Show your bunny how much you love him by providing him with a healthy diet. He'll reward you with long life, good health, and carrot-lip kisses. ![]() ![]() ![]() Guinea pig - Wikipedia. The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), also known as the cavy or domestic guinea pig, or cuy for livestock breeds, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family Suidae, nor do they come from Guinea. ![]() They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as Cavia aperea, C. Since the 1. 96. 0s, efforts have been made to increase consumption of the animal outside South America. Their docile nature; friendly, even affectionate responsiveness to handling and feeding; and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make guinea pigs a popular pet. Organizations devoted to competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide, and many specialized breeds of guinea pig, with varying coat colors and compositions, are cultivated by breeders. Biological experimentation on guinea pigs has been carried out since the 1. My House Rabbit offers tips on pet rabbit care, bunny behavior, and health. Learn about proper diet for rabbits, litter training, bunny proofing, and more! Keeping Pet Rats: A Short Guide Pet rats, when given the correct care and management, are by far the most intelligent, affectionate, and responsive of. Thanks Steven I am thinking of buying a Dwarf rabbit in the next few months but I am a little bit hesitate because I have a cat and a dog and I am worried about how I. In the matter of just a few clever passes and one extremely bad whiff, the Pro12's Munster helped secure its spot in the upcoming league finals and produced a 78. The animals were frequently used as model organisms in the 1. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications. History. The guinea pig was first domesticated as early as 5. BC for food by tribes in the Andean region of South America (the present- day southern part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), some thousands of years after the domestication of the South American camelids. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. Folklore traditions involving guinea pigs are numerous; they are exchanged as gifts, used in customary social and religious ceremonies, and frequently referenced in spoken metaphors. They also play a role in traditional healing rituals by folk doctors, or curanderos, who use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus. They are rubbed against the bodies of the sick, and are seen as a supernatural medium. Black guinea pigs are considered especially useful for diagnoses. The animal also may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted. Spanish, Dutch, and English traders brought guinea pigs to Europe, where they quickly became popular as exotic pets among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest known written account of the guinea pig dates from 1. Santo Domingo; because cavies are not native to Hispaniola, the animal was earlier believed to have been introduced there by Spanish travelers. The guinea pig was first described in the West in 1. Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner. Cavia is New Latin; it is derived from cabiai, the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they also spend a large amount of time eating. They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a 'pig pen', and were thus easily transported on ships to Europe. The animal's name alludes to pigs in many European languages. The German word for them is Meerschweinchen, literally . This derives from the Middle High German name merswin. This originally meant . For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. ![]() The French term is cochon d'Inde (Indian pig) or cobaye; the Dutch call it Guinees biggetje (Guinean piglet) or cavia (while in some Dutch dialects it is called Spaanse rat); and in Portuguese, the guinea pig is variously referred to as cobaia, from the Tupi word via its Latinization, or as porquinho da . This is not universal; for example, the common word in Spanish is conejillo de Indias (little rabbit of the Indies). The Japanese word for guinea pig is . One proposed explanation is that the animals were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. According to the 2. Guinness World Records, the longest living guinea pig survived 1. They are social, living in the wild in small groups which consist of several females (sows), a male (boar), and the young (which in a break with the preceding porcine nomenclature are called pups). They move together in groups (herds) eating grass or other vegetation, and do not store food. While they do not burrow or build nests, they frequently seek shelter in the burrows of other animals, as well as in crevices and tunnels formed by vegetation. They tend to be most active during dawn and dusk, when it is harder for predators to spot them. Domestic habitat. Domesticated guinea pigs thrive in groups of two or more; groups of sows, or groups of one or more sows and a neutered boar are common combinations. Guinea pigs learn to recognize and bond with other individual guinea pigs, and testing of boars shows their neuroendocrine stress response is significantly lowered in the presence of a bonded female when compared to the presence of unfamiliar females. Activity is scattered randomly over the day; aside from avoidance of intense light, no regular circadian patterns are apparent. The success of this type of interspecies interaction varies according to the individual animals involved. Domestic guinea pigs generally live in cages, although some owners of large numbers of guinea pigs dedicate entire rooms to their pets. Cages with solid or wire mesh floors are used, although wire mesh floors can cause injury and may be associated with an infection commonly known as bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis). Bedding made from red cedar (Eastern or Western) and pine, both softwoods, were commonly used in the past, but these materials are now believed to contain harmful phenols (aromatic hydrocarbons) and oils. Safer beddings made from hardwoods (such as aspen), paper products, and corn cob materials are other alternatives. Guinea pigs tend to be messy within their cages; they often jump into their food bowls or kick bedding and feces into them, and their urine sometimes crystallizes on cage surfaces, making it difficult to remove. Housing of guinea pigs with other rodents such as gerbils and hamsters may increase instances of respiratory and other infections, and such rodents may act aggressively toward the guinea pig. Some published sources say that guinea pigs and rabbits complement each other well when sharing a cage. Rabbits may also harbor diseases (such as respiratory infections from Bordetella and Pasteurella), to which guinea pigs are susceptible. Even the dwarf rabbit is much stronger than the guinea pig and may cause intentional or inadvertent injury. Their strongest problem- solving strategy is motion. They startle extremely easily, and either freeze in place for long periods or run for cover with rapid, darting motions when they sense danger. Larger groups of startled guinea pigs . When excited, guinea pigs may repeatedly perform little hops in the air (known as . Groups of boars often chew each other's hair, but this is a method of establishing hierarchy within a group, rather than a social gesture. Non- sexual simulated mounting for dominance is also common among same- sex groups. Guinea pig sight is not as good as that of a human, but they have a wider angle of vision (about 3. They have well- developed senses of hearing, smell, and touch. These are the most common sounds made by the guinea pig: A . An expression of general excitement, it may occur in response to the presence of its owner or to feeding. It is sometimes used to find other guinea pigs if they are running. If a guinea pig is lost, it may wheek for assistance. It may also make this sound when grooming, crawling around to investigate a new place, or when given food. In these cases, the rumble often sounds higher and the body vibrates shortly. While courting, a male usually purrs deeply, swaying and circling the female in a behavior called . A low rumble while walking away reluctantly shows passive resistance. Guinea pigs tend to raise their heads when making this sound. Squealing or shrieking is a high- pitched sound of discontent, in response to pain or danger. Very rarely, the chirping will last for several minutes. Unlike the offspring of most other rodents, which are altricial at birth, newborn pups are well- developed with hair, teeth, claws, and partial eyesight. Litters yield one to six pups, with an average of three; the largest recorded litter size is 1. Large litters result in higher incidences of stillbirth, but because the pups are delivered at an advanced stage of development, lack of access to the mother's milk has little effect on the mortality rate of newborns. Cohabitating females assist in mothering duties if lactating. This might take place if the original parents die or are for some reason separated from them. This behavior is common, and is seen in many other animal species such as the elephant. The position of the anus is very close to the genitals in both sexes. Female genitals are distinguished by a Y- shaped configuration formed from a vulvar flap, while the male genitals may look similar, with the penis and anus forming a like shape, the penis will protrude if pressure is applied to the surrounding hair. The male's testes may also be visible externally from scrotal swelling. Females that have never given birth may develop irreversible fusing of the pubic symphysis, a joint in the pelvis, due to calcification which may occur between six and ten months of age. Calcification of the female's pubic symphysis (if not bred) is a common myth. The reason for potential calcification is a metabolic disease, like ochronosis.
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