2LearnCavia porcellus
Guinea pig
The guinea pig is a rodent domesticated in the Andes, where it is still an important source of meat. Elsewhere it is mostly kept as a gentle, sociable companion animal. Like people, it cannot make its own vitamin C.
Keeping
How it is kept
Kept for
- Companionship
- Meat
- Temperament
- Gentle, vocal and sociable with their own kind
- Mature weight
- 0.7–1.2 kg
- Lifespan
- 5–7 years
- Gestation
- 68 days
- Forage
- Need unlimited hay, fresh vegetables and a daily source of vitamin C, since they cannot make their own.
- Housing
- A spacious enclosure indoors or in a sheltered spot, away from heat and draughts. Give them hiding places and solid flooring.
- Good to know
- Guinea pigs should live with at least one other guinea pig. They need vitamin C in their diet every day. They are best housed apart from rabbits, which can bully them.
Breeds
Guinea pig breeds
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