A Healthy Guinea Pig: Choosing Your Pets

Where to Buy:

Rescues:
This should be you first call when you are looking for pet cavies; there are many healthy guinea pigs in rescues around the country waiting for loving homes. Many will be adults, but a few babies are sometimes available from rescues where the sow has been pregnant. These guinea pigs will have been given a complete health check and should be socialised before becoming available for adoption. The Staff or owners of the rescue should be well experienced at placing animals with suitable new owners, assessing the environment that the new owners have and the family that the guinea pigs are moving into.

To find these rescues, check around local veterinary surgeries to see if they have any notices, have contacts, or customers who rescue. Search the internet for Cavy or guinea pigs rescue, there are a lot around the UK that have websites. You can contact the RSPCA to find out if they have any in their rescue centres. The RSPCA may know of further guinea pig rescues and give you contacts.

Breeders of quality Stock:
You have to be careful here, but most breeders of Show Cavies will have healthy, chunky little guinea pigs, that are sound in health and temperament. The aim of the cavy fancier is to breed for 'Quality not Quantity' In fact if these pampered animals were cared for in other way than the best, the fancier will not be able to show successfully. Matings are thought out before the boar and sow are introduced to each other, the babies are brought up on a good diet and socialised, both with other guinea pigs and humans. An animal that is nervous does not do well on a show table. Sows will only have 2 - 3 litters in a life time.
There are some who cull, but these are few and far between.

To find a good breeder, visit shows that may be advertised in your local paper, agricultural shows often have a small animal section. (Do not buy from a show; you need to actually visit the breeder to see his Cavies in their home environment.) Here you can see the different breeds, their characteristics and decide what you would like as pets. Fanciers normally exchange stock amongst themselves, when they are looking for new cavies to improve on their own line of show cavies. But they do sometimes have lovely little Guinea pigs that could go to a pet home.
Also check out sites on the internet, many studs have contact information on websites.
Local Vets may be able to help, as they may have breeders on their books.

When buying from a breeder, be sure to go to them to collect your New Guinea pigs. You should be able to see where they are kept, and what their living conditions are like. The caviary should be clean and airy with no unpleasant odours. The guinea pigs should have good hay, food and clean water available. There should be a range of ages kept, with only a few babies up to old adults. If there are no older, re-tired guinea pigs, then you have to ask yourself what happens to these older animals. You should be able to meet Mum and Dad, unless the sow was bred to another fancier's boar which was borrowed.
The breeder should be able to answer any questions you have and give you a bag of the food that the youngsters are presently fed on. This is so you can slowly change the diet to the food type you are going to use. You may have to wait for babies if the breeder has no present youngsters ready.

Pet Shops:
Be very careful, not all of them are bad, but the good are few and spread out. A lot of them will be supplied be back yard/box breeders who are out for money and it is impossible to look after animals properly and make money. Sometimes the animals are sold to a pet animal distribution company, this means they have been picked up and taken to a despatch dept' before being mixed with other guinea pigs and sent on again. The Stress is horrendous, not to mentions the possibilities of infections spreading through the whole lot.
Some pet shops buy from local breeders who have a few youngsters available, or from guinea pig owners who have had an 'accidental mating' these should come into the shop ready sexed in separate pens. They should have been quarantined, so that any problems will show up before they are sold. The sale pens should be clean with hay, food and water available (greens are usually given at night so they can be cleaned up before opening next day) and hopefully the guinea pigs will not be housed with rabbits (Keeping rabbits and guinea pigs together is very unwise, so even if the pet shop staff say it's OK, don't) Thestaff should be knowledgeable and should be able to give you advice, about the food presently being feed, care on introducing new diets and foods, and general care and handling. You should be able to hold the animals you are looking at under supervision of one of the staff. There should be leaflets available, or at least books that you can purchase.

• A fit animal that feels firm on handling.


• Eyes should be bright and clear, with no discharge, opaqueness, crustiness or injury.


• The nose should be clear with no discharge, and no ruttling noise on breathing.


• Check the teeth, or ask to be shown them, the front teeth should be even and chisel-shaped.

uneven front teeth can indicate trouble with the back teeth.

• There should be no wetness around the mouth, or any drooling. It's alright is the guinea pig has just been drinking, some of them are really messy with their drinking water.


• The ears should be clean, without excessive wax, and not smell.


• The coat should be shiny and free from lice or fleas, with no bald patches (a bald spot behind each ear is normal)


• The skin should not have breaks, dandruff or have scabs or pimples.


• The genital area should be clean, not be excessively wet, with unpleasant smells and have no sign of diarrhea or impaction.

Remember all guinea pigs are shy and nervous, after all in the wild they are dinner for many animals. So nervousness when first meeting your pets is to be expected. Once in their new home and the come to know you they are wonderful, talkative, loving, little animals.
They very, very rarely bite, if they do it is because they are in pain or are very scared.
Be sure to supervise young children when they are holding their guinea pigs. Accidents can happen
Also buy 2 of the same sex; they need company of their own kind.