Caring for your Cavy Feeding, grooming and general care.
Feeding A good quality dry food mix or pellet is absolutely essential to the health of your cavy. Vitamin C is a vital part of its diet and without it your cavy will very soon become ill. Proprietary cavy foods are fortified with this vitamin and so, together with green food and root vegetables they will provide all that your pet needs for a healthy life.
Although pellets may be a complete food a selection of vegetables should be given if only for variety. These are wide and varied and could be any selection of the following: *Cabbage *Broccoli *Spinach (not in large quantities) *Kale *Romaine lettuce (not Iceberg) *Celery *Corn on the cob *Tomatoes *Courgettes *Sweet peppers *Cucumber (a great favourite) *Carrots *Raw beetroot (no tops please) *Apples (in small quantities as they can cause mouth sores) *Melon *Pears *Grapes
The list is endless and can be added to. Fresh grass is one of the finest of cavy foods and gathered in spring and summer and fed fresh to the cavies it provides them with an ideal addition to their dry food mix.
Many wild plants are excellent foods for cavies, but care should always be taken to check that they are safe before feeding them. Dandelions, though beneficial are diuretic and laxative so shouldn't be given in large quantities. Yarrow, plantain, broad and narrow-leaved, agrimony, wild parsley (small quantities again), vetch etc. etc.
If your cavies have access to a patch of grass in a safe and secure run they will have the benefit of the grass and the exercise which is particularly important to pregnant sows.
General Care The general care of cavies falls into two main sections - grooming and health
Health The well-being of your cavy depends directly on you, it's owner. Learn to observe it and know what is normal behaviour and what is not. A healthy, fit cavy should be asking for it's food every morning and evening. Ours are fed twice a day with veg and dry food in the morning and hay and veg in the evening. Hay is available at all times and the dry food bowls are topped up where necessary at any time.
As much space is given to each cavy as possible and this is particularly important to pregnant female. Their hutches are furnished with shavings and then sufficient hay for them to lie on as well as eat.
A careful watch must be kept on nails and they have to be trimmed regularly or they will curl and grow into the pad of the foot causing a lot of pain and discomfort. This task is easy and can be done with nail clippers or specialist scissors readily available in the cat section of your local petshop. Teeth should be checked and if a broken or misaligned tooth is noticed they should be clipped to an equal length by your vet or a breeder who will usually do this free of charge (the breeder that is, not the vet!) Keep a check on coats and be aware that lice, both static and running, can occur. Running lice are more easily spotted but a shampoo is necessary to remove them and your pig should be regularly dosed with Ivomec for parasites in general. This is usually in the form of drops applied to the hairless area at the back of the ear.
Wounds of any sort, abcesses etc may have to be referred to a vet because it may need an antibiotic to help clear any infection.
Grooming Grooming pet short-haired cavies is very simple. A soft brush, used with the lie of the coat or a gentle comb is sufficient. Longhairs need different treatment but there is plenty of advice available in the many cavy books or online. Ears should be gently cleaned with a cotton pad squeezed out in warm water, not wet, and eyes should always be checked in case of foreign bodies being lodged in them, particularly seed from thieir hay which can cause big problems.
If you have any more questions about particular breeds or if you are wanting to know any extra information then please don't hesitate to contact me and I will try and give you the best advice I can.