That a female guinea pig can have up to five litters per year!! gosh with maybe two to four or more at one time, mamma mia that's a lot of babies, for one wee wumman.
And that their pelvis bones fuse once they are fully grown, leaving the poor dears with a rigid or perhaps under-sized pelvis, causing difficult births, so for this reason it is recommended that gp's should be mated fairly young , maybe as young as twelve weeks, and no more than ten months for their first litter, the time to retire them from breeding altogether should be at 24 months.
Most gp's can live to between four to seven years old, maybe even longer if they are really fit.
If you have a heavy cold you should try to keep your distance from the wee darlings, cos you can give them the cold also, get a family member to help feed them etc, till you feel better.
The scientific name for gp's is wait for it 'Cavia porcellus' which means "the pig like cavy" and the word guinea pig originated from the then Guiana Coast of South America, and the wee darlings were first brought to ours shores by Spanish sailors, "muchas gracias senori" ta very much.
Even though we know them as guinea pigs, they are actually rodents, from the rodent family, their cousins include hamsters, gerbils, mice, voles, moles, dormice, rats, chinchillas, the list could go on and on., but I'll stop before my fingers get sore.
Do you know the two main uses for
their little whiskers? OK I shall tell you,
1. To sense danger
around their face.
2. Also they bristle them out to feel, going
through tight spaces, if their little whiskers can't fit, they
wont go into the space.
WELL THIS TUNNELING PIG FITS THE TUBE NICELY, PEEK A BOO!
Their mouths have room for twenty teeth, no not all at once, the front teeth keep growing, gnawing grinds them down, so don't worry if your gp loses a piece of its tooth, it will soon grow in again.
Did you know gp's do not have sweat glands, so they can't pant like a dog does to cool down, if they get to hot their body temperature rises dramatically, which can be fatal, so dont leave them in direct sunlight, or in very hot places like a conservatory, the glass walls put their temperature up.
Guinea pigs have tails, oh yes they do, it's so short you can't see it, but you can feel it, so go on why don't you and you'll see I'm right.
Guinea pigs are nervous timid little creatures, so give them places to hide, they also sleep for up to five hours per day, but no longer than ten minutes at a time, guess what their fav pastime is? yes you're correct - EATING!! they'll spend up to six hours each day nibbling, what a life eh!!
All gp's love company, so if you only have one you'll need to give it loads of luv and attention, or the poor wee cavy will pine for want of cuddles and affection, it's really far better to have at least two of the adorable wee honeys, of course two of the same sex is the sensible approach here, unless you want to open your own gp farm.
Guinea pigs have their own way of communicating with each other obviously, and us, you'll soon get to know what all the different little noises mean, such as the high pitched "wheek wheek" sound, usually it's for attention, "hey you, I'm wanting food, so feed me, its supper time", or the wee darling is frightened. Another sound we call the sheeping noise is when our two girlies are trying to be top pig again, and they circle each other making this strange noise similar to a machine gun, if you have two or more piggies, you will have heard this sound many times I bet, males also do this when they fancy a wee female, naughty boars.
Our pigs also use this same sound when they don't like something, if anyone whistles they sheep, if the birds outside dare to whistle they sheep, if you sneeze, cough or laugh yep they sheep their disapproval. When they are finally in a good mood, when they are getting lots of petting, or their special little piggy chocolate drops, then they make a little purring sound. Tthey are very noisy wee creatures sometimes, but its so interesting to watch them talk to each other, listen and you'll soon know what they want from you. Ours know when its feeding time every night, about the same time they become very alert, their wee tummies are telling them it's feeding time, as soon as they hear the fridge door being opened they listen for our footsteps on the stairs which lets them know supper is on the way,...they become very vocal and excited, running around the cage in circles, until the magic moment when their food is put in the cage, and they wolf it down very quickly.
Did you know, that all wild gps are called Agoutis this is their correct name, explained in more detail on my COLOURS AND PATTERNS page, why not have a nosey.
I bet you didn't know that gps are herbivores, translated this means they only eat grasses and plants, (veggies) they wont thank you for a wee piece of steak or chicken then.
Any food that causes gas in us humans also causes gas in our wee gps too, so avoid feeding your gps onions and garlic, I doubt if our gps would eat these vegetables anyhow, have you smelled them, phew they are strong.
Do you provide your wee darlings with toys to play with, what you didn't know they like to play, well they do, so give them items such as pipes to tunnel in, a card box with a wee door cut out to hide in, either finished kitchen or toilet paper rolls to chew, and apparently small dog toys or chew toys, as long as they dont have any loose parts and must be totally safe for your gp to chew, without any choking, if in any doubt dont give them some of these items, unless under your careful supervision. Our girlies love shredded paper to dive into and hide, and plastic pipes to run through, also small cardboard boxes or toilet paper rolls to chew and toss about. These are perfectly safe.
Now we don't just have vets to deal with sick little piggies, nope we have wait for it ... Rodentologist's who have in-depth training on rodents, and the good news is some are praticising within some veterinary practices in the UK...a vet's opinion is usually sound and correct, but they have to know so much about so many different species of animals that they can't know exactly every little facet of the gp's make-up, but a Rodentologist only specialises in little whiskered animals, so he or she is more expert in this field, and I think that they could only complement and free the vet to tackle all the other animals needing attention, by helping to deal with all the rodent side of the vet's practice, dont you agree?
If you have any interesting facts I have missed out, why don't you let me know, sign my guestbook, and leave me your news and views, I look forward to communicating with other piggy lovers.