Owning a guinea pig comes with a great responsibility (With great piggies, comes great responsibility!). Guinea pigs are adorable little pets with great personality, but they also require a fair amount of care and as a guinea pig owner, you will for sure be left with many questions: is my cage big enough for my guinea pigs? Is this vegetable or fruit safe for them to eat? Should I give my guinea pig a bath? (to name just a few..).
Yet, finding the answers to some of those questions can often be confusing or challenging. That’s why we have curated in this article a list of some of the best and most trustworthy sources of information about guinea pig care.
The Best Forums about Guinea Pigs
The Guinea Pig Forum
The Guinea Pig Forum is a great place to find support from fellow guinea pig owners. The forum has contributions from many of its members on all sorts of topics pertaining to guinea pigs. You can access informative guinea pig guides tailored for beginners, information on safe and unsafe foods, posts on guinea pig behaviour and bonding, and also bereavement, just to name a few. It is free to access any of their information threads. However, you will need to create a free account if you wish to create a post or reply to a thread.
Cagetopia Forum
Guinea Pig Cages’ blog is another helpful forum where guinea pig owners can interact with one another. Members can post to various threads for advice from their fellow guinea pig enthusiasts and, have threads from general care advice to news and media published on guinea pigs. This forum also has specific threads dedicated to guinea pig owners who live outside of the USA: threads for owners living in Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia/New Zealand, and Asia.
Wheekers
A good community-based forum with plenty of threads on guinea pig care. Members can pose questions to the community and receive feedback and advice from guinea pig owners. They have an entire section called “Cavy Care” dedicated to anything you can think of regarding the care of these gentle creatures. Registration to this forum is also free and is required in order to create posts and to participate on threads.
The Best Magazine about Guinea Pigs:
Guinea Pig Magazine
A vibrant, colourful magazine centered around everything guinea pig! Guinea Pig magazine’s content is varied and educational. Their mission is to promote the happiness, health enrichment and welfare of guinea pigs and provide great advice to their readers. Guinea Pig Magazine has a well-established multidisciplinary team (all guinea pig owners) with great articles on guinea pig care and also provide a list of recommended shelters and rescues. They also have an excellent section called “Ask the experts” where guinea pig owners, new or veteran, ask confidential questions that can be featured and answered by their team of experts.
The Best Youtube Channels about Guinea Pigs:
Saskia guinea pig rescue
The legendary Saskia has many years of experience with guinea pigs. Whilst running LA Guinea Pig Rescue in California, she also creates very informative content on her Youtube Channel. She has created many videos on guinea pig bonding advice and techniques, hygiene care, and various videos documenting guinea pig illnesses and conditions. Definitely a source to check out for a TON of guinea pig videos.
Scotty’s animals
Scotty is another youtuber who creates fun and informative videos on everything guinea pig. As an owner of several guinea pigs himself, scotty prides himself on working with many rescued guinea pigs and has even volunteered along side Saskia herself. Scotty creates many videos on guinea pig care such as bonding videos, DIY and how-to guinea pig videos, behavioural advice videos etc. Scotty provides in depth information whilst making his videos entertaining.
Little Adventures
Want to go into cuteness overload whilst learning some great information on guinea pigs? Then check out Little Adventure’s channel on youtube. Julia, the talented creator behind the channel, documents everything piggie related. She provides great tips on how to care for your piggles and offers advice on a variety of subjects such as guinea pig travel advice, what to do when your piggies are unwell, and lots of cute vlogs of the daily life of her piggie herd. Absolutely cute!
Skinnypigs1
With over 900 videos and counting, it is no wonder why Abby, other known as skinnypigs1, is so well established amongst the guinea pig community! Featuring her very own skinny pigs and guinea pigs, Abby creates many inspiring and educational videos on how to properly care for these loveable pets. The channel features great how to videos on topics like cage set up, proper cleaning and maintenance of your guinea pig’s environment, and so much more. Check out her channel to learn some really useful tips and information on guinea pig care!
The Best Books to Care about your Guinea Pigs:
“The Proper care of guinea pigs” By Peter Gurney
For those who prefer to read a hardcopy book, we highly recommend getting a copy of Peter Gurney’s “The Proper care of guinea pigs”. This book provides great information on guinea pig basic care and comes highly recommended amongst the guinea pig owner community. Mr. Gurney provides comprehensive advice on topics such as handling, feeding, grooming, and more. A must read for beginners and advanced owners of the loveable guinea pig variety.
