Why Should I Use Cage For Guinea Pig

by Taniv Ashraf SEO Expert || Website Developer

While caged animals can seem as easy choices for pet, they require a lot of care as well. They need sometime for cage cleaning you also have to make them do exercises. Guinea pigs happen to be gentle pets which are also quite active. Three of the most common breeds are the Peruvian, the American Shorthair and the Abyssinian. Guinea pigs will generally weigh around 1 to 3 pounds and will live up to 5 to 7 years. You must need best guinea pig cage.

Feeding:

Having a proper nutrition is vital for your guinea pig. They are not capable of producing Vitamin C for themselves. So you need to supplement Vitamin C in to their diet. The best way you can incorporate Vitamin C into their diet is by offering them fresh fruits and vegetables every day. It is contrary to popular belief, the fact that the guinea pig food provides your pig all the Vitamin C it requires.

Vegetables like red pepper, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, green pepper produce good sources of Vitamin C. Also tomato, asparagus, rutabaga, cabbage and oranges will provide for a good amount of Vitamin C. Though it is not necessarily as high in Vitamin C, yet course cut oatmeal is good for your guinea pig. You may even buy liquid Vitamin C from any health store and add several drops of it with his water. Remember to do this 3 times in the week. Potato skins are without a doubt harmful for your guinea pig, in fact they are poisonous.

Hay is also quite important part of a guinea pigs’ diet. Your pig must have timothy hay in the cage all the time. Timothy hay can strengthen its digestive system and keep the entire body functioning smoothly. Timothy hay is the best as alfalfa hay does not have a lot of nutritional value.

Housing:

Choosing the appropriate housing for your guinea pig is vital. Your guinea pig will go through most of its exercise inside the cage. So you have to provide it with large, spacious cage for a home. The cage has to be 3 feet by 2 feet. It must not have a wire mesh bottom since guinea pigs can hurt their feet on wire. Do purchase a cage that contains a solid bottom. The cage should also contain some few things for your guinea pig to climb on and hide in. Some fun things include wooden boxes, shoeboxes, plain wicker boxes and empty oatmeal container. Do not ever use cedar shavings in the guinea pigs cage. This can lead to liver disease and respiratory problems for the guinea pig.

Pine shavings are also a reason for skin problem for they contain high amount of potentially harmful oils. The proper way you can set up the cage is to line the bottom with newspaper. Also adding hay and fun toys can help. You may even purchase some recycled paper pellet or fluff for use as bedding, and you can also use old towels. You have to clean your guinea pigs’ cage each day. The guinea pigs do not need any shot from the veterinarian. However you should keep the cage clean and make sure to do it daily. Any sort of building-up of feces or urine will cause infection inside your guinea pig. Cleaning its cage should not take more than a few minutes.

If you are wondering how to clean the cage, do use a mild disinfectant solution made from white vinegar and water. Even applying warm soapy water can help just the same. Just make sure that it is rinsed and dry before you put the guinea pig back in.

Social behaviors:

Guinea pigs will communicate with humans and other pigs through noises. It is vital for you to learn which sort of noise refers to exactly what from your pig. They have about 13 basic sounds. For example, if it lets out a high squeal when you are holding it up then it is means that the guinea pig feels uncomfortable. In such a case put it back into its cage. If it makes a purring sound, it mostly means that she is content at the moment. It is very important for you to pay close attention to what each sound means. For this is the only mode of communication they can use.

Always remember that guinea pigs love the companionship from humans. They love being held and cuddled by people. It is good if you hold your guinea pig at least half an hour a day. Guinea pigs are easily handled by children as they do not kick like rabbits. However they may act squirmy when they are uncomfortable.

Your guinea pig is also in need of some exercise. It has to be outside the cage obviously. Ensure that the entire area is safe for the guinea pig. Electrical and telephone wires can attract these little chewers to a good extent. You can either block them or wrap them in a protective coating. The protective coating can be PVC pipe which prevents shock and fire. Guinea pigs can often get to places that you thought are out of their reach. They can of course squeeze inside tiny openings that include behind the radiators and under the stoves.

Now you must be wondering why you need a cage to keep your guinea pig. Well the answer is rather simple when you think about it. A guinea pig is a really small creature and tends to move around a lot. So it may easily run off and get lost. Inside a spacious house, the problem multiplies. Plus, you read above that it has a tendency to run towards electric wires. So, to keep it safe and secure you have to put it inside a cage and provide all its necessities. As mentioned before, you do have to regularly clean the cage. But it only takes a few minutes so you should be precise while cleaning the cage.