Saturday, May 22, 2010

Are guinea pigs really so picky?

always when I asked for help about guinea pigs, I always got more different answers. someone says this, another one says that. my friends guinea pig eats salad and he is okay, while others tells me not to give salad to a guinea pig. then this is good, this is not good. saw dust or that wooden shavings isnt good cause it can cause respiratory problems, but my friends guinea pig is fine on that thing. how can it be so many differences?
Answers:
The reason there are so many differences is because people are very different with regard to how they determine what is best for their pet. Some people listen %26 some don't. Is that "simple" enough?
Using YOUR example:
Pet Owner #1: Doesn't listen to expert advice %26 uses sawdust or cedar shavings. Pig is fine for a year or so, but then comes down with respiratory infections that just won't go away. Owner thinks pig just has a cold %26 will get over it, ignoring expert advice to take it to the vet. Pig dies.
Pet Owner #2: Listens to expert advice %26 uses Carefresh or aspen. Pig is healthy. Owner listens to expert advice %26 feeds fresh veggies. Pig is healthy %26 does not need to visit the vet.
Just because your friend is doing something, does that make her an expert on cavy care?
Some people have more experience than others.
Some people guess (which can be very dangerous).
Your friend's guinea pig is OK on that bedding because it won't cause ALL guinea pigs to have problems.. especially if it isn't dusty. And anyway, even if it isn't affecting the guinea pig now, it still could later on.
Different Guinea Pigs and different breeds can do different things. Some get on fine with some things while others need specialised needs.
I worked in a pet shop before and the Guinea pigs there wernt so picky, Carrots are a good snack for them.
There are guinea pigs that can be very picky about what they eat. You really can experiment with any kind of veggies to see what they like and what they don't. Honestly, my pigs will eat just about anything - I even let them nibble a little off my spoon when I'm eating italian ice, which a die-hard piggy nut would slam me for. But hey, they like it, and I only give it to them in tiny amounts. Also keep this in mind - in the wild, guinea pigs are foragers. They'll eat whatever is on the ground. So it would make sense that greens, like lettuce, are okay, even good, for them. You'll want to avoid iceberg lettuce, as it can give them diarhhea, but darker, leafy greens are fine. I give mine lettuce twice a day, a small handful for breakfast and a small handful for dinner.
A general rule to follow with bedding is to do what works best for the piggy. Less dust is best. Wooden beddings can be fine, as long as they don't have "aromatic oils," like Cedar. Pine and Aspen are ideal. Carefresh is made from recycled paper and doesn't have any odor.
Do what's best for your pig! You'll want to have a general idea of what's ideal, but from there you can explore your boundaries.
Watch out Justified and acanoffleas, those are pretty long answers. She doesn't read long answers...
Here's a short one guinealynx.info
im really not for sure.. all i do know is that i have 2 guinea pigs.. and i have done alot of reasearch on the internet about them and I have got books from my local library and read them.. i do know u can feed them lettuce.. but lettuce is more of a treat then anything.. and make sure they have hay in their home.. cuz hay is what helps them with their respiratory system.. but i havent heard anything about wood shavings.. out of all my reasearch the only thing i have found out is that.. cedar bedding is toxic to guinea pigs.. i have cedar in my guinea pigs cage..

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