A new guinea pig?

Question

my little sister bought a guina pig, and got it a cage, food, bedding, food dish, & water bottle thingy. she decided that a guinea pig is not the pet for her (she's trying to figure out what kind of animal she wants and now has birds), so she gave the guinea pig to me, because i've had two, but something made me wonder if i was taking care of it properly or not, bcuz all my other guinea pigs have died with a very short lifespan :( is there something i should know?

Answer 1

Pets from pet stores usually need treated with Ivermectin for mites. This is what usually kills pigs from pet stores. You should know that any pig that comes from a pet store usually has a short life span. Your pig needs a big c&c cage, veggies daily, and not Vitimine C drops in his water. He also should never have ceder bedding which is deadly to rodents.

Answer 2

Look around online for infromation and maybe try your local vets office and bookstore there are many things that can affect the life span but every one is right buying it at a pet store chances are it will not live as long because of the sicknesses that come from all the other animals at a pet store carry. and please next time your little sister wants a pet tell her to make sure its somthing she really wants be for buying it

Answer 3

Read over http://www.guinealynx.info/healthycavy.h...

Answer 4

Make sure they have a large enough cage.  That is one of the biggest mistakes people make.  If their cage is too small, they do not get enough exercise, can become overweight and are more likely to be unhappy.  The C&C cage is great way to create a custom, large and inexpensive cage (its on the website below).  Another thing I would recommend is avoiding cedar bedding because they are usually allergic and it can shorten a guinea pig's life expectancy.  Make sure they get plenty of vitamin C.  I had a guinea pig when I was younger that got scurvy because we didn't know that we needed to provide him with additional vitamin C from fruits and veggies (he got fixed, but he didn't live as long as GP's are supposed to).  For other tips on how to create a healthy, happy and nurturing living environment, visit the website I provided.  They are great!