History of guinea pigs. Guinea pigs. pet care
Guinea pig (lat. Cavia porcellus), would probably be very surprised if she found out about her Russian-language name, because she has nothing to do with either real pigs or the sea. Then why is it called that way? Everything is very simple: it became “marine” because it was brought from America, i.e. from across the sea. In Europe, it is most often called "guinea pig", "pig mouse" or "Indian pig". As you can see, only the word "mumps" does not cause controversy. Why? Because this animal sometimes makes grunting and squealing sounds, just like its big namesake. Due to the characteristic bite and incisors, it is considered to be big family rodents. Based on recent research, a number of scientists are still of the opinion that guinea pigs should be combined into a new separate subfamily. However, there is no doubt that the original homeland of the animals - Central and South America, and there is evidence that the history of the existence of guinea pigs has 35-40 million years. The domestication of wild guinea pigs began in the ninth or third millennium BC. e. It is likely that these animals themselves came to human dwellings in search of protection and warmth. Incas guinea pigs were sacrificial animals who were sacrificed to the sun god. Particularly popular were animals with a variegated brown or white color. The ancestor of our guinea pigs is cavy Cavia aperea tschudi. It is found in the southern regions of Chile, located at an altitude of 4200 m above sea level, and lives in underground burrows in small groups of five to ten animals. By appearance and body structure is very different from our guinea-pigs, due to the food depleted in water and rich in cellulose, but there is no difference in terms of food intake and fertility.
Of hundreds of species small mammals only a few are suitable for keeping in a city apartment. These types include Guinea pigs, which are bred not only in the vivariums of research institutes, but also at home.
A guinea pig is easier to keep than a dog or cat., and this animal brings no less aesthetic pleasure. The dog should be regularly taken for a walk in any weather; during a walk, especially in the rain, it gets dirty and has to be washed in the bath. True, the cat does not need a walk, she has enough room, but she likes to sharpen her claws on upholstered furniture and after a while makes her look untidy.
The guinea pig is another matter. It requires only a little attention and a little space for the cage, it is unpretentious, you can always buy food for it, care is not difficult and takes a little time every day. These animals are calmer than dogs and even cats and have many positive qualities very valuable at home. Self-care for them can be trusted to children over 8-9 years old, since guinea pigs, as a rule, belong to good-natured, tame animals.
General information and origin of guinea pigs was last modified: October 16th, 2014 by allpets1
Guinea pig is a kind and harmless animal
domestic guinea pig(lat. Cavia porcellus) is a mammal belonging to the order of rodents of the mumps family. More and more Russians prefer this cute and harmless animal as a pet.
Relatives and ancestors
All members of the guinea pig subfamily are descended from South America where they are widely distributed. One of them - Cavia aperea tschudii - lives in Peru. Our domestic guinea pigs originated from this subspecies. Their domestication began since the time of the Incas, during which they were first sacrificial, and then meat animals.
It should be noted that domestic guinea pigs are still considered good food by the Indians of the High Andes. To this end, today large guinea pigs weighing 2.5 kg or more are bred in Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia. Every year, Peruvian guinea pigs produce about 17 thousand tons of meat.
After the discovery of America in 1592, guinea pigs came to Spain and Portugal, and then to Great Britain and Holland. At first they were rare and expensive. By the way, it is believed that it was its value (guinea) that determined the name of the pig on English language- guinea pig.
Domestic domesticated guinea pig got its own Latin name Cavia porcellus.
breeds
Guinea pigs are very popular as pets today.
There are several breeds of guinea pigs that differ in the type of coat. The most common of them:
- American, or short-haired guinea pigs - with short, smooth hair;
- Abyssinian, or wire-haired, or rosette - with short, hard hair in the form of rosettes;
- angora - with long soft fluffy hair;
- sheltie - with long hair adjacent to the body;
- koropets - shelties with a rosette on their heads - a “crown”;
- English crested pigs - short-haired pigs with a rosette on their heads;
- tessel - long-haired pigs with strongly wavy hair.
Care, proper feeding
The coat of some breeds needs to be brushed.
The future owner needs to carefully approach the issue of choosing a cage for his new pet. It can be made of plastic, wood or metal. At the same time, you can’t keep the animal in a cage that is too small - its dimensions should not be less than 30x40 cm. A piece of hard wood should be placed in the cage so that the animals can grind their incisors. It is impossible to have objects made of thin plastic in the cage, because the pigs can chew them and swallow the pieces. So that the animal does not have bad smell The cage should be cleaned every 2-3 days. You can equip a restroom in it by placing a small trough with sawdust.
