General Care
Although guinea pigs are low-maintenance
animals, they still require day-to-day care to
keep them healthy and happy. This section
describes some of their basic needs, as well as
the routine grooming that you will need to
perform.
Cage climate and hygiene
As a general rule, guinea pigs are happiest at
temperatures of 64 to 68 degrees F (18 to 20
degrees C). They can not tolerate rapid
fluctuations in temperature, so it is important
that the room temperature remain fairly constant.
If housed outdoors, they can tolerate cooler
temperatures at night, such as 45 to 50 degrees
F, provided their hutch is stuffed with generous
amounts of hay for insulation. Sick guinea pigs
should always be housed indoors, in a room with a
fairly constant temperature, and be given plenty
of hay to stay warm.
No matter what the external temperature,
however, it is absolutely important that
there be no drafts whatsoever in the
cage. Drafts can cause chills, which can reduce
the effectiveness of their immune system and make
them susceptible to viral or bacterial
infections. If stored indoors, locate the cage
away from open or drafty windows, or at least
shield the relevant sides of the cage to provide
shelter. If you house your pigs outdoors at all,
then you will need to make sure that their
sleeping box is well sealed and stuffed with hay.
It is also important to minimize their
exposure to extreme heat. Guinea pigs are
actually less tolerant of heat than they are of
cold, so take care in placing their cage away
from radiators and hot pipes. Outdoors, make sure
that part of their hutch is always shaded from
the sun as it crosses the sky: although guinea
pigs do like to romp or bask in the sun, too much
exposure can cause heat stroke.
Every few days, you will need to remove soiled
litter from the cage and replace it with some
that is fresh. If you are using hay for bedding,
you will need to change the hay almost every day,
since it mildews quickly after getting wet. About
once a week, the entire cage should be cleaned
out and the bedding changed. Every so often, the
whole hutch will need to be disinfected. Failure
to regularly clean the cage will result in poor
hutch hygiene, and heighten your guinea pig's
exposure to sources of disease. If you have
several pigs housed together in cramped quarters,
you will need to clean more often.
Nail trimming
In the wild, the guinea pig's toenails are
kept short through wear and tear. But as a
domesticated animal, there is nothing to
naturally wear them down, and over time, they
will get too long. As such, you will need to
regularly trim their nails, to prevent them from
growing and curving too far inward, which can
lead to painful breaks. Of all the regular
maintenance that guinea pigs need, nail trimming
is probably met with the least enthusiasm by
owners.
If you have never clipped a guinea pig's
toenails before, you may want to have your vet,
or an experienced cavy groomer, show you how it's
done. There are two factors that make nail
trimming challenging for new owners:
- Guinea pigs have blood vessels in their
toenails, referred to as the
"quick". In clear nails, the
quick is fairly obvious: it is the
pinkish portion that extends from the
bone of the toe into the nail. In black
nails, however, spotting the quick is
next to impossible, making trimming
difficult.
- Guinea pigs don't like to be restrained,
and will resist your efforts to hold them
still while trimming.
The second problem can actually be solved
fairly easily: many owners will wrap their guinea
pigs in a towel, letting their legs hang out, so
that they can trim the nails without a fuss. This
is especially easy if you have one person
restraining the guinea pig, and a second trimming
the nails. For owners that have to trim the nails
"solo", some use the "tennis
racket" approach: put the guinea pig on a
tennis racket, so that their toenails poke down
through the gaps between the strings. Either
method will work; pick the one that is most
convenient for you and your piggie.
The first problem, however, is more difficult
to solve. The toenail must be trimmed above the
quick; cutting into the blood vessel will not
only be very painful for the cavy, but will also
cause bleeding, as well as introduce the
potential for infection. In guinea pigs with
clear toenails, this isn't that hard to do:
simply locate the quick, and cut a little bitt
ahead of it. But if your guinea pig has black
toenails, knowing where the quick begins is
almost an art form, and is non-trivial at best.
Still, it's not impossible to trim a black
toenail. Some owners opt to simply trim their
black-nailed cavies more often, and only trim a
tiny bit off in a session. This works well, but
does require more maintenance. However, there is
a method for trimming those black claws down to
their minimum length (just above the quick) in
one sitting, if you are willing to be patient.
Before trimming the toenail, you must first
understand that the parts that you are trimming
off are actually dead pieces of the nail. The
section of the nail surrounding the quick is
alive, and is the part that grows, pushing the
"dead" nail outward. To trim the black
toenail, you trim a small piece at a time (a very
small piece), and observe the cross-section
of the toenail. Again, this takes practice, and
it's best to have a vet show you when you trim
for the first time, but here is how you tell when
you are getting close to the quick, and the
"living" toenail.
The dead nail may appear one of two ways:
there can be a channel worn away at the underside
of the nail, or there may be a core of nail that
appears white or light grey. As you approach the
quick, the worn channel "shrinks" down,
and the "white" channel begins to
darken in color. The table below shows the
progression of the two types of nail as you near
the living nail surrounding the quick.
| Nail cross-section |
Dead nail |
Close to quick |
Living nail |
| Dead core |
 |
 |
 |
| Worn-out channel |
 |
 |
 |
You should stop trimming by the
time you see images like the ones in the middle
column.
If you still end up cutting the quick, either
because you overshoot on a nail or your guinea
pig moves while you snip, then you will need to
stop the bleeding, which can be fairly heavy.
Some pet stores sell a powder called
"quick-stop", which is designed to be
dabbed on the end of the bleeding toenail to help
form a clot. If you don't have quick-stop. apply
some iodine, instead.
