Handling & getting to know your guinea pig

A wiggling guinea pig can easily injure itself. Always have one hand underneath them when you pick them up, and never, ever hold them so that their hind legs are dangling. Children should be taught how to properly hold a guinea pig; young children should only hold guinea pigs in their laps while seated (and with an adult nearby). Most people hold their guinea pigs against the chest, with one hand underneath the rump.  A fall can be fatal to a guinea pig!

Returning a guinea pig to her cage requires care. Handle your guinea pig firmly with both hands.

You can leave your new guinea pig alone for the first day so that he can become used to the new sounds and smells.  Pick up and cuddle your new piggy often so he can get to know you  They need to learn to trust you and develop a bond.

The quarantine period

If you introduce a guinea pig into your home, you must keep it separate from the other piggies until you are sure that the new piggie is free from any illnesses. The average quarantine period is two weeks. Always introduce guinea pigs gradually, on a neutral surface such as the living-room floor. Guinea pigs "know" each other largely by scent, so it's often a good idea to try to get your scent on the new guinea pig. Sometimes a bath will be needed, if the pig has been neglected or if his coat is matted. If the piggy is otherwise clean, rub a dirty t-shirt or pair of socks on your new friend so that he or she smells familiar to the other(s).

Male? or Female?

Boars
Male guinea pigs have testicles, which develop at a fairly young age. In babies, the testicles are not quite apparent, but it is still possible to decode their gender.Is there a faint "pucker" of skin? That is the retracted penis. If you press gently above this dough nut-shaped area, you'll feel a small muscle spasm and the penis will pop out. Be very gentle when pressing.


Sows
Female guinea pigs will have a "Y" shaped genital region, right next to the anus. If you look closely, you will notice that the genitals and the anal opening appear to be almost one and the same, due to the folding of the skin.

Maturity
Males are sexually active as early as 3 weeks, and should be observed closely. Males that mount others, should be promptly separated from the mother and any females, as they can breed. And it only takes a few seconds for a sow to become pregnant. Females can stay with the mother as long as needed. Guinea pigs can generally be separated from their mother at four to five weeks.

Care List

• Make sure your you can give your guinea pig gets lots of attention everyday.
• Make sure the cage is at lest 7.5 sq ft if you have one.  If you have more than one piggie it should be much larger and have separate sleeping areas. (For cage ideas go here)
• Guinea pig teeth constantly grow so they need unlimted hay at all times!!
• Don't keep males together unless they are neutered.
• Males and females can be kept together as long as the males are neutered
• Make sure the guinea pigs are never left alone with other pets.
• Guinea pigs don't like to be crowded or have to much noise going on around them.

The basics- updated

Credit for these list goes to Guinea Lynx

Guinea pigs are vegetarians, meaning they do not eat meat. Also water is a must. They need fresh water daily. Guinea pigs do not make their own Vitamin C. This is why vegetables are so important. A cup of vegetables is required. A good Guinea pig pellet is also needed.

Danger Foods

- Avocado (too high in fat)
- Coconut (too high in fat)
- Dry beans and peas
- Flowers (commercially grown decorative plants contain preservatives &
pesticides)
- Fried, cooked and otherwise prepared foods
- Fruit juices (sugar-free, or unsweetened juices are OK)
- Garlic or pungent onions (will not poison pigs, )
- Horseradish (leaves probably ok, root too pungent)
- Hot herbs and spices
- Hot Peppers / Chiles / Paprikas
- Iceburg Lettuce (low nutrition, high water)
- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves (too high in sugar)
- Milk and milk products
- Mushrooms
- Nuts (too high in fat)
- Peanut butter, cakes, cookies, baked goods
- Pickled veggies (dills, capers, sour krauts)
- Potatoes (poisonous if green or sprouted) - sweet potatoes / yams are ok
- Rhubarb (poisonous)
- Seeds (choking hazard)
- Taro (dangerous if eaten raw / unprepared)
- Teas, coffee, colas