Guinea pigs are afraid of drafts and high humidity, so the cage should be placed away from the batteries, in a well-lit (but not in the bright sun!) Place. The required temperature is 18-20°C.
AT warm time pigs pets can be kept outdoors. However, the "summer house" must be protected from rain and wind, as well as direct sunlight.
In general, caring for guinea pigs is easy. Animals with normal hair and rosettes with pure content don't need brushing at all. In long-haired breeds, it is necessary to comb the coat regularly - first of all, the lower back, because the fur coat of the animal falls off most often there. If the hairs are rolled up, you can cut them off.
Guinea pigs do not bathe, they do not like it. If you are determined to “ennoble” the animal, use a mild baby shampoo, which must be rinsed very thoroughly, and then dry the hair with a hairdryer, keeping the animal warm so that it does not freeze. It is necessary to trim the claws, but a little and carefully.
Pigs need food rich in fiber - then they will have a beautiful shiny coat. In addition, guinea pigs eat hay and green food, love carrots, lettuce, broccoli, cucumbers, apples.
Guinea pig and other pets
A distinctive feature of guinea pigs is complete indifference to other animals. Such a reaction can be life-threatening for the animal if it encounters a predatory animal. Therefore, pigs should not be kept with other pets that can harm them.
Come from cavy from South America. The Spanish conquistadors saw many of these rodents in the villages of the Indians. The Incas roasted them and ate them public holidays. And now guinea pigs still live in some settlements of the Indians, during the day they run freely around the houses, and come to spend the night in huts.
Guinea pigs were brought to Europe in the 16th century, 60 years after Columbus discovered America. In Konrad Gesner's book on animals, published in 1554, they are already mentioned.
Why is it so strangely called this purely land animal, which has nothing to do with pigs? Mumps, obviously, for the pig squeal with which this animal expresses its fear. Perhaps also for the "grunt" similar to the gurgling of water. This is the voice of a calm, peaceful guinea pig.
With the origin of the epithet "marine" is more complicated. If they called it "overseas", everything would be clear; brought from the sea. But it is still called marine. Maybe because in those distant times sailors loved to keep guinea pigs on ships for fun.
The disposition of the pigs is peaceful, they never bite, children can safely play with them. In many foreign countries guinea pigs are slaughtered and eaten. But the main purpose of this rodent is not children's fun, not gastronomic use, but service in the medical field. The guinea pig has been and remains one of the best laboratory animals. She is very sensitive to infectious diseases. Therefore, experiments are carried out on it to diagnose contagious diseases of humans and farm animals (diphtheria, typhus, tuberculosis, glanders, etc.).
Physiologists, geneticists, allergists, virologists, bacteriologists experiment with it. In a word, in all areas of medicine and related sciences, the guinea pig serves as an experimental animal.
For relatively short term amateur breeders have bred different breeds of guinea pigs.
The Himalayan is especially beautiful. By color, it is a complete analogy with the Russian ermine rabbit: ears, muzzle, legs are black, everything else is white. Instead of black, a dark chocolate color is acceptable. All other deviations in color are rejected. This coloration appears in young pigs only by the age of four months. Newborn Himalayan pigs are completely white.
Dutch pig. Bred in Holland and improved in England. Its color is also two-tone. The front of the body and head are white. The back half of the body, ears, cheeks are black, brown or gray.
Agouti. There are two varieties of this breed: the golden agouti (golden brown with a rufous belly) and the gray agouti (with a light silver belly).
All three breeds mentioned above are smooth-haired. But there are also long-haired and wire-haired guinea pigs. They are infertile (rarely bring more than one cub and are not suitable for laboratory purposes).
Angora guinea pig. Her coat is long and silky. The color is different: black, white, red, agouti and blue. Because of this magnificent coat, the Angora pig requires special care.
Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)
And here she is, a guinea pig, only long-haired. That's why she looks so messed up.
Wirehaired rosette guinea pig. Although it is often called Abyssinian or Japanese, its homeland is England. Rosette is called because her long and coarse hair in different parts of the body diverge in rosettes - from the center to the periphery, as we have on the top of her head. Color black, white and red.
Unfortunately, there are few purebred guinea pigs, most of them are crossbreeds of different breeds. The most common of them are piebald guinea pigs: black and white, red and white or tricolor (tricolor) - red, black and white. There are also black or white with red eyes (albinos). These are the most susceptible to various diseases.
For laboratory purposes, breeders have bred breeds of guinea pigs whose sensitivity to allergens and pathogenic microbes knew no bounds. They got sick and died from almost everything. It became impossible to experiment on such animals.
