The guinea pig is usually the favorite of all family members. With the right upbringing, guinea pigs are distinguished by their kindness and gentleness of character. They are happy to communicate with a person and always understand what they want to get from them.
The habits of guinea pigs
In love and care, guinea pigs live up to 15 years (on average 7-8 years), remember their nickname and respond to it. In general, this is a fairly intelligent animal, capable of becoming attached to a person, learning to recognize the owner.
Guinea pigs are very cautious animals: if they hear a noise, they stand on their hind legs and are alert, listen carefully to see if they are in danger. If they are scared, they hide for cover.
Guinea pigs, if trained to do this, love to kiss. They are happy to make contact with the person they love. An animal may express a reluctance to sit alone in a cage, demand with different sounds to be paid attention to it. Every time a person enters the room where she lives, she will rejoice at the arrival of the owner, even trying to stick her face out to meet him.
This animal loves attention, and, of course, it is advisable to take it in your arms more often. It is best to stroke her head. Only having learned to completely trust the owner, she will allow to stroke the neck, like, for example, a cat. Moreover, she can, like a cat, crawl under the arm and, as it were, ask to pet it. Some guinea pigs are so strongly attached to their owners that they even lick their hands.
The rodent expresses its emotions with a variety of sounds - grunting, chirping and even rumbling. Gurgling sounds are made by males, grooming females, or leaders of small flocks, and most often pregnant females "chirp".
Guinea pig in the house
The animal is unpretentious in food: apples, cucumbers, cabbage, dill and dry food provide it with a healthy shine of wool. Hay is a prerequisite for good nutrition. It is both food and bedding. It is also important that guinea pigs always have clean water. One of the characteristics of the organism of these rodents is that they do not produce ascorbic acid. Therefore, you need a sufficient amount of vitamin C in the feed. You can not give any products of animal origin, including milk: this is a herbivorous rodent, and lactose in its body is not absorbed.
If the animal runs around the cage, plays, digs the bedding, then it is in excellent condition and healthy.
In no case should a guinea pig be handled like a kitten - under the belly. It should be taken so that its hind legs feel support and the animal does not lose balance, otherwise the guinea pig will be frightened.
