Guinea Pig Health and Care Page 2.

Handling and Holding your Guinea Pig

Guinea Pigs are small, delicate animals and can eaisly be hurt. So being able to hold a Guinea Pig knowing that they are free from becomming hurt is a good thing to know. Here are some tips on "How to Hold a Guinea Pig"

WARNING: For the safety of a Guinea Pig I would suggest NOT letting a child under the age of 4 hold a Guinea Pig, as young children will try and squeeze the Guinea Pig to hold it in place if it moves and may be quite rough to the Guinea Pig thinking it is a doll or toy and swing it around. Many Guinea Pigs have been injured or even been killed like this. Care is also needed when removing them from the Guinea Pig Cage.

1. When the Guinea Pig is in it's cage and you want to pick it up, this is how you should do it: Get your right (or left) hand and hold the "bum" of the Guinea Pig, with your spare hand place your index fonger and pointer finger under the Guinea Pigs frount arms.

2.Slowly lift the Guinea Pig out of it's cage. Then place it next to you next supporting it's bottem and holding it tight enough so that s/he can still move.

Introducing Another Guinea Pig

Ok, so you've just brought home a new Guinea Pig as a friend for your Guinea Pig...It isn't as simple as you think it could be. Here's how to stop illness, pregnacy and fighting.

Quarantine Period

If you have brought two guinea pigs home from the same place, then there is no need to quarantine them for a couple of weeks, unless they are going to be joining your existing guinea pigs. If you have brought a guinea pig home to be introduced to your existing guinea pig or herd, you need to quarantine the new guinea pig for at least two weeks. A few guinea pig illnesses can incubate for a while, so a quarantine period of two weeks will allow enough time for an illness to show itself. Keep the newcomer in another room, away from your other guinea pigs.

Sexing guinea pigs
Of course before you attempt to introduce guinea pigs to each other, you need to be sure 100% that you know the sex of your guinea pigs. Please don't rely on pet shops, many pet shops do get the gender wrong. Some even allow mixed sexes to interact and live together so some sows may already be pregnant. Here's how to tell the difference between female and male Guinea Pig, a sow's (female)is genrally in the shape of a "Y". Boys, are usally in the shape of a "Y" too, how ever at the top there will be a "pimple" or lump. Also by pressing next to the "bum" of the male Guinea Pig a lump will come out.

Reason Why Guinea Pigs Need a Cage Mate
In the wild, guinea pigs live in herds, consisting of usually one dominant adult male, several females and their babies. Guinea Pigs would much rather live as a pair or a herd, they feel that there is safety in numbers. They also enjoy the company of their own kind, communicating and interacting with each other. Both males and females have a strict dominance ranking. The domestic Guinea Pigs act in much the same way as wild guinea pigs.

There are also advantages for you as a guinea pig owner. You will get to see so many different kinds of behaviour when they interact with each other. Some behaviour just wouldn't be seen with a lone guinea pig. Playing 'following the leader' tug of war with their vegetables, grooming each other, sniffing, so much more that a lone guinea pig just wouldn't be able to do. One statement that crops up is "my guinea pig won't bond with me if they have a cage mate". This just isn't true. As long as your gentle and caring towards your guinea pigs, they will bond with you. You may also notice that your guinea pig will become more confident and relaxed so that is an added bonus for you and your Guinea Pig.