In general, guinea pigs are naturally highly sensitized animals, allergic, which have almost no equal in this. Especially the so-called Brazilian varieties of pigs. Argentinean ones are more persistent. But both are difficult to work with because of their high susceptibility and poor - shall we say - health. A slight breeze in the room, and the guinea pig is already sneezing: she has a cold. Hot day - she lies in a stretch, breathes often: overheated. And a very nervous animal! May die of fear if rudely taken out of the cage.
Guinea pigs live well in laboratories, and in the homes of various amateurs, and young naturalists. Still, you need to remember that every guinea pig is susceptible to colds, and therefore the room where it is kept must be warm, bright, dry and without drafts.
One guinea pig can live in a simple box (which often happens). But for breeding purposes, special cages are needed - cages, which have two floors: the lower one is solid (sloping back) and the upper one is slatted. The size of the cage is approximately: 70 centimeters long, 50 - width and 40 - height. The cage is closed on all sides, except for the front wall, which is a door covered with wire mesh.
Such cages usually contain five adult females and one male. Pregnant females before lambing are either deposited in special uterine cages or not. In the latter case, lambing occurs in common cage. The male does not bring harm to newborn cubs, but, on the contrary, protects them, driving away other females. If two or more lambings happen at the same time, then the cubs often confuse their mothers with other nursing females. Those willingly accept the kids, feed along with their own.
Sexual maturity in guinea pigs occurs in about two to three months. But before four months they should not be mated. Pregnancy -60-70 days. Usually, females bring two to four cubs, which are born fully developed. As they dry, they stand firmly on their legs and run after their mother. On the 3-4th day, they begin to try tender grass and other foods. But milk - main meal and their mother feeds them for about a month. Guinea pigs, which are fed succulent herbs and root vegetables, do not need water at all. But pregnant females are thirsty two or three days before lambing, and they need to put a drinker with warm water or milk.
The best food for guinea pigs is wheat bran, oats, carrots, beets and good hay, and in summer root crops and freshly cut grass. Bran should be given slightly moist. They eat guinea pigs and vegetable kitchen waste and even mushrooms. But everything must be fresh. Musty hay, rotten vegetables, sun-warmed grass cause gastric diseases and death of animals.
If you decide to buy yourself a pet rodent, you should come to the pet store or the bird market, which is not there. Among the huge variety of rats, mice, hamsters, eyes run wide, who is better to choose.
For lovers of active animals, a chinchilla hamster is the best choice. And if you need a more balanced rodent, opt for guinea pigs. These calm, neat animals that do not gnaw on people will live with you for several years, and will give you many unforgettable and joyful memories.
Description and features of the guinea pig
Guinea pigs, and therefore marine, as they came to us from abroad. It would be correct to call them overseas, even overseas, because they were brought from the distant American continent. Residents of Europe call them in their own way - Indian and Guinean, as well as mouse pigs.
Mammals belong to a species domestic maritime pigs, a group of rodents. In the south of America, the homeland of marine rodents, where they just do not live, in marshes, foothills, plains and forests.
These rodents, wild nature live in a group of twenty individuals, and the leader is always at the head of the family. Everyone respects and fears him, and in response he actively defends his flock and territory.
Because the main one is the one who is larger and stronger than the rest of the pigs. All day long, these defenseless animals hide in shelters, and at night they get out of them and go looking for themselves, something to eat. In natural natural environment, the number of overseas pigs is quite large, because the animals breed all year round.
These animals have lived on our planet for many thousands of years. During excavations, archaeologists have repeatedly found ancient drawings with their image, and mummified remains. The people who lived at that time bred and kept them in order to eat them later, because the meat guinea pigs dietary, it was equated to the meat of birds or rabbits.
In the eighteenth century, the rodent reached Russia, but already as a decorative, funny home pet. These animals have a plump, neat and compact body, thirty centimeters long.
There is no tail at all, the paws are tiny in size, with well-defined thin fingers, the hind limbs are slightly larger than the front ones. The muzzle of the pigs is large with a blunt nose, their ears are small, in their shape they are erect or slightly drooping, depending on what breed the animal is. Adult males weigh a little more than one kilogram, smaller females - 800 grams.
Breeders have bred dozens of different breeds of domestic marine rodents. Outwardly, they are all the same, and only the color, length and stiffness of their fur coat can distinguish them from each other. look a photo the most common breeds maritime pigs.
In pigs with smooth and short hair, the coat is spotted, or two or three colors. Rodents of these breeds are called - Self, Satin, Himalayan, Agouti, Chalay. They come in only three colors - red, black and brown with a pleasant to the touch, soft pile. Wire-haired pigs with short tousled hair are called Rex.