One trick that you can use to reduce the
frequency of nail-trimming is to provide a
"natural" way for your guinea pigs to
wear down their claws. Rough stones, bricks and
other abrasive surfaces can be put in the cage
for your guinea pigs to perch on and step over.
Bricks are probably the most convenient, since
they are very rough (use bricks without
holes in them) and very inexpensive. One thing to
be aware of, though, is that the
"natural" method of keeping nails short
means that they may occasionally break off a
piece of a toenail, back far enough to cut into
the quick. This is rare, but it can happen.
Teeth Inspections
From time to time, you will need to inspect
your guinea pig's teeth for excessive growth and
broken tips. Like the teeth of many members of
the rodent family, the guinea pig's front teeth
are two pairs of opposing, constantly growing
incisors. Eating hard foods keep these teeth worn
down to their proper length, so you should
periodically supply your guinea pig with chew
sticks, branches, hay cubes or old bread.
Periodically check the incisors to make sure they
are wearing properly. If allowed to grow too
long, they will start to curve inward, making it
impossible for the guinea pig to eat. Excessively
long teeth will need to be trimmed by your
veterinarian.
Broken tips can be caused by falls or brittle
teeth (which, in turn, can be caused by vitamin
deficiencies). If a tooth breaks off, then you
will want to consult your vet. Until the tooth
grows back, you may have to make special feeding
arrangements for the afflicted guinea pig.
Routine Grooming
Brushing, skin and coat inspections, and baths
are all a part of the routine grooming of your
guinea pig. Long-haired cavies (the silky and the
peruvian) will require special care to keep their
hair in good condition. The grooming discussed
below is for that of the pet cavy only; a much
more meticulous grooming process is followed when
preparing a guinea pig for exhibition at a show.
Short-haired cavies
For short-haired cavies, you will want to
brush them with a stiff brush, probably once a
week. This will brush out any large particles of
dirt, as well as prevent the hair from matting.
During this time, you will also want to inspect
your guinea pig for lice: they show up as tiny,
grey-brown worm-like parasites that crawl through
the hair very near the surface of the skin. Lice
are difficult to spot on cavies with light brown
hair.
Long-haired cavies
As with short-haired cavies, the long-haired
varieties will need to be brushed and inspected
for lice. You also have to decide what to do
about the length of their hair: you can opt to
either trim the hair periodically, or groom to
keep the hair in showable condition. The hair of
a peruvian or a silky grows at the rate of about
one inch per month. If you opt to trim, you will
want to periodically cut to remove mats that have
formed in the hair, usually about once every
month or two, and keep it at a length short
enough so that the guinea pig isn't stepping on
its own hair, getting it caught in corners of the
cage, or dragging it through urine-soaked litter.
If you opt to keep the hair in show-condition,
you will need to use cotton "wraps" to
protect and secure their hair. Generally, wraps
are placed on the rear sweep and on either side.
For more information on the use of wraps, and how
to make them and fold them properly, see your
local cavy club or talk with a breeder that
specializes in raising and showing long-haired
cavies.
Alternatives to Bathing
As a general rule, bathing should only be done
when necessary. In the case of guinea pigs,
"necessary" means:
- A medical reason, such as lice, as
directed by your veterinarian.
- Shortly before a guinea pig show, if you
plan on exhibiting your cavy.
- If your guinea pig manages to get into
something particularly smelly or dirty,
such as mud.
Baths are typically stressful events for a
cavy, and stressed guinea pigs are more
susceptible to bacterial and viral infections.
Unless your guinea pig simply loves to be bathed
(some of them do), you should not do so
regularly. Some alternatives to a full bath are
presented below:
- Powder baths are very popular, and are
good for restoring the shine in your
guinea pig's coat, as well as removing
minor stains and dirty spots. Dusting
powders are available for rabbits and
guinea pigs, and can pretty much be used
interchangeably. Almost all powder bath
products are used the same way: you
sprinkle the powder onto the hair, and
then brush it out completely with a
stiff, wire brush. As you brush the
powder out, it should pick up any dirt
particles and condition the coat.
- For dirty bottoms, hydrogen peroxide is
good at removing urine stains.
- For stains in the coat, you can give a
"sponge bath", using either a
soapy washcloth or a towelette.
Bathing
If you do decide to bath your guinea pig, here
are some helpful hints:
- For a bath, fill a large tupperware
container with an inch of water, and
place a washcloth on the bottom so that
your guinea pig has some traction. The
water should be slightly warm, but not
hot.
- Small mammals have very sensitive skin,
so powerful shampoos can be harmful. Most
owners use a baby shampoo for general
baths. If you are using a medicated
shampoo (for killing parasites), then
pick a shampoo that is safe for kittens
(not cats, kittens!) or birds. Generally,
you should only use a medicated shampoo
when instructed by your vet.
- Lather your guinea pig from the rump up
to the back of the neck. Do not get any
soap around the face. Be careful when
rinsing to make sure no soap runs over
their head and into their eyes or face.
- Dry them gently with a towel, and then
let them air-dry the rest of the way. If
you have a heat-lamp, you can place them
under it to keep them from getting
chills, but you should make sure the heat
lamp isn't too hot. As a general rule,
it's bad to blow-dry a guinea pig, as the
heat from the dryer can burn their skin.
Take care to make sure there are
absolutely no drafts where they are
drying to prevent chills.
- Try to limit the number of baths you give
during the winter, as most homes tend to
be cooler and more drafty during this
time of year.
- Never use a medicated/chemical shampoo on
a nursing mother or on babies under two
months of age. Also, don't use these
shampoos on pregnant sows unless under
the direction of your veterinarian. Some
owners recommend that no baths be given
at all to pregnant or nursing sows.
Again, consult your veterinarian.
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