High Vitamin C

-Beet greens
- Bell / Sweet Peppers - red, green, yellow (not hot or chile)
- Broccoli Rabe / Rabe / Rapini
- Broccoli, Broccolini (stems are liked better than flowers)
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage (in moderation)
- Chinese cabbage (in moderation)
- Cantaloupe Melon
- Carrot tops / leaves
- Cauliflower / Broccoflower
- Celery leaves
- Cilantro / Chinese Parsley / Coriander greens
- Collard greens
- Currants - yellow, red or black (leaves also edible)
- Dandelion greens
- Feijoa / Pineapple Guava
- Garden Cress
- Gooseberries
- Grapefruit (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Grass - wheat, winter rye (grown in pots from seed)
- Guava
- Honeydew Melon
- Kale - curly or plain
- Kiwi Fruit
- Kohlrabi leaves
- Lemon, Lime (home-grown best, otherwise feed cautiously)
- Mango
- Mustard greens / Leaf Mustard
- Orange (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Papaya / Paw Paw / Tree Melon
- Parsley - curly or plain (high in calcium)
- Peas in pods, Pea Shoots (not dried)
- Persimmon - american or oriental
- Red Cabbage
- Rosehip
- Savoy Cabbage
- Spinach (feed in moderation, linked to formation of kidney & bladder stones)
- Strawberries
- Swiss Chard, Red Chard
- Tamarillo (leaves poisonous)
- Tangerine / Mandarin (caution - sores around lips can develop)
- Tomato (sores around mouth can develop; leaves poisonous; artificially
grown can be low in vit C)
- Tuscan Cabbage / Cavolo Nero
- Water Cress

Low Vitamin C

- Hay - timothy, meadow, alpine and others (must always be available)
- Alfalfa - green or dried (high calcium & calories - good for youngsters, pregnant & nursing sows)
- Anise
- Apple (avoid seeds; if too tart, sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Apricot
- Artichoke
- Arugula / Rocket / Roquette / Rucola
- Asian Pear
- Asparagus
- Banana (feed in great moderation - can cause constipation)
- Basil
- Beets
- Belgian Endive
- Bilberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Carrots (feed in moderation, vit A in carrots said to cause liver problems)
- Celery Root / Celeriac
- Celery stalks (cut into small pieces)
- Cherries (remove pits)
- Chicory/Endive
- Chives (caution, feed in moderation)
- Choy sum
- Corn on the cob (strings, leaves & stalks are edible too)
- Crabapple
- Cranberries (whole fruit, not concentrate or juice)
- Cucumber (fresh only, not pickled)
- Dates (dried high in sugar)
- Dill
- Figs (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Frisee Lettuce
- Grapes (in moderation, high in sugar)
- Green Beans in pods / String Beans (not dried)
- Green Endive
- Green Leek tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Green Onion tops (caution, feed in moderation)
- Kohlrabi bulbs
- Lettuces - red, green, butter, Boston and other (avoid iceberg)
- Mint
- Nectarine
- Paksoi / Bok Choi
- Parsley root
- Parsnip
- Passion Fruit / Granadilla
- Peach
- Pear
- Pineapple - fresh (sores around lips & mouth can develop)
- Plum, Prune (dried high in sugar - as treat only)
- Pumpkin
- Radicchio / Italian Chicory
- Radishes (if mild)
- Raspberries
- Romaine Lettuce
- Rutabaga
- Salad mix (without iceburg lettuce)
- Squash - acorn, banana, butterhorn, spagetti, and others (feed in
moderation)
- Sweet Onions (caution, feed in moderation)
- Thyme
- Treviso Radicchio
- Turnip
- Watermelon (can cause diarrhea - high water content)
- Yam / Sweet Potato (high in vit A? - leaves edible)
- Zucchini

EDIBLE wild grasses, plants and herbs

Credit goes to guineapigcages

• Grass (common grasses are edible, avoid ornamental grasses), cat grass/wheat grass is also popular and can be grown in pots or containers.

