Proper care of your guinea pig

1 ml oral syringes are needed to give your piggies supplements & medications.

Children's liquid vitamin C (supplement to ensure your piggies are getting enough vit C!)

Critical Care Herbivore (Needed when your piggy is losing weight, sick, or needs some extra TLC to ensure their guts keep moving and helps them get their appetite back.)

Terramycin ointment  (Can be found on Amazon, Tractor Supply, and some other feed stores.) Good for hay poke, scratched eye, or gooky eye due to an eye irritation.)

Baytril (safe antibiotic for guinea pigs. Good to have for UTI or some respiratory conditions. Can be ordered online but order before you need as it can take awhile to receive.

Ivermectin (1 drop behind each year about every 6 weeks is a good preventative against mites they can get from their hay.)

Miconazole Cream (OTC ointment that can be used to treat ringworm in piggies. Most all anti-fungal creams are safe to use. Treat the piggies spots a few times a day for quick results. Ringworm is highly contagious to other piggies and can be transmitted to humans. Watch other piggies near your infected one closely, and wash hands thoroughly after handling. Separate your infected piggy if you can but if not watch other piggy and sanitize and keep their bedding and enclosure as clean as possible while you are treating.

Toltrazuril 5% (comes in 50ml bottles) can find online. Should your piggy develop coccidia it can come on quickly and spread to your other animals, good treatment to have on hand and handle quickly.

Vitamin E oil -  Great for dry skin in piggies, especially skinnies.

Scale - Small scale that can show weight in grams. Good to have on hand to notice weight lose in your piggy and start addressing before it becomes a bigger issue. It is hard sometimes to see small weight lose changes in piggies.

Small animal nail clippers or human nail clippers - Guinea pig nails need to be trimmed about every 4-6 weeks depending on your piggy and growth of nails. I personally find the human nail clippers easier to use. Either way, you will want to have dedicated guinea pig clippers for their nails.

**These are over the counter medications I recommend keeping on hand should you need them. These are never meant to replace a trip to your exotic vet should you be unsure of proper treatment or what ails your piggy. This site nor I am responsible should your piggy not farewell due to a lack of vet care. I am not a vet and this is just my personal advice learned from other piggy keepers and vet advice.

Guinea pigs are social animals and whenever possible need to be kept with at least one buddy. Boars (males) do better in pairs only and sometimes do not like any other piggy in their space, but do like to have a neighbor in same room they can see and smell. Sows (females) are generally easier to bond into larger groups of 3 or more.

That being said, they need room. The more room you have the happier and healthier your pigs will be. Also, bonding and aggression issues lesson considerably when they have enough room and resources available at all times. 

The recommended space requirement for ONE guinea pig is 7.5 square feet, or about 30"x 36". As you can see, most cages sold at pet shops fall far short of this. Please do not put your piggy in a small cage! Do your research and ensure they have the minimum recommended space requirements or better more than what is recommended!

Guinea pigs have sensitive respiratory systems and due to this they need to be kept in enclosures that allow for a lot of open above are and ventilation. They should never EVER be kept in any type of aquarium. Not enough top open air and not enough ventilation at the bottom.

Guinea pigs also are not great a regulating their body temps. They should be kept between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit and as consistently as possible. Big temp changes suddenly or keeping too cold or too hot can result in a sick piggy or even a piggy who crosses the rainbow bridge sooner than later. They should not be kept in areas of high draft areas such as in front of windows on windy /cold/ hot days or in front of fans.

Guinea pigs are not a beginner pet. They require a lot of care and space and their enclosures need to be cleaned often - at least 1x or more depending on your enclosure and the number of piggies you keep in it. And this is just talking about their living space!

Guinea pigs are prey animals and as such like to feel safe and secure in their homes. Please ensure they have enough beds and hides to get into and doze when they want.

#1 Food = HAY!  Hay should make up 80% of your guinea pigs diet. They need to constantly keep their metabolism going and eat often so hay should ALWAYS be readily available to them. 

Good types of hay to feed your piggies are Timothy and Orchard grass. There are other hay types they can eat, but these two offer the best nutritional value for them. Orchard grass hay is usually easier on people with allergies as well.

Speaking of -  if you have allergies to hay a guinea pig may not be for you unless you are willing to live with the allergies to have them (worth it to me) and / or take medicines to handle your allergies. I would try to see if you are allergic to hay before getting a piggy and realizing your allergic to their main food and then want to get rid of it.  So many pigs are dumped or rehomed due to allergies!

**Due to how much hay is in a piggies diet, I would recommend finding a local hay farmer if possible and seeing what type bales they have. You can usually get a 50lb bale of hay for less than you can buy a bag of hay at local popular pet shops. It will last you longer, be better quality and fresher, AND added bonus - supports a farmer!

#2 Food = High Quality Pellets -  Do not buy pellets that are multi-colored. So many pet shops sell and market them as great for your guinea pig but they are not and will not fill the dietary requirements of your pigs!  Brands I recommend are Oxbow and Kalmbach guinea pig foods. 

Your pellets should be looking for are timothy hay based, made for guinea pigs, and have vitamins and nutrients they need like vitamin C, K, and more.

Avoid mixes with nuts, corn, seeds, and fruit.

#3 Food - 1 cup per piggy of fresh veggies daily.

Guinea pigs love fresh veggies and fruit and should be offered them as appropriate. There are some veggies that are great to feed daily and some veggies & all fruits that should be fed but less often. Google is a great tool to seeing if a veggie is safe and how often it can/should be fed.

Veggies safe to feed daily and give a good source of vitamin c and more are:

Green bell peppers

Red or green leaf lettuce

Kale

Romaine lettuce

dandelion greens

collard, mustard, turnip greens

Spinach

Cherry tomatoes (1 small cherry tomato per pig)

Guinea pigs can have all types/colors of sweet and bell peppers daily but green has the highest amount of vitamin c.

Broccoli is a good source of Vitamin C for guinea pigs but should be fed occasionally due to causing them gas or bloating issues.

Carrots are a great guinea pig food but due to high sugar content per piggy needs should only be fed 1-3 x a week at most.

Fruit - Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana, apple... all are loved by most guineas but due to high sugar content should only be fed 1x a week at most.

This is not a full list of the veggies and fruits your piggy can have but it is a good start and the ones I feed the most.

If you are feeding a quality hay, a quality pellet brand, and a cup per piggy of the right veggies daily (think vitamin C options) then you will usually not need to worry about supplementing if you don't want to. However, it never hurts. Guinea pigs need Vitamin C and cannot make their own, which is why it is up to you their hooman to make sure that 1 way or 3, they get what they need nutritionally.