What you forgot to mention that in a lot of Spanish speaking countries, i.e. Peru they breed and eat these, and are considered the national dish of Peru.

It is sad to believe that what we consider pets In the USA are eaten in other countries and that includes, dogs, cats and horses as well.

We are an animal loving nation but that is not the same for the rest of the world.

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They're great pets, and if you have several, you'll see that they have significant personality differences and intelligence differences, too. Some are very interactive with people, others don't pay much attention. Some females are good mothers, others indifferent to their babies. The young have open eyes and can run around within hours of birth. Raising a litter or two (usually about 3 babies, sometimes one is stillborn) is interesting to see how hair color, patterns and hair length are passed along to the babies.

Best not to have more than one adult male to a cage. Females get along together just fine.

They are prone to pneumonia if they are not kept warm and out of drafts, and they will die quickly if that happens. Erythromycin will work if given very promptly, but they cannot receive penicillin or related antibiotics which are fatal to them.

Don't put off cleaning the droppings, which are normally dryish pellets. If you let them run around outside their cages, they will sometimes urinate, so keep them off furniture and carpet if you do. Avoid potato which gives them diarrhea.

The shorthairs aren't as 'pretty' but they are much less prone to having their hair mat. (Bathing them can risk fatal pneumonia, but generally is unnecessary unless the hair mats since they are very clean about themselves.)

If you let them graze on the lawn in warm summer days, be careful of neighboring dogs. Let them acclimate to family pets since critters that run are often seen as prey by dogs and cats.

Oh, and they aren't rodents. All rodents have tails and guinea pigs ('cavies') are tailless and a separate class.

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Casacat said: "We are an animal loving nation but that is not the same for the rest of the world.

Visit my India my dear where we consider Cows holy and treat them as such. What do you do with them...EAT THEM OF COURSE. Way to show your love for animals, eh...

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Guinea pigs are not as easy pets as this article implies. Their cage seems to need cleaning every few days, they need fresh vegetables every day or two, they want to play in the house outside the cage, yet leave droppings wherever they please, and they require a bigger living space than pet stores want to sell (which needs cleaning every few days). In addition, they may be cuddly, but they also try to bite when they don't want to be picked up. If I had it to do over again, I'd get a dog.

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i think i was very fortunate with my guinea pig experience. i really wanted one and, after a lot of convincing, i got one for christmas when i was 10. anyways, he was really shy at first, always hiding in his half-log thing, very skittish. Then, i started conditioning him with carrots to gain his trust. i would hold out a carrot and pet him while he was eating it. After a month or so he was the friendliest little guy. He was very quirky, too. When i gave him a carrot he would take it a dance around with it. when i came in the room he would always see me and squeal. incredibly cute little guy.

anyways, i think the main thing is that you have to be dedicated to them in order for them to be nice. my sister got a guinea pig as well, but she just expected it to be like mine right away so she never spent time with it and he was frightful and skittish his whole life. So, i personally think that you just have to spend a lot of time with it until it is not afraid of you anymore. give it some type of vegetable while you are around so it relates you with a vegetable, its simple psychology really.

i will say that the whole cage situation is quite unpleasent. you have to clean it once a week, and deffinitely get cage liners or you will regret it. make sure the guinea pig always has something to chew on, or else it will start eating the cage liner. toilet paper rolls are great, my guinea pig loved them. They also love parsley, which is for free at some stores or very cheap.

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It is a myth that two males will fight and cannot coexist peacefully. You have to give them enough space and match them correctly. Pet store cages are too small for even one guinea pig, let alone two young males. See www.guineapigcages.com for proper housing and www.guinealynx.info for proper care info. Pet stores will often tell you the wrong things.

Even two females can fight. And breeding them should be out of the question unless you want children to see their sow die and stillborn babies. Please read http://www.cavyspirit.com/breeding.htm

Breeding for "pretty colors" is not responsibly breeding - it should be for health; but regardless there are simply too many homeless guinea pigs in the world. Shocking, no?

There are hundreds upon thousands in rescues and shelters needing homes: www.petfinder.com

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I could never understand why anyone would want a pet they had to keep caged or in a tank. If it flops out of the tank it'll die, if it gets out of the cage you have to run the damn thing down or live-trap it somehow before it urinates all over the place. I prefer my bird and squirrel feeders. I can watch them run, jump, play, and fly all I want but don't have to clean-up after them.

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I owned a guinea pig named Fudge for a when I was about five or six years old, and I can tell you from experience that they make wonderful pets! I highly recommend them for anyone of any age.

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I agree--they are *way* more work than this article makes it seem! They have to be fed 2-3 times a day, need a constant supply of hay, a limited supply of pellets, and need special cages: http://guineapigcages.com/

Though Steve (poster 3) makes some valid points, he also encourages breeding. Please don't breed your guinea pigs! There are thousands of guinea pigs awaiting euthanization in shelters because of the overwhelming homeless animal problem. Adopt your guinea pig instead of purchasing it from a petstore. If you purchase your guinea pig from a petstore, it will invariably have a URI and mites, and likely will be missexed and possibly be pregnant. (If this is not the case with your petstore pig-trust me-YOU GOT LUCKY!)

An amazing advantage of rescue pigs is that they've been quarantined, visited with a vet, properly sexed, and if you already have a guinea pig you can bring your guinea pig to pick a friend it gets along with. And you're saving the life of a guinea pig in a shelter! By purchasing a guinea pig from a petstore you're dooming a pig to euthanization, and breeding is such a selfish act.

There are all sorts of guineas available for adoption-babies, long hairs, short hairs, seniors, bonded pairs, pregnant pigs, young boys, curly haired girls, families, etc.! Try the small and furry section of http://petfinder.com/.

No results? Try http://www.guinealynx.info/forums and post that you're looking for a pig. People will help you find a pig in your area so you don't have to buy one.

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Guinea pigs are wonderful pets, and can be quite loving. I had them as a teen. I just love them.

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This article makes it seem TOO easy to care for them. We had three. I have to wonder if this person quite knows the risk of if their guinea pig's teeth got too long. One of my pigs died because her teeth were too long. It's not somethin' to be totally disregarded.
And it's also fairly easy to litter-train a guinea pig. I'm going to try and train my two again.
There litter must be cleaned at least weekly, not "whenever the human sees fit".

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