CAVY CARE
BEDDING
We used to use kiln dried,dust extracted wood shavings.
On the show longhairs we use a hemp bedding called Aubiose.
.
The bedding which is not be used is Cedar shavings.
Feeding
Guinea pigs can't produce thier own vitamin C so they rely on getting it from thier veggies and dry mix.
We use Allen and Page Guinea Pig mix
Vegetable wise, A few to mention are Carrot, Celery ( good in calcium), Cucumber, Kale ( good in vitamin C ), Fresh greens, Beetroot, Parsley and corriander.
Our pigs main veggies per day is Carrot, Celery, cucumber,Kale one night then Fresh greens the next, but these are not fed in large quantities, a little bit of each we feel is sufficiant for one day.
Friut
They can eat bits of fruit as a treat but not to over do it as too much can cause mouth ulcers especially Apple .
Apple, Orange, grapes,kiwi.
Hay
They need Hay to help thier digestion remain healthy aswell as to help keep teeth down to a suitable level.
Hay should be available 24/7.
If your hay is damp and mouldy do not give it to them and if you have just bought a new bale and its like that you should take it back to where you got it from.
Alfalfa hay
This hay is a good hay for babies, pregnant/nursing mums.
We give it to babies up to the age of 5 months, pregnant sows get it from 3 weeks after you have paired them up and then they stop having it when the babies are about 6 weeks old, it is given to them every other day.
If feeding Alfalfa it should be fed aswell as the normal hay.
Water
Water should get changed every day, especially in the warmer weather, you will be surprised at how many bacteria organisms delvelop and should never be allowed to run out, they can dehydrate very quickly in the hot months which has fatal consequences.
Breeding
Breeding is a thing that must not be taken lightly, you should do alot of research and should be aware of the risks of breeding,aswell as do you have the means to get you pig to the vets if something goes wrong.The biggest risk is Toxemia ( read Toxemia further down ).
Then you must think what you are going to do with the babies, if you cant find anyone to have them off of you are you willing and have the resources to keep them.
Sows should idealy be around 5-6 months old and no later than 8 months as thier pelvic bones fuse together and she could have problem delivering which means the vet will have to do a c-section. Leave the boar in for no more than 9 weeks then remove him as if he is in thier when she deliver's the babies he will mate her again. Some breeders will leave the boar in with the sow until they can definatly feel that the sow is in pig.
Thier gestation is around 60-72 days (10 weeks . When they are born they will start to eat dry mix in about 24 hrs (some even do it in a couple of hours) aswell as feeding from mum. At 3 weeks you need to be sure of what sex they are as at 4 weeks any boars will need to be removed as they will mate mum. It has been known though that boars can impregnate at 3 weeks, if you see any baby boars mating mum at 3 weeks and they are a goodsize you can remove them then. Sows can stay with mum if you wish, but if they are longhairs and you wish to show her you should remove her at 3 weeks also as mum or other pigs will chew the coat.
Babies should be at least 8 weeks old before you sell any, and remember pregnant/nursing sows need plenty of veggies to keep up thier vitamin C, we give them slightly bigger portions and they tend to drink more water.
Toxemia
Toxemia is a deadly condition that affect pregnant sows who get overweight, symptoms are sweet smelling breath(like peardrops) and in the later stages they are unable to pick up food without dropping it, a vet can try and cure it by giving Vitamin C injections.Although survival is a minimum, if a sow does survive she can have permant organ damage and her life will be shortened
This condition can be avoided by giving plenty of water and veggies that are good in Vitamin C like bell peppers, kale and Parsley and by not feeding them excessice amount of dry mix.
Stress can also cause a sow to go toxic, this is because she can quite easily go off her food, then she will start to survive off of her natural reserves, which will put the sow in to ketosis, and her body can't cope with the demand for nutrition and energy.
Mites
Mites ( Trixicarus Caviae )
Mites burrow themselves under the skin and feed of the blood which makes the pig scratch, symptoms are bald patches and dandruff looking skin, A vet will need to see your pig for this as the pig will need a course of a drug called Ivermectin.
Mites left untreated can cause fitting in the later stages which leads to death.
Ivermectin is only effective on mites as they feed off of the blood supply, the recomended practice for this is 2 doses 10 days apart from each other with a 3rd dose if it is a nasty one.
Static Lice
Static lice feed off of the dead skin and they stick to the hair shafts, they look like dust particles.
These can be treated with a anti-parasitic Shampoo.
Running Lice
Running lice also called Walking dandruff are small and greyish and wriggly that live at the roots of the hair epecially where it is warm like along the back, at the rump and behind the ears, and these also feed of of the sin debris. The eggs Look like white dust at the roots.
These can be killed of with an anti-parasitic spray or shampoo which is safe for guinea pigs.
