To help keep your cavies free from diseases, you must regularly check them over for any signs of illness or disease. By including this as part of your daily routine, you give yourself a much better change of being able to pick up any problems early. This gives you time to treat them before they get out of hand. In particular, you should keep an eye on these 3 things:
1. Illness
Guinea pigs naturally try to cover up any problems they have. Sadly, this means that it is not uncommon for them to be harbouring a serious ailment without you noticing.
Guinea pigs' nose, ears,, and eyes are particularly prone to getting infected. You should examine them on a regular basis, ideally on a daily basis, to make sure that they are clear and clean. If you spot anything unusual, take them to see a professional immediately.
2. Dental Care
Guinea pigs' teeth continue to grow throughout their lives, so they need a way to wear them down, so that they don't get too long and make eating difficult and painful.
When living in the wild, cavies keep their teeth trimmed by using twigs and hay to wear them down. You must provide similar objects for your pet guinea pig. You should make sure that they have plenty of fresh hay, and you can also buy them hard chew sticks to aid the process.
3. Cleaning Them
It is important to wash your pet from time to time, to help get rid of any ingrained dirt. Besides the fact that this reduces the danger of your cavy catching a disease, it also gets rid of any smalls they have picked up over time.
You should bathe your pet straight after bringing him home from the pet shop. This will help to remove any ticks that he may have caught. Then you should clean him whenever he needs it - roughly once every three or four months is usually sufficient.
Showing posts with label cavies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cavies. Show all posts
Friday, 5 February 2010
Cavies - 3 Important Tips For Handling Guinea Pigs
Not many animals are as easy and fun to own as cavies. They really love to be petted and handled, which makes them ideal for children and adults looking for a responsive, affectionate animal.
Below you will find 3 pieces of important advice that you must bear in mind whenever playing with your pets:
1. Keep Them Safe
A great thing about cavies is that they are much more content to sit still than many other small pets such as hamsters and mice. Having said that, sometimes they might attempt to jump out of your hands, and this can lead to you dropping them. Obviously, this could potentially be harmful to your pet's fragile body.
In order to minimise this danger, you should hold your guinea pigs above a soft surface, such as carpet, your lap, or a table with a towel on it. That way if they do fall, they shouldn't be harmed.
2. Don't Let Children Handle Them Alone
Guinea pigs are relatively big animals, which can make them more awkward to hold than other, smaller pets. Children especially can find them tricky to hold, and may be more likely to drop them.
If your children have guinea pigs but cannot handle them easily, it is a good idea if you handle their animal for them, and let them pet it. This allows your kids to spend quality time with their cavies until they are big enough to handle them alone.
3. Put Them Back When They're Tired
Cavies are on the whole quite calm creatures, and are perfectly happy to saty put on your lap being petted for long periods of time. However, they will eventually become worn out and want to return to their cage to have some time to themselves.
You might find that your animal's attitude changes from docile and relaxed to slightly jumpy. For example, they may attempt to escape your arms or jump onto the ground. When they get like this it is important to put them back in their cage.
Below you will find 3 pieces of important advice that you must bear in mind whenever playing with your pets:
1. Keep Them Safe
A great thing about cavies is that they are much more content to sit still than many other small pets such as hamsters and mice. Having said that, sometimes they might attempt to jump out of your hands, and this can lead to you dropping them. Obviously, this could potentially be harmful to your pet's fragile body.
In order to minimise this danger, you should hold your guinea pigs above a soft surface, such as carpet, your lap, or a table with a towel on it. That way if they do fall, they shouldn't be harmed.
2. Don't Let Children Handle Them Alone
Guinea pigs are relatively big animals, which can make them more awkward to hold than other, smaller pets. Children especially can find them tricky to hold, and may be more likely to drop them.
If your children have guinea pigs but cannot handle them easily, it is a good idea if you handle their animal for them, and let them pet it. This allows your kids to spend quality time with their cavies until they are big enough to handle them alone.
3. Put Them Back When They're Tired
Cavies are on the whole quite calm creatures, and are perfectly happy to saty put on your lap being petted for long periods of time. However, they will eventually become worn out and want to return to their cage to have some time to themselves.
You might find that your animal's attitude changes from docile and relaxed to slightly jumpy. For example, they may attempt to escape your arms or jump onto the ground. When they get like this it is important to put them back in their cage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
