Guinea Pigs: Complete Care Made Easy-Practical Advice To Caring For your Guinea Pig

Virginia Parker Guidry

i5 Publishing, Oct 11, 2011 - Pets - 144 pages

“Compact, easy-to-care-for, and a bundle of fun” is how author Virginia Parker Guidry describes the irresistible guinea pig. Ideal pets for families with children, cavies (as they’re often called) are clean, odorless, gentle, loving, and entertaining. This Complete Care Made Easy Guinea Pigs encapsulates all the virtues of these perfect small mammals and gives new owners practical advice about how to care for them. In chapter one, “A Guinea What?” the author talks about the guinea pig’s natural history—they’re neither pigs nor from Guinea, but rather a rodent from Peru—and how scientists classify this very unique mammal. To decide whether the guinea pig is right for you, chapter two discusses who makes the ideal owner and presents thirteen popular breeds of longhaired and shorthaired guinea pigs and the colors available to pet owners today.

The chapter “Finding a Healthy Guinea Pig” offers solid advice about selecting the right guinea pig, where to purchase or adopt, and the preferred sex. A complete chapter on preparing for the guinea pig offers the reader excellent advice about acclimating the new pet to the home, selecting the best cage and hutch, and pig-proofing the home. The subject of understanding guinea pig behavior is discussed in the chapter “Living with a Guinea Pig,” which also covers daily-care topics such as feeding, grooming, handling, exercise, and litter box training. Keeping the guinea pig healthy is discussed in “Staying Healthy,” a chapter that covers preventing illness, choosing a veterinarian, and common ailments. The final chapter “Just for the Fun of It!” explores games, toys, activities, and showing guinea pigs. The appendix includes lists of pig-specific clubs, organizations, and websites. Glossary of terms and index included.

Contents

• Foreword: 8
• A Guinea What? An Introduction to Guinea Pigs: 10
• Is a Guinea Pig the Right Pet for You?: 20
• Finding a Healthy Guinea Pig: 38
• Preparing for a Guinea Pig: 50
• Living with and Caring for a Guinea Pig: 76
• Staying Healthy: 104
• Just for the Fun of It: 124
• Appendix: 136
• Glossary: 140
• Index: 142

About the author

Virginia Parker Guidry is a contributing editor to "Dog Fancy" and "Natural Pet" magazines. The former editor of "Pet Health News, Horse Illustrated," and "Cat Lovers" magazines, she has written several books about pets. She lives in Southern California with her husband and son.
Joanne Howl, D.V.M., "Your Pet's Life"(TM) series editor, is the president of the Maryland Veterinary Medical Association and a small-animal practitioner. She lives in West River, Maryland, with her family, two dogs, and six cats.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Guinea Pigs: Complete Care Made Easy-Practical Advice To Caring For your Guinea Pig; Complete Care Made Easy
• Author: Virginia Parker Guidry
• Photographs by: Carolyn McKeone
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: i5 Publishing, 2011
• ISBN: 1937049078, 9781937049072
• Length: 144 pages
• Subjects: Pets / Rabbits, Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs, etc