Articles
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Guinea Pigs are docile, but not completely sedentary. They enjoy burrowing, exploring and interacting with animals and other elements in their environment. Giving them lots of variety will keep them mentally active for those hours you're away. That helps keep them stimulated, a vital component of an overall health program. Animals with nothing to do all day, even ones as relatively simple as cavies, become lethargic.
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Guinea pigs need soft, clean bedding that is changed frequently in order to stay in top health. Litter training a cavy is very difficult and, as a result, they tend to eliminate in many areas around the cage. It's essential for their health that bedding be replaced to keep down ammonia and keep them and the cage clean.
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One of the many fun aspects of owning a guinea pig is selecting or designing and building a cage. Few homes are designed in a way that allow the owner to let their guinea pig simply run free. They can get into a lot of mischief that way. But creating a cage that is spacious and fun is easy!
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Guinea pigs, or cavies, are like any other species in having a number of distinctive behaviors. Within that broad outline, of course, each pig will have its own peculiarities. It's the latter that makes detailing the former a little tricky.
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Professionals recognize 13 official breeds of guinea pig or cavy, though several more are popular. Within this set is a group of differently colored types that add further variety to this amazing animal. To top it off, there are 'satin' varieties, in which the hair shafts are hollow, giving them an ultra-shiny appearance and smooth feel.
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Cavy Medications, Good and Bad
Treating guinea pigs requires specialized knowledge. While they're similar to rabbits and other mammals (including humans, in important ways), they are a distinctive species. They can't be given some of the medications that work well with others. They require some that are used chiefly with cavies.
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A guinea pig will naturally secrete a white, milky discharge from healthy eyes. The cavy then spreads that fluid over the face and performs a cleaning behavior. The habit may be done several times per day and is a normal part of grooming. But there are several conditions that can cause the eyes to become diseased, and it's helpful to be able to distinguish some of them.
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Guinea pigs are subject to a number of common illnesses, including respiratory infections, skin problems and genetic disorders.
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Common Signs of Illness of a Guinea Pig
Because guinea pigs are common prey for many larger species, they have evolved to hide pain and weakness. Making noise, limping and other signs of distress alert predators to a location. They tell the predator that a particular animal is easy and therefore, safe prey.
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Guinea pigs are cool, but they're also a little different from most other animals. That creates the need for a little investigation into these unique animals.
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Grasses are the primary staple in a guinea pig's diet. They meet most of the needs of the rodent known scientifically as cavia porcellus. But there are a number of supplemental foods that can help supply missing nutrients and liven up their diet.
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Grooming Guidelines For Your Cavy
Guinea pigs are exceedingly easy to care for. They enjoy a big cage and won't show signs of stress being confined, unless they're left alone all day every day. But they still require some hair and nail grooming in order to remain in top health. Fortunately, taking care of those tasks is simplicity itself.
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Guinea Pigs, known to enthusiasts and professionals as cavies, are herbivores - they eat plant matter. Grassy hay is at the top of the list. Timothy hay is among the best options, though alfalfa can be fed in small quantities. Alfalfa, a legume not a grass, has more protein and carbohydrates, so it's more commonly fed briefly to young pups and nursing sows.
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Guinea pigs are not the most robust of animals. As such, they can succumb to an illness more quickly than many other species. Veterinary care should be sought more readily than it might be for cats, for example.
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The question posed in the title is a legitimate one. Even though guinea pigs are familiar, they're neither pigs nor do they hail from Guinea. These rodents, originating from the Andes mountains in South America, are so similar to rabbits they were nearly reclassified. They're commonly called a cavy, a derivation of their scientific name.
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What You Should Look for in an Exotic Pet Store
Aside from the traditional dog and cat pet, pet owners now have the option to go trooping to an exotic pet store. Other than your usual domesticated animal pals, you can now also have boas, spiders, iguanas, hedgehogs and other unusual animals for house companions depending on the state laws.
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The green iguana is one of the most popular pet lizards in the country today. Over a half million hatchling green iguanas are imported into this country every year. Before purchasing an iguana for a pet, this decision should be well thought out. These lizards grow rapidly during the first two years of life and eventually attain a length of up to five to seven feet in length. As a result, most people do realize this and end up turning them loose when they get too big to manage and out grow their cage.
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Ferret Out the Facts before Buying One as the Family Pet
Ferrets have become the third most popular house pet in the United States. Most pet ferret owners are upper middle class or professional people who work all day. Frequently they are single women or childless couples over 30 years of age. Generally, ferrets are pets of adults, not children.
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The Complete Beginners Guide To Keeping Snakes
The beauty of keeping reptiles is that once you've set up their caging requirements and learned a few basic skills, there are many species that can be safely and efficiently kept within the home and should live out a full, healthy life.
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Unfortunately, many snake keepers do not actually think about their snakes’ psychological issues. It is well known within the hobby that a vast number of snake species are fairly ‘lazy’ creatures, perhaps only venturing out of their hide for food, water, or a mate. This is a true statement for many species, and this habit will most certainly be the same in the wild as well as in captivity. However, in the wild the snake may spend hours or perhaps days hunting for food, may travel some distance to find water and may spend weeks courting females and perhaps fighting males in the process. This article describes the many ways possible to keep your pet snake healthy and active, ensuring little chance of obesity or behavioural problems caused by boredom or inactivity.
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What to Look for When Buying a Snake
The first and foremost ingredient to choosing the right snake is the health of the animal. Once that is out the way, a number of other elements come into the equation. Species, age, temperament, colour, pattern, sex, feeding habits and price are all points to think about when looking for a snake.
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Spiders can make great pets! I wouldn’t suggest anyone with arachnophobia (fear of spiders) having one as a pet, but even beginner pet owners can take care of some types of spiders.
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Tips for Stores Selling Bearded Dragon Lizard
When deciding to put up a store that will sell the popular bearded dragon lizard and other reptiles, a lot of thought, planning and consideration should be made before investing in any venture. Honesty should be the measure of every aspect of your business, from acquiring the animals to selling them to their new owners.
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Basic Supplies for a Bearded Dragon Lizard
As one of the more popular lizard breeds taken in as pets, the bearded dragon lizard is actually quite easy to look after. They require minimum fuss and maintenance except for the staple care and supplies of the general reptile breed as a whole.
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Why You Should Never Feed A Snake Live Food
When it comes to feeding your snake, you need to stick to pre-killed food.
