Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Can You Have Too Many Guinea Pigs?

By Hugh Thomas


In most every guinea pig person's life, the question arises: exactly how many pigs are enough? Is one pig adequate, a pair of pigs the right quantity, three piggies, or should our home be converted by us into a refuge for abandoned and undesired guineas? Obviously, it is your own preference, but there are certainly a few things to consider.

First, an individual pig is usually a lonely pig. Now, if you are in a position to spend a great amount time with your pig everyday, then you can actually ameliorate a little of your pig's loneliness. But personally, when I'd only Grover the Rotund, I felt guilty leaving him throughout the day when I was at the office. Therefore, after about three months of experiencing a single pig, I adopted Buster [the Docile]to be Grover's cagemate. Two is just a perfectly significant amount of guinea pigs. And those two were hitting it off pretty well. I undoubtedly had enough pigs. Yet after a couple months after acquiring Buster, I starting experience the undeniable need for another. And hence, enter Wendal the Hairless Wonder.

Now that I've my three, I'm positively done with putting guinea pigs to the herd. Yet, Icabsolutely understand how a few of my fellow GPP's (Guinea Pig People) have found themselves in the positioning of owning 25 or so guinea pigs. They are just so darn cute, each so unique. And we are weak. It is so easy to keep getting just one more.

Pigs in herds are an appealing display to observe. They've their own social order, their own methods of play, their own unique language of sounds. I just like to watch my herd -- they are an absolute hoot!

Obviously, you can't group non-neutered mixed sexes. Otherwise a set of pigs will begin to turn into a dozen. Boys should only be held with others, although it is usually a risk to try and add new boars. Often they'll intimidate and scrap, leading to being divided or snipped at the vet. The others get on good, with little if any squabbling. Girl pigs, like people, an average of do not actually fight, though who knows if they gossip concerning the the others, and have periods where they do not talk to each other.

Most significantly, if you're planning to have multiple pigs, you absolutely must have adequate cage room for them. I would recommend an 3 square feet for each new pig, and at least 5 square feet for the initial one. More space is always better.




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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Caring for Your Pet Guinea Pig

By Cathy Doggins


The guinea pig (also called a Cavy or Cavies) is originally from South America and remains one of the most popular pets for over 400 years. They can be discovered in natural settings in a few South American nations including Brazil and Argentina. While there are over 60 breeds, most domestic pet Guinea Pigs are either English, Abyssinian and Peruvian. Each breed has unique characteristics based mostly on hair length (short or long), The animals can also be differentiated by color or rosettes, which are circular swirls of hair. Many Guinea Pigs are cross-bred making for even more color variations. They eat easy to prepare foodstuffs and are the perfect pet for every rodent lover.

Guinea Pigs as Pets

The pet lives a median of 5 years and make excellent pets. They're mild non-aggressive creatures that seldom bite. The animals are very social with other Guinea Pigs. They will make some noise, though not so loud as to be a problem. Cavies don't leap or jump, so no cage lids or tops are needed.

Cages and Bedding

Any enclosure must be about 200 square inches. The animals can be messy since they like to shred any bedding material. Bedding can be shredded newspaper or recycled paper. Cage walls should be at least 10 inches high. The cage should be cleaned everyday since the animals often urinate and defecate.

Feeding and Supplements

Cavies are simple to care for and require a simple diet. The most basic requirement is a sipper type water bottle. Fresh water should be supplied each day and the bottle should be washed 4 times a month. Vitamin C enriched Timothy Food pellets produced specifically for Guinea Pigs should be supplied. Also provide green, not brown or tan, Timothy, grass or oat hay. Avoid Alfalfa since it contains too much calcium. Also provide your Guinea Pig green leafy vegetables in small portions.

As soon as you bring a Cavy home, get him used to eating a many types of foods. The patterns you set while they're young will stay the same for the life of your pet. It is hard to introduce new foods later in life. Suggested vegetables that are full of the required vitamin c incude:

- Turnip greens
- ,Mustard greens
- Dandelion greens
- Kale
- Brussell sprouts

Only provide fruits as an occasional treat. Fruits such as grapes, apples and orange slices (one per day for vitamin c is ok) can be provided. Fruit must not comprise more than 5% of a Guinea Pig's diet. Cavies need 10-30 mg of vitamin C daily. There are tablets available for sale that may be sprinkled onto fresh veggies. Do not add a vitamin c supplement to water since the value of the supplement lessens after adding it to water.

Health Care

Like cats and dogs, Guinea Pigs should be checked by a Veterinarian each year. Catching illnesses early is key to helping your pet live a long and active life.




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Trying Roasted Guinea Pig in Peru

By Jonny Blair


On my travels round the globe I have tried many and various food types and will be detailing them regularly. In this report, I take you to Peru where I tried Guinea Pig! Also known as Cui.

Having been mind blown by the epic sight of Machu Picchu and having just finished the four day Inca Trail, we were all in good spirits. It's a magical place. Our tour guides invited us for lunch in a restaurant in Aguas Calientes in Peru. We were meeting at 3pm. It was Christmas Day. I was hungry and was hoping to try some local food.

When I was a kid Christmas Dinner was always a special meal in our calendar. I headed to church in Aguas Calientes first as it was always a tradition to go to church at Christmas. After that I headed over to the Chaski Restaurant in Aguas Calientes for my Christmas Dinner! Peruvian style!

I hadn't eaten Guinea Pig before and was hotly anticipating it. I was in Peru of course, but it is also popular in Ecuador. I'm always up for trying new food, but I don't always finish it if I don't like it!

There were a couple of options with the Guinea Pig Christmas Dinner. The choices were either Cuy Al Horno which is Roasted Guinea Pig. This comes with potatoes, cheese and salad. There is also the option of Pepian de Cuy which is Stewed Guinea Pig and that one is topped with peanut sauce and comes with rice and spuds. The price of them both was 55 Soles. I went for the Roasted option as I like cheese. It was nice to be having potatoes on Christmas Day.

The entire Guinea Pig was on the plate, as you can see head and all! It was a cheers all round for our big group of Inca Trail survivors as we ate and drank to our hearts content!

Right so I had the guinea pig, all roasted and for my Christmas Dinner - was it any good? Yes because I ate most of it. You had to pick at the bones for a lot of it and to be honest there were not large chunks of meat in it. But I try anything once and I loved it. It tasted slightly like chicken. After having my guinea pig for Christmas Dinner it was now time for a few beers to relax and celebrate having done the mega 4 day Inca Trail. Guinea Pig in Peru - yes - go and try it!! Happy eating and don't stop living!




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Guinea names , Guinea pig dieting tips , Horse riding , Horse information , Cat pets care 2012

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