“Guinea Piglopedia: A Complete Guide to Guinea Pigs” by: Margaret Elward and Mette Ruelokke
A good guide to provide guidance on various guinea pigs topics. This book covers areas from diet and housing to common ailments. Great for beginners as an introductory book into guinea pig care. This book also provides a section on anatomy for those interested in learning about the guinea pig form.
“Guinea Pigs: The Essential Guide To Ownership, Care, & Training For Your Pet” by Kate H. Pellham
For those who are considering owning a guinea pig and would like to have a basic introduction to these gentle creatures, this book is a good starting point. This book provides introductory guinea pig information such as the types of guinea pig breeds, housing requirements, the types of supplies you will need, and more. It is highly recommended to do your research before making a commitment to owning a guinea pig, and that’s why this is a great starting point!
The Best Websites about Guinea Pigs:
GuineaPiggles
A great source of information on piggie’s diet. They complete 3 – 10-minute videos on the specifics of certain food for your pigs. They have also made videos on the pros and cons of certain bedding options as well as various tips and information on care advice. This channel is a great way to watch a quick video for guinea pig specifics.
Guinea Pigs 101
Guinea Pigs 101 is a blog created by the very knowledgeable Saurav, an animal nutritionist and guinea pig owner. He aims to provide informative posts to help other guinea pig owners give their pets the very best life they each deserve. Just like many first-time guinea pig owners, Saurav notes that he found he had more questions than answers when consulting some of the resources he came across. In response to his experiences, he has created a variety of blog posts related to guinea pig care, their habitat, and diet, just to name a few. This blog is highly recommended to all guinea pig owners, new or experienced.
OnlineGuineaPigCare
If you want another great website packed with a wealth of guinea pig articles, look no further. With several categories on care, Guinea pig owners can navigate this informative site by clicking through various pages on topics such as “nature and character of guinea pigs”, “where do guinea pigs come from”, and more! Chris, the creator of the website, has taken the time to provide a lot of information he finds useful in order to help other guinea pig owners, like him.
Guinea Pig Care
Guinea Pig Care is a website for information on, you guessed it, guinea pig care! They have informative sections on food, bedding, and a comprehensive “piggypedia” page of various articles on guinea pig specifics. The site also offers a good summary on guinea pig care in their “Care Sheet” section, especially if you are a new owner wanting to learn how to take care of your new found friend.
Guinea Lynx
Understanding the health of your pet comes part and parcel with owning a guinea pig. A comprehensive care guide is provided on their site, as well as medical guide if you wish to learn more about certain conditions or illnesses in guinea pigs. The website also offers a list of recommended rescues. Common concerns for your guinea pig’s health are explored such as lost appetite, hair loss, and skin conditions. It is always a good idea to read up on health-related concerns in order to better recognize when a vet visit is required.
PDSA: People's Disciplinary for Sick Animals
One of the leading authorities on pet wellbeing, the PDSA, offer advice and information on how to properly care for your guinea pigs. They offer good advice on ideal homes for your guinea pigs as well as information on appropriate shelters and bedding. Great introductory source to gain more understanding of your guinea pigs basic needs.
RSPCA
The RSPCA, a well-known animal charity that advocates for animal welfare. They provide plenty of information on their website for others to access in order for pet owners to take the best care of their furried friends. Guinea pigs are no exception to this group as they offer many articles and even provide a free downloadable “fact file” if you are interested in learning some interesting facts! They have sections on guinea pig diet, company, behaviour, and also on the best environment for them.
CONCLUSION
We hope that this list helps you in your search for the best sources of guinea pig information. Learning more about your guinea pigs can be greatly beneficial to you in order to better understand their care needs. Knowledge is vast and learning never stops, so whether you are a newly proud guinea pig owner or an experienced one, it is always good to continue to research and expand on your piggie knowledge. For some free resources to help you while you collect information on your piggies, check out Kavee's downloadable care sheets!
Check out our other useful posts:
Which C&C cage is right for my guinea pigs?
Hinged doors, lids and gates on C&C cages: how does it work?
4 reasons to add a stand to your C&C cage
Reducing your guinea pigs’ carbon footprint
10 things you should know before buying a C&C cage for your guinea pigs