There are very unusual, unlike all pets, their breed also wears interesting name- The socket, they have nothing to do with electricity. Although after an electric shock, the wool would probably look like this.
The pile lies as if someone pressed it, randomly turned it to the sides, and fixed it. American and English Cresteds wear a woolen rosette in the middle of their foreheads. Ridgebacks have a rosette on the sacrum, and in the middle of the back, a mound of wool sticks out. Well, in the first place are the Abyssinians, their sockets are located randomly throughout the body.
The longest-haired of all types of guinea pigs are Cornet and Sheltie. Their pile, growing in the direction from the muzzle to the end of the body, is beautifully divided into both sides by a parting on the back. In Peru, on the contrary, the fur coat is worn back to front, hanging over the eyes. Alpaco, Textel and Merino have not only long, but also beautifully curled coats.
Very rare and uncommon breeds maritime pigs, such as Kui are distinguished by the fact that they are vylik compared to their counterparts. Galloway is the new kind sea pigs, they were recently noticed and officially recognized.
They are of an interesting color, the whole body is black, and only its middle is surrounded by a wide white belt, this feature distinguishes them from all other relatives. Skinny pigs - these little animals wear wool only on their small paws and the tip of their nose.
The rest of the body is hairless, and even transparent. Baldwin's offspring are born with wool, but during the period of growing up, it falls out. And already formed, fully developed overseas animal is completely bald.
Guinea pig at home
These crumbs cutest creatures and when compared with all the animals that belong to the rodent family, they are the least biting. in good and favorable home, guinea pigs very affectionate, trusting and quiet.
They are not noisy at all, they will not run for hours in a drum, like hamsters. Maritime pigs can be filmed without problems video for home viewing, you do not have to run around the room with a camera or crawl under the sofa.
Climbing to the surface where you place it, it will examine the indoor attractions with surprise and curiosity. Then businesslike, slowly going to look for something. Make sure that when looking for something, your pet does not find an electrical wire.
She happily climbs into the arms of her master, and begins to purr. But you have to be careful, otherwise falling from a height, the animal can be severely injured.
AT home content maritime pigs know that they yearn alone and need company, so it's best to take a couple with you. And one more thing, pigs are shy and loud sound and sudden movements can even die of fear.
Despite the fact that the little animals lead night image life, they will not disturb your sleep and peace. In the dark, they have only one concern - to eat well.
Be observant and attentive to your pet, because if the pig gets into stressful situation, or she had depression - she begins to overeat, which is fraught with obesity.
Guinea pig price
Buying a guinea pig in the nursery, you must understand that its cost will be too high. Pigs are prolific animals, so you can buy them without any problems from a neighbor in the landing, and from a granny in the market, and from a classmate at school.
By purchasing maritime pig in nursery, you will be fully acquainted with the history of her family. Because siblings will have weak and sickly offspring.
The cost of pigs depends on age and breed. Not expensive, around three hundred rubles, there are simple short-haired pigs. Sockets will already be more expensive, from five hundred and above. Well, the most expensive breeds of these rodents are long-haired pigs and Baldwins. Their price range is from one and a half to two thousand rubles.
pet care
In the care and maintenance of a guinea pig you won't have any difficulty. All she needs is a light, wide cage. It is important here that it be a cage, not a glass jar or a spacious terrarium, because in such containers the animal overheats and dies.
Be sure to buy and put a wooden house in a cage, your pet should have its own shelter. drinker with clean water, a feeder, it’s good if the food plate is ceramic, not plastic, and a device for hay.
At the bottom cells for guinea pig there must be a filler, you can use sawdust, though there will be a lot of garbage from them. Or you can buy wood pellets at the pet store, they are not expensive and are perfect for your pet, because they can still be chewed.
courting per guinea pig, so that unpleasant odors do not bring discomfort to your home, change the filler at least once a week. Guinea pigs are neat, so they go to the toilet in the same place.
You need to clean your plate of food every day so that the smell from yesterday's apple does not spoil your air. Keep an eye on your pet's claws and trim them with special scissors during them.
The cage with your pet must be installed in right place so that there is no draft or hot sun, because these conditions are detrimental to guinea pigs. Also, it is desirable that the cage with the animal does not stand on the floor, choose a place for it so that the pig sees both its owner and what is happening around it.
Feed your guinea pig mainly on hay, supplemented with small amounts of dried vegetables and fruits, or purchase a balanced diet from the pet store.
Do not give them citrus fruits, otherwise you will not be able to understand later, why maritime piggy got sick. From time to time put a piece of hard bread or a twig from a tree in the animal's cage to grind down the teeth.
