What should you pay attention to when raising guinea pigs? Four points beginners must not overlook
The guinea pig is a multi-purpose herbivorous animal; its fur can be processed and used, and has the characteristics of bright color, luster, softness, lightness and warmth, suitable for making all kinds of clothing, hats, collars and so on. In recent years, the profits from its artificial breeding have been quite considerable. So, what should beginners pay attention to when raising guinea pigs? These four points must not be overlooked!
1. Breeding environment
Guinea pigs have sensitive hearing, are timid and easily startled, so the environment should be kept quiet, with an optimum temperature of 20-24°C. The controlled range should be 18-26°C. When it exceeds 30°C, guinea pigs lose weight, miscarry, have stillbirths and a high mortality rate; below 15°C, the reproduction rate and growth and development rate decrease. Humidity should be kept between 40% and 60%. Guinea pigs need a certain amount of activity space, and during the lactation period the required activity space is larger. Generally, a guinea pig weighing 300 grams needs about 300 sq cm of activity space, while an 800-gram guinea pig needs 1000 sq cm.
In addition, it should also be noted that although guinea pigs seem gentle by nature, they also have a certain restlessness, and keeping too many of them can also lead to fighting among them, so controlling the number kept is also very important.
2. Reproduction
Guinea pigs have a high reproduction rate, strong disease resistance and early sexual maturity. At 1 to 3 months after birth, the estrous cycle is short, generally about 16 days. They are altricial animals, that is, the female has a relatively long pregnancy of 59-72 days, and can produce 6 litters per year. The embryo develops fully in the mother's body, and after birth it is already fully formed, with the whole body covered in fur, the eyes open, the ears upright, and permanent teeth already present. One hour after birth it can stand and walk, and after several hours it can eat soft feed. After 2 to 3 days, under the care of the mother, it can suckle breast milk while eating green feed or mixed feed, developing and growing rapidly. The young reach sexual maturity at 35 days, and a pair of guinea pigs can reproduce 80 pairs in a year through continuous cycles. Their pregnancy duration is relatively long among rodents, about 50 to 75 days.
3. Choice of feeding utensils
A cleaning and hygiene routine should be established for the cage; generally the bedding should be changed 2 times a week, the feeding utensils washed once a week, and the room disinfected regularly. For the guinea pig's food bowl, avoid choosing plastic or other materials that can be gnawed; choose ceramic or stainless steel, with a certain weight and not easily tipped over. To keep the cage dry, it is recommended to use a ball-bearing water bottle.
4. Feeding
Feed should be added once in the morning and once in the evening; guinea pigs are nocturnal animals, so feed a little more at night. Do not feed guinea pigs onion, scallion, garlic, Chinese chives, ginger, chocolate or coffee. Guinea pigs have a relatively large demand for cellulose, which should be fully taken into account in the feed; a low proportion of crude fiber in the feed easily causes severe hair loss and mutual hair-eating in guinea pigs. Guinea pigs cannot synthesize vitamin C themselves and must obtain it from the feed. A guinea pig weighing 100 grams must have 4 to 5 mg of vitamin C daily, while a pregnant or lactating guinea pig needs 30 to 40 mg. Vitamin C supplementation mainly relies on feeding fresh, succulent green vegetables every day; in the winter in the north, carrots and malt can be used as substitutes. Adding vitamin C to drinking water or adding trace elements, vitamins and essential amino acids to mixed pelleted feed to replace green feed also has a relatively good effect.
Beginners raising guinea pigs should mainly pay attention to the above four points. In addition, when selecting guinea pig breeding stock, be sure to choose those that are strong and vigorous, lively and active, and preferably with glossy hair and no signs of disease.