Whenever i use the spray i like to bathe the pig 48hrs after to clear any residue from the product.
we use a shampoo which contains tea tree oil which conditions the hair and scalp.
When bathing them make sure they are completly dry before putting them back in thier home and it is worth while cleaning out there home before you put them back in.
Fungal Infection
Fungal infections can possibly be more problamatic ans serious than parasitic problems and to determine between the two can be hard, as a general rule the skin will be dry looking, flaky and looks like dandruff but this can also happen with mites due to the pig scratcing, one other sign is if you were to gently pull on the hair, it will come out in clumps with the possibility of dry skin on the roots, this does not happen when it comes to mites, although when a Fungal Infection is present the hair does not always come out with ease.
If it is left, the infection can infect the system by either inhalation due to the cavy scratching and inhaling the skin debris which can cause respritory infections and can also cause infection of the mouth or by ingestion when the pig bites itself to try and end the irritation, which can cause, it can also affect the nervous system and cause fits.
You can treat for fungal infection at the same time, as to dermine between parasitic and fungal can be quite hard.
Although wait 48 hrs after being treated with ivomec or the anti-parasitic shampoo before treating fungal infections, Good anti fungal shampoo's is Alphosyl and Tea tree oil shampoo, Alphosyl being the better, Tea tree oil shampoo can be bought form supermarkets, Alphosyl can be bought from chemists which you do not need a perscription as most of the time it is on the shelves.
Here at Alanbrooke i will always check for Lice to see if thats causing a irritant to which at the same time i will notice the condition of the skin especially at the hairless area, if i find Lice i will treat for Parasitic first if i cant see lice i will treat for Fungal first then 48 hrs later i will treat for mites, although sometimes after Fungal treatment i will wait to see if hair starts to grow back before i think about Ivomec.
One Note that needs to be taken in to account is Pregnant sows that suddenly has developed a Blad patch especially on her back near her rump is not neccesarily a Parasitic or Fungal problem more due to hormornal and will clear up from the end of lactating.
Also the Rex and the Teddy also have a problem with bald spots on the back and this is regardless of sex, and it usually ends up with the cavies coat losing condition but as the patch clears up the condition of the coat improves why this affects these two breeds is unknown, and as it can clear up pretty quickly i doubt its Mites, Lice or Fungal, although giving the pig a bath in tee tree oil shampoo helps very effectively which may indicate dry skin and the Rex does generally have dry skin.
We used to use kiln dried,dust extracted wood shavings.
On the show longhairs we use a hemp bedding called Aubiose.
.
The bedding which is not be used is Cedar shavings.
Feeding
Guinea pigs can't produce thier own vitamin C so they rely on getting it from thier veggies and dry mix.
We use Allen and Page Guinea Pig mix
Vegetable wise, A few to mention are Carrot, Celery ( good in calcium), Cucumber, Kale ( good in vitamin C ), Fresh greens, Beetroot, Parsley and corriander.
Our pigs main veggies per day is Carrot, Celery, cucumber,Kale one night then Fresh greens the next, but these are not fed in large quantities, a little bit of each we feel is sufficiant for one day.
Friut
They can eat bits of fruit as a treat but not to over do it as too much can cause mouth ulcers especially Apple .
Apple, Orange, grapes,kiwi.
Hay
They need Hay to help thier digestion remain healthy aswell as to help keep teeth down to a suitable level.
Hay should be available 24/7.
If your hay is damp and mouldy do not give it to them and if you have just bought a new bale and its like that you should take it back to where you got it from.
Alfalfa hay
This hay is a good hay for babies, pregnant/nursing mums.
We give it to babies up to the age of 5 months, pregnant sows get it from 3 weeks after you have paired them up and then they stop having it when the babies are about 6 weeks old, it is given to them every other day.
If feeding Alfalfa it should be fed aswell as the normal hay.
Water
Water should get changed every day, especially in the warmer weather, you will be surprised at how many bacteria organisms delvelop and should never be allowed to run out, they can dehydrate very quickly in the hot months which has fatal consequences.
Breeding
Breeding is a thing that must not be taken lightly, you should do alot of research and should be aware of the risks of breeding,aswell as do you have the means to get you pig to the vets if something goes wrong.The biggest risk is Toxemia ( read Toxemia further down ).
Then you must think what you are going to do with the babies, if you cant find anyone to have them off of you are you willing and have the resources to keep them.
Sows should idealy be around 5-6 months old and no later than 8 months as thier pelvic bones fuse together and she could have problem delivering which means the vet will have to do a c-section. Leave the boar in for no more than 9 weeks then remove him as if he is in thier when she deliver's the babies he will mate her again. Some breeders will leave the boar in with the sow until they can definatly feel that the sow is in pig.
