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| Home | About Me | My Wonderful Cavies | More Pictures | Additional Picture of Stock | Favorite Links | For Sale | Judging Page | Tips | Contact Me | Tips Cont | |
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Carrousel Caviary
No Secrets Here
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1. Cavies are like humans, they need Vitamin C in their daily diet. Offer it to them the way
"Nature' intended by giving them something dark green (leafy vegetable * Parsley) or any fruit that contain lots of Vit C
in it (like oranges with the peeling). They have their
own taste buds, so you will have to offer different things to find out what they like best. Have fun. 2. They call these animals by their nickname "guinea pigs" but they
are not pigs at all. They are NOT even rodents. Some Swedish scientist did some DNA research on them in 1991 and
discovered they are not related to rodents at all. What are they related to? Nobody knows. They have been
mis-classified from the very beginning. 3. Boars
are males and sows are females. It's hard to tell closely after they are born but once the boars are much older you
can tell what sex they are because their suitcases will be hanging between their legs. Besides boars start flirting with the
girls when they turn 3 weeks old. Girls will flirt to but they usually back down after a while. 4. I believe boars make better pets because they have shown me that
they are more tolerant of miss handling and abuse better than the females. She will snap, bite, kick, and scratch the
boar if he is bottering her when she is not in heat. He puts up with it and tries again later. So this lives me
no alternative to believe he can handle abuse better than the girl. 5. The old saying "you have to breed the sow before she turns six months old or her pelvic bones will fuse" is
a bunch of bull. God did not intend for this to be that way. I have raised cavies for more than 36 years and all
the sows that have had their pelvic bones fused had had a litter before and miscarriaged them and I waited too long to bred
them again. Their is a MEDICAL reason why their pelvic bones fuse and it's not because they weren't bred. give
the sow a break. Don't breed at all. Enjoy your precious little girl and allow her to enjoy her youthfulness. I wait till they are over a year old (number 5 reason).
Breeding a young animal which is not fully developed (bones haven't finished growing yet) is like breeding a filly colt before
she is ready. Wait till the guinea pig is at least 8 months old. Then again, why breed at all. The
market is already over flowing, consideer adopting one from a rescue shelter or call me. You risk a 20% chance of losing
a sow because of breeding complication. Why take a chance on killing her, don't breed. There iu no money
to be made (you'll need at leaswt 500 head of breeders before you can make a profit), litters require much more time from
you, with more cleaning, more food, and more space. Please reconsider. Breeding is not always easy. 7. It takes 10 weeks for gestation, that's more than a dog or cat (9 weeks).
The sow only comes in heat, for a few hours only, every 16-18 days. If he doesn't get her when she is in heat, he will
have to try again later. That's a long time to wait for a litter. And babies don't stay cute for very long.
Don't breed just to see how cute babies can be. It's not worth taking the chance to lose your lovely sow. 8. Here's a good reason why they aren't rodents - a) they are born
with their eyes open and they have teeth. In fact, they are capable of eating the same food the parents eat
a few hours after they are born and yes, they will nurse up to 4 weeks, give or take a few. b) they are born with hair all
over their body (unless they are a hairless breed). c) Both parents can be kept together. Dad won't
eat the babies, unlike mice or hamsters. c) cavies are born tame, mice and hamster are NOT and you have
to go through a biting session with them to tame them. 9.
Cavies are night sleepers with an occasional getting up to eat a snack or use the bathroom. Turn out the lights and
they will go to sleep (unlike rodents who love the night life). 11. Cavies can hear 32 MG (megahurst) thats twice as good as a human. However, they are almost blind.
They are very nearsighted. They may not see very good but they make up for it in hearing. 11. The DON'TS - Don't hold a carrot in your hands while feeding him as this teaches them to bite unaggressively.
Don't tap on their nose very hard or you will knock them out. Don't sneak up on them, scream at them, or quickly frighten
them as they will defend themselves. Ouch! Don't drop or squeeze them tightly because their bones break
very easily. Don't give them something to hide in because this will teach them to be shy with you. 12. There are 13 recognized breeds for show. Yep, you read it right, and
you thought the only thing you could do with your cavy was put him in a pen and look at him; NOPE, there are shows sanctioned
by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in conjunction with a local club all over the United States. Ask around
or start one on your own. They are a lot of fun-family, too. Shows are a great place to learn more about them.
13. Cavies are socialable animals. They love and
crave personal one on one enteraction with YOU. Speak to it often and talk to it before you pick it up. Cuddle
it, pet it, kiss it. They will not know they are a guinea pig but instead will think it's human. What they don't
know won't hurt them. Have fun with it, dress it up and touch it often. They will cry for this attention.
It will become an everlasting bondship with you. That's all I can think of right now. I will extend this list if I think of any more so check here back often.
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