Guinea Pig Care:

                 In order to keep your Guinea pig in the best possible condition, you will need to  handle him daily,  check him over for signs of illness and injuries. They may be very sick, but unless you are looking for specific symptoms, you may not realise he is ill until he is very ill.

This daily check list will help you spot signs of trouble or illness early enough for the vets intervention and treatment of the problem.

Daily Check List:

                  To make sure your Guinea pig is healthy and doing well, carefully check the following every day.

Water Bottle.

                       Check your Guinea pigs drinking water.  Make sure he has clean, fresh, cool water at all times, especially when feeding your guinea pig dried foods and during the hot summer months. Also, make sure that the water bottle is not leaking, or  blocked.

Food Dish.

              One of the first signs that a Guinea pig is sick is that he stops eating, Check the food dish every day, check around and underneath to make sure that your Guinea pig had eaten his food and not just thrown it around.   Never top up the half-full food dish. As it becomes stale very fast, and moulds and toxins can build up which can be very harmful to Guinea pigs.

Hay.
                 Always maintain a fresh supply of hay for your Guinea pig, remove any left from the previous day. Always store your hay in dry conditions as damp hay goes mouldy very quickly and must not be fed to your Guinea pig.

Feeding Your Guinea Pig.
                 Your Guinea Pig should be fed a good proprietary commercial guinea pig food such as Gerty Guinea Pig.
He should also be given as large a variety of fruits and vegetables as you can, Guinea pigs are natural grazers feeding fruit and vegetables  such as Carrots, cauliflower heads and leaves, celery, parsley, dandelion together with apples or oranges daily helps to keep them healthy.
Guinea pig vitamin drops are an excellent supplement  for your pet as guinea pigs cant produce their own vitamin C.

General  posture.

               Take a good look at your Guinea pig. Does he look bright and alert, or is he just sitting around in a listless sort of way. Is he relaxed,  hunched up, or grinding his teeth. Is your Guinea pig behaving the way he usually does?

Many experienced Animal  owners will tell you the first sign that they have of  illness is: "the Animal just didn't act the same".

Eye condition.

                        A healthy Guinea pig has bright, alert eyes. Watery eyes, eyes with lots of redness, and pus  are all signs of an eye infection that needs veterinary attention. Dull eyes indicate that the Guinea pig isn't feeling well, and you need to investigate further to determine the cause.

Ear condition.
                       Look in your Guinea pigs ears. Are there signs of a wax build-up or a grey-black debris? If so, he needs to be checked for ear-mite, and treated if needed. Redness and signs of infection need to be looked at by your vet .