If, when purchasing a female guinea pig, you do not want offspring from her in the future, in this case it is better to immediately sterilize the animal, without sexual intimacy, she develops ovarian disease.
When a couple of guinea pigs live with you in the house, you will soon expect a lot of offspring. When the female is pregnant, it is better to put the male in another cage or make a partition. Two months later, babies will be born, usually up to six of them are born.
The mother will take care of the children and feed them with her milk for a whole month, then they need to be separated. In favorable conditions, with proper maintenance and care guinea pigs live up to eight years old.
domestic guinea pig(from lat. Cavia porcellus) is a mammalian animal from the order of rodents and belongs to the mumps family. These animals were domesticated in ancient times by the Inca tribes. Nowadays, there are more than 20 types of guinea pigs kept at home: Angora (long hair), rosette (Abyssinian) (hair grows in the form of a rosette on the head), English Shorthair, etc. The growth of the animals does not exceed 35 cm, and the body is covered with wool. They have four toes on their front paws and three on their back paws. The life expectancy of animals is six to eight years. Puberty in males occurs at two months, in females at five. Pregnancy varies from 60 to 65 days. In one litter there can be from one to seven cubs, depending on the breed (multiple and infertile).
Guinea pigs are so named because they live in the sea. In fact, they were so nicknamed due to the fact that these animals came to Europe from South America, which, as you know, is located overseas. By the way, these animals live there to this day, moreover, in the form of wild animals. Once in Europe, the animals were called overseas pigs, and a little later the prefix "for" was cut off and the name "marine" was obtained.
Domestic guinea pigs should live in an aquarium with water. Well, this is utter nonsense! In such a "house" they will not last long, they will drown. Pigs are kept in ordinary cages specially designed for domesticated rodents (hamsters, mice, etc.).
These animals are called "pigs" because they are unclean. In fact, these animals make a sound very similar to the grunt of a real pig. That is why the animals are called "pigs". Also, there is a version that they were so nicknamed because of special structure heads.
Comes from guinea pigs bad smell and a lot of dirt. If, say, a month does not put things in order in the animal's cage, then of course it will smell bad. If you periodically clean and clean the cage after him, then there will be no unpleasant smell. The only things that animals can smell of are sawdust (which serve them as bedding) and hay (food). In addition, pigs wash themselves with their front paws every day, which indicates their cleanliness.
Pigs can bite. In most cases, these animals are not aggressive and treat others peacefully. The guinea pig prefers to run and hide from danger rather than defend itself. If she has nowhere to hide, then she hides in a far corner and you can hear her teeth chattering. In order for this animal to bite, you need to “get it” very strongly.
Guinea pigs don't make much noise. Controversial assertion. At the slightest rustle, the animal can make a sound that is not at all quiet, with which he is trying to tell about his condition (joy, greeting, fear ...). Moreover, sounds can be in the form of whistling, squealing, gurgling, grunting, etc.
Guinea pigs do not need to drink water, they get the necessary amount of liquid from fruits and vegetables. No one on our earth can live without water. creature, including the guinea pig. Therefore, a drinking bowl with water must be present in the cage. A pregnant guinea pig especially needs water, since in such an "interesting" position she needs twice as much liquid as usual.
About a week before giving birth, a pregnant guinea pig needs to reduce her food intake, otherwise she will not be able to give birth. Do not feed enough of an animal, especially a pregnant one - this is a real mockery! This approach can adversely affect the health of the female and her offspring. On the contrary, during this period, the female needs double care and triple nutrition, because she needs useful material and vitamins.
Guinea pigs tend to give birth early in the morning when it's quiet. Is not a fact. With the same success, they can give birth in the afternoon, and in the evening, and at night. As for silence, at the time of childbirth, the female is focused on the process itself, so her surroundings are of little interest to her.
These animals eat leftovers from the "lord's table" and food waste. Such a "menu" will quickly bring the animal "to the grave." Guinea pigs are very delicate creatures that need a complete, balanced diet. They must include in their diet various vegetables, grain mixture and hay.
These are uninteresting animals, since you can’t teach them anything, and therefore, they don’t know how to do anything except eat and sleep. One can argue with this. Guinea pigs are very easy to train. They are quite capable of distinguishing their bowl by color, ringing a bell, responding to their name, guessing a melody, and much more. The main thing here is to be patient (however, as with any other animal) and the result will not be long in coming.
Guinea pigs should not be overfed with carrots. That's what's impossible, that's impossible. And this is due to the fact that the beta-carotene contained in carrots is processed by the liver of the animal into vitamin A, which the pig has more than enough of. As a result, an "overdose" can occur, which will adversely affect the animal's liver.