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A Guinea-pig Song
There was a little guinea-pig,
Who, being little, was not big;
He always walked upon his feet,
And never fasted when he eat.
When from a place he run away,
He never at the place did stay;
And while he run, as I am told,
He ne'er stood still for young or old.
He often squeaked, and sometimes violent,
And when he squeaked he ne'er was silent.
Though ne'er instructed by a cat,
He knew a mouse was not a rat.
One day, as I am certified,
He took a whim and fairly died;
And as I am told by men of sense,
He never has been living since.
By Anonymous (1973) found in The Oxford Book of Children's Verse by Iona Archibald Opie.
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The Forgotten Guinea Pig
This story received first prize in the Cavies Galore song, story, and poem contest!
There was once a family of guinea pigs. They were given to the pet store to be sold. All of the guinea pigs were babies just born five weeks ago. They were all different colors. Blacks, browns, and whites. But one guinea pig did not look at pretty as the others. She was brown, but looked very dirty. Her fur was matted down, and she was missing fur in some places. Naturally, all the other guinea pigs were bought first. Before she knew it she was left alone in the cage. She was put into a new cage in the back of the store where no one could see her. The guinea pig was alone and sad. She had no one to care for her or feed her. But one day a little boy came into the pet store. He had saved his money for a long time to get a guinea pig. When he found out there were none at the pet store, he knew he couldn't give up that easily. He heard a noise from the back of the room. A wheeeeek! He found the guinea pig and he was overwhelmed with joy. So was the guinea pig. He did not care what the guinea pig looked like. But he knew he loved it. He bought the guinea pig, and took it home. He made a wonderful house for it and fed it cabbage and carrots everyday. They both lived happily ever after.
By Anna
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The housing should be lined with bedding at a minimum of 1 inch deep, ideally deeper in the sleeping areas. You should never use softwoods such as pine or cedar shavings for bedding, as these emit harmful odors called phenols that cause your guinea pig respiratory problems. Hardwoods such as aspen are fine. Other options for bedding are recycled paper products such as Carefresh; these are more expensive, but also stay clean for longer than shavings and are easier on a guinea pig's feet. A cage needs to be cleaned generally every couple weeks at the very minimum (depending on how many cavies you own).
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The most common kinds of guinea pig (especially in pet stores) are the short-haired "American" or "Self" breed and the "Abyssinian", which has curly, cow-licked hair. Long-haired guinea pigs (the Sheltie/Silky and Peruvian breeds) are very beautiful pets, but they need daily grooming to be healthy, thus making them not usually suitable for children. The hair near the rear of the Guinea Pig must be cut and cleaned on a regular basis, or it will get caked with feces and the bedding from the cage. Short hair guinea pigs take less effort in the hygienic and cosmetic categories, but still need to be properly cared for. Therefor, the peruvian guinea pig breed is the most difficault breed to care for due to the long hair. it gets tsngled every once in a while.
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Taking care in choosing your guinea pig and its possible companions is the first, and possibly the most important, step in keeping guinea pigs. Make sure your guinea pigs are either of the same sex or neutered/spayed. Never trust a pet store employee to sex a guinea pig. Pet stores provide absolutely zero training in sexing their animals. As there have been several documented cases of major pet stores purchasing guinea pigs from breeders that later had their animals confiscated and were even convicted of animal cruelty, it is usually better to first try and adopt from your local humane society or cavy-specific rescue. This reduces the possible risk of receiving an already unhealthy guinea pig.