Thier gestation is around 60-72 days (10 weeks . When they are born they will start to eat dry mix in about 24 hrs (some even do it in a couple of hours) aswell as feeding from mum. At 3 weeks you need to be sure of what sex they are as at 4 weeks any boars will need to be removed as they will mate mum. It has been known though that boars can impregnate at 3 weeks, if you see any baby boars mating mum at 3 weeks and they are a goodsize you can remove them then. Sows can stay with mum if you wish, but if they are longhairs and you wish to show her you should remove her at 3 weeks also as mum or other pigs will chew the coat.
Babies should be at least 8 weeks old before you sell any, and remember pregnant/nursing sows need plenty of veggies to keep up thier vitamin C, we give them slightly bigger portions and they tend to drink more water.
Toxemia
Toxemia is a deadly condition that affect pregnant sows who get overweight, symptoms are sweet smelling breath(like peardrops) and in the later stages they are unable to pick up food without dropping it, a vet can try and cure it by giving Vitamin C injections.Although survival is a minimum, if a sow does survive she can have permant organ damage and her life will be shortened
This condition can be avoided by giving plenty of water and veggies that are good in Vitamin C like bell peppers, kale and Parsley and by not feeding them excessice amount of dry mix.
Stress can also cause a sow to go toxic, this is because she can quite easily go off her food, then she will start to survive off of her natural reserves, which will put the sow in to ketosis, and her body can't cope with the demand for nutrition and energy.
Mites
Mites ( Trixicarus Caviae )
Mites burrow themselves under the skin and feed of the blood which makes the pig scratch, symptoms are bald patches and dandruff looking skin, A vet will need to see your pig for this as the pig will need a course of a drug called Ivermectin.
Mites left untreated can cause fitting in the later stages which leads to death.
Ivermectin is only effective on mites as they feed off of the blood supply, the recomended practice for this is 2 doses 10 days apart from each other with a 3rd dose if it is a nasty one.
Static Lice
Static lice feed off of the dead skin and they stick to the hair shafts, they look like dust particles.
These can be treated with a anti-parasitic Shampoo.
Running Lice
Running lice also called Walking dandruff are small and greyish and wriggly that live at the roots of the hair epecially where it is warm like along the back, at the rump and behind the ears, and these also feed of of the sin debris. The eggs Look like white dust at the roots.
These can be killed of with an anti-parasitic spray or shampoo which is safe for guinea pigs.
Whenever i use the spray i like to bathe the pig 48hrs after to clear any residue from the product.
we use a shampoo which contains tea tree oil which conditions the hair and scalp.
When bathing them make sure they are completly dry before putting them back in thier home and it is worth while cleaning out there home before you put them back in.
Fungal Infection
Fungal infections can possibly be more problamatic ans serious than parasitic problems and to determine between the two can be hard, as a general rule the skin will be dry looking, flaky and looks like dandruff but this can also happen with mites due to the pig scratcing, one other sign is if you were to gently pull on the hair, it will come out in clumps with the possibility of dry skin on the roots, this does not happen when it comes to mites, although when a Fungal Infection is present the hair does not always come out with ease.
If it is left, the infection can infect the system by either inhalation due to the cavy scratching and inhaling the skin debris which can cause respritory infections and can also cause infection of the mouth or by ingestion when the pig bites itself to try and end the irritation, which can cause, it can also affect the nervous system and cause fits.
You can treat for fungal infection at the same time, as to dermine between parasitic and fungal can be quite hard.
Although wait 48 hrs after being treated with ivomec or the anti-parasitic shampoo before treating fungal infections, Good anti fungal shampoo's is Alphosyl and Tea tree oil shampoo, Alphosyl being the better, Tea tree oil shampoo can be bought form supermarkets, Alphosyl can be bought from chemists which you do not need a perscription as most of the time it is on the shelves.
Here at Alanbrooke i will always check for Lice to see if thats causing a irritant to which at the same time i will notice the condition of the skin especially at the hairless area, if i find Lice i will treat for Parasitic first if i cant see lice i will treat for Fungal first then 48 hrs later i will treat for mites, although sometimes after Fungal treatment i will wait to see if hair starts to grow back before i think about Ivomec.
One Note that needs to be taken in to account is Pregnant sows that suddenly has developed a Blad patch especially on her back near her rump is not neccesarily a Parasitic or Fungal problem more due to hormornal and will clear up from the end of lactating.
Also the Rex and the Teddy also have a problem with bald spots on the back and this is regardless of sex, and it usually ends up with the cavies coat losing condition but as the patch clears up the condition of the coat improves why this affects these two breeds is unknown, and as it can clear up pretty quickly i doubt its Mites, Lice or Fungal, although giving the pig a bath in tee tree oil shampoo helps very effectively which may indicate dry skin and the Rex does generally have dry skin.