The Story Of A Guinea Pig

Have you ever had a pet that you loved and adored?

Well, I think most people have had a pet in their life at least once. In the following rows I want to help you so that you would not make the same mistakes as I did.

A guinea pig is one of those various small, short-eared domesticated rodents of the genus Cavia, which have variously colored hair and no visible tail. They are often kept as pets and widely used as experimental animals.

When you buy a guinea pig you have to take into account that these are social animals and they live in groups, so it would be best not to let your pet alone.
The best combinations from which you could chose are these:

• two babies of the same gender;
• a male and a female;
• two males (the concept that two males can not get along is wrong, the only thing you have to do in this case is to provide them a larger space);
• a male and a little guinea pig (also male)

!!! Do not ever put to males with one female, because this could cause fights between the males, and the three of them could get hurt.

Guinea pigs like to hide, so make sure you provide a little house (for example) in their cage. If you can let them wonder freely around the house you have to pay attention that they don’t reach some electrical wires, or toxic plants.

Also it has to be known that the guinea pig tolerates better the low temperatures rather then the high ones, (because his organism is very sensitive at the big changes of temperature).

If you can choose, the cage should be at least 80x60 cm (length / width) or even larger. In a well-made environment, they become more active and more playful.

Periodical take cares:

From time to time you have to cut the guinea pig’s nails, but be very careful. It is known that they have veins in their "nails". So we are supposed to cut only 1-2 mm per month. If the nails are not cut, the guinea pig has to suffer. It is very painful to walk with long nails. Remember, cut only one mm per month, in order not to affect the vein.

And now... what happened to my guinea

It was a beautiful summer day, and I could sit and play with my pet as long as I wanted. My parent agreed a couple of month ago, that it was okay for me to keep it.

I was the happiest girl on earth, those days. I fed him, I cleaned his cage everyday, I even styled his fur… It was perfect.

But that day was meant to be different, even though it all started normally. After I cleaned his cage, I let it outside, on a chair, and after a couple of minutes, I put my pet in it. Till now, everything okay.

The worse part was that I forgot that he was in his cage, and I went to play with my dolls. Hours passed, and I still had not remembered. Mom came home, and she found Fany (my pet’s name) lying in his cage, almost dead. He had been sitting in the sun for a couple of hours, and he fainted. I made him a quick shower, and we want to the vet as fast as we could, but it was closed: "Lunch break", vet after vet were all closed, and Fany was dying in my arms…de died indeed…

With my heart full of regret and my eyes in bitter tears, all I could do was to bury him as I should. I promised myself that day, that I would do everything I can to help animals, and even more, I want everybody to know how to treat their pets.

Pets are like a second self, to whom you can confess or play with. They need attention just like we do; they need to be taken care as babies need. They are precious, and we need to treat them as we like to be treated.

And never forget that most pets (guinea pig included) don’t like too much sun!