Should I cut my guinea pig's nails? Or is it something that they do on their own? You are not the first to ask this question.

Chubs

While some piggies bite them off on their own, it’s still a good idea to check from time to time, since when they don’t do it can be uncomfortable for them or they can end up breaking.

1. First you have to check their nails. If you notice that their nails are too long, about to break or already a little broken it’s time to get your nail clippers.

2. Gently take your piggy with both hands and turn them slightly on their back. Hold them close, make sure that they have proper support and that they are relaxed as possible, as they might try to get away(since this isn’t a natural position for them). Some pigs don’t struggle while some always try to get away, no matter what.

3. While cutting their nails you need to be careful. You have to make sure not to cut the ‘’quick’’. That’s the red blood vessel that runs through the nail. If you can’t see it properly you can shine a light at their nails. And if you still aren’t sure just cut the least possible amount so you don’t end up hurting your piggy. Here is a picture which might help:

Where to cut

When setting up your cage or environment for your pigs you will face one of your fist dilemmas. The best bedding arrangement.

Baby&Chubs

Piggies need their exercise. They love running around, exploring and playing with each other. For that, they need a lot of space and they shouldn’t be kept in their cages all the time. However, letting them run around the house can also be problematic for a number of reasons:

• they might eat something they shouldn’t
• they may chew on cables and similar stuff
• they might pee or poop where they shouldn’t…etc)

So what’s the best way to solve this problem? The first idea was to make some kind of fence. However, that’s not easy to make, and they could find a way around it. Since we kept our piggies and their cages on blankets on the floor, we decided to train them not to run off the limits (of their blankets :D)

Rebel of the group

Baby&Chubs

When you hear the name Baby, you might think that our piggy is female. Well, that’s what we thought at first… After having two female Abyssinians for a while, we decided we wanted to add a third piggy to our herd. Since we didn’t want to risk our guinea pigs getting pregnant, we decided to buy another female.

Have you Fed your Guinea Pig with Packaged Food with Grains?

When searching for packaged food you will come across various options. In this post we’re only going to talk about what to avoid and why.

Baby

Any Kind of "Muesli" Mixture is Dangerous Food for Guinea Pigs

NEVER feed your guinea pigs with "Muesli"

One day we noticed that Baby, one of our guinea pigs, stopped eating. So, at first, we tried feeding him. But he wouldn’t chew or swallow his food. While examining him we noticed something was hurting him when he tried to chew. So, for about a week, we fed him using a syringe. At first he couldn't swallow properly, but each day he got better. We realized that he probably got injured eating the grains from the packaged guinea pig food. When we stopped feeding him with a syringe we had to make sure his vegetables were cut into little pieces. When he healed there was no need to keep doing that, as he was able to chew without difficulty again. We stopped giving them food mixed with grains and we haven’t had any problems of that kind ever since. So don't buy anything "crispy" with grains.

Let me introduce you to our little piggy herd. We currently have four members: Chubs, Bounty, Baby and Walter White.

Guinea Pig Mites - How to Detect them

One of the first serious problems we encountered with our piggies was scabies mites. The first warning sign was the fact that they would scratch themselves very often, but at the time we didn’t think much of it. Then one day, as I was petting Chubs I noticed that she had scabs. We took her to the vet right away. 

The vet couldn’t properly diagnose her. She even took a sample of Chubs’s skin to check for bacteria but everything came back clear. Nevertheless, she suggested an antibiotic. We hoped that would solve everything, but nothing happened. It actually got worse. More wounds appeared on her skin and hair started falling out around the affected area. Since the antibiotic obviously wasn’t working, we decided to take things into our own hands. We searched on the internet until we found a forum post that perfectly described  all the symptoms.