• Clover (Trifollium repens or Trifolium pratense)

• Dandelion (Teraxacum officinale) - pick leaves, stems, flowers (even root OK)

• Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

• Blackberry leaves (Rubus plicatus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis) - leaves and flowers

• Caraway (Carum carvi)

• Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)

• Chickweed (Stellaria media)

• Cleavers / Stickyweed / Goosegrass / Bedstraw (Galium aparine)

• Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

• Cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaeae) - berries, leaves in moderation

• Cow Parsley (Anthiscus sylvestris)

• Dog Rose (Rosa canina) - ripe fruits

• Duckweed (Lemna minor) - aquatic

• Fennel (Foeniculum capillaceum)

• Field Violet / Wild Pansy (Viola tricolor)

• Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)

• Lemon Mint / Melissa (Melissa officinalis)

• Linden / Lime Tree (Tilia cordata or Tilia platyphyllos) - flowers with
  pale yellow leaflets

• Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)

• Plantain (Plantago major or Plantago lanceolata)

• Raspberry leaves (Rubus idaeus) - pick young & tender leaves and shoots

• Spearmint (mintha spicata)

• Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

• Shepherd's Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

• Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)

• Vetch (Vicia x)

• Yarrow (Achllea millefolium)

• Whortleberry / Heidelberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) - berries, leaves in
  moderation

• Wild Chamomile (Matricaria chammomilla)

• Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) - berries and leaves

Housing

I have  listed the types of bedding. Now here is a list of cages. Your most common cage is the ones 
you get from the pet stores. They are just not big enough. Even for one guinea pig. By the time you add the food bowl, a house and some items for them to chew on. There is no room for  your guinea pig. One guinea pig need at lest  7.5 sq ft. The bigger the better!

• Aquariums- The worst one to house a guinea pig. There is no ventilation, so it will became very warm. I don't know what else to say about aquariums, but do not house your guinea pig in one of these.

• Hutch's- If you are considering this, make sure that the spot you have chosen is sheltered from wind and rain. It should not be in direct sunlight. Should has a sloped roof so that rain can not gather on top. Also consider height, this is better for ventilation and an easier height to clean. The wire may not be strong enough to keep out wild animals so putting another sheet on.

Cons of a wooden hutch are:

• wood will rot

Guinea pigs love to chew and if it isn’t protected with wire they can literally chew it wood tends to soak up more urine and requires more cleaning

• Pros and Cons of a metal hutch.

They absorb heat in the summer they can be  cold in the winter They are easier to clean and tend to last a long time if good construction is used

• C and C Cages- Made out of Cubes and  Coroplast. The the cubes are usually 14-inch, coated-wire grids. They are designed for storage for kids, home, and office use. Coroplast is like cardboard only made out of plastic.

Pros

1. You build your self
2. Easy to clean
3. Very durable
4. Good air circulation
5. Easy to design
6. Easy to decorate
7. Easy to customize

Cons

1. Can be hard to find in areas.

Colors & breeds

Breeds

Abyssinian	Hair grows in swirls all over the body
Alpaca	Like a peruvian but with wavy hair
American	Short haired, smooth and any color
American Crested	A smooth coat guinea pig with a flat 'swirl' of hair forming a crest on the forehead however the crest is white in color
Cornet	The coronet is like a cross between a sheltie and a crested. It has long straight hair with a crest on the forehead
English Crested	A smooth coat guinea pig with a flat 'swirl' of hair forming a crest on the forehead. The crest is in the same color as the coat.
Hairless Pigs	Skinny Pigs - Has fuzzy hair on their nose and feet. Baldwins - No hair at all
Merino	Like a coronet but wavy like a texel
Peruvian	Long hair growing towards the face
Rex	Short fuzzy hair
Sheltie	Long straight hair flowing away from the face. Short hair on the face
Texel	Long hair in a wavy pattern,

Colors

Agouti	These are most like the wild guinea pigs - can be cinnamon, golden, lemon, salmon, silver - they look like they are flecked or 'ticked' with black
Brindle	Black and red hairs, all mixed together rather than in patches.
Broken	Markings with clean cut patches of more than one color
Dalmatian	White body with colored spots
Dutch	A colored rump, and eye patches  resulting in a white midriff and white stripe down the nose white + one other color.
Himalayan	White with black chocolaty on the tip of the nose, feet and ears.
Marked	Specific color patterns on a guinea pig's coat
Roan	Several colors mixed with white hairs
Satin	Extremely silky smooth shiny hair. The hair looks so translucent as the hair shafts are hollow.
Self's	Beige, Black, Buff, Chocolate, Cream, Golden, Lilac, Red, Saffron, Slate, White
Tortoiseshell	Checkered patches of red and black.
Tortoiseshell and White	Checkered patches of red, black and white.