problems from damp air. It is also possible for them to develop bacterial infections for the same reason.

That’s not to say that a guinea pig hutch with a simple plastic floor is a bad hutch. If it is merely the floor of the hutch that is made of plastic this is much better than wire which is found on the floor of many cages.

Wire is the worst material to put on the floor of your guinea pig hutch because walking on wire can cause guinea pigs to develop problems with their feet.

A plastic floor on a guinea pig hutch is easy to clean and easy to take care of and your guinea pig will be happy walking on it. Read the rest of this entry

You need some entertainment in their Guinea Pig cage

Whilst we have spoken before about the importance of providing your guinea pig with a guinea pig hutch of sufficient size this is not the only factor in keeping a happy and healthy and well adjusted guinea pig as a pet.

Guinea pigs are social creatures, and it is best to keep more than one. If you are keeping more than one you need to consider which sexes go together best. Of course if you have a male and a female together then you will be unable to prevent them breeding unless at least one of them is desexed or you keep them apart.

Keeping two male guinea pigs together can lead to fighting, though they may eventually get on well. However if you are looking to keep several guinea pigs the best way to do this is to buy 2 females.

However there is still more that you can do to make sure that your guinea pigs are happy and well adjusted. Guinea pigs need things to do and if you provide a sufficiently spacious cage they will have room to exercise and run around, but little to do.

Therefore you need to consider providing them with a little stimulation. Fortunately this is not difficult. We provide ours with some plastic pipes around 4 inches in diameter for them to run in and out of, a few small boxes with holes in them so they can play in and out of the boxes, and some little hiding holes as well.

If ou give your guinea pigs a few things like this then you’re giving your guinea pigs things to do. And don’t forget that they need something to gnaw on to keep wearing down their teeth, or they will gnaw on something that you don’t want them to. A piece of wood or bark is sufficient. Read the rest of this entry