Clean the pen floors at least once a 
week. 
FEEDING 
Feed your guinea pigs a balanced 
diet and supply them with fresh 
water daily. Suspend their feed 
cups and water bottles above their 
bedding to prevent contamination 
by waste and dirt. 
Ground oats and wheat bran can 
supply the grain portion of their 
ration. Commercially prepared 
laboratory chows, made especially 
for guinea pigs and available in pet 
and feed stores, consist of a mixture 
of grains and minerals compressed 
into pellets. A ready-made ration 
recommended for rabbits can sub- 
stitute for the commercial guinea 
pig preparation. 
Guinea pigs cannot produce their 
own vitamin C; without it they de- 
velop scurvy. Some pellets supply 
all vitamin C requirements, but this 
yitamin’s potency lasts only a short 
time. Supplement your guinea pigs’ 
diet with fresh greens or hay. Green 
alfalfa, green cabbage, lettuce, kale, 
lawn clippings, and similar plants 
all supply vitamin C. When abun- 
dant, fresh greens satisfy their need 
for water. 
GROWTH 
Guinea pigs are vigorous and 
can care for themselves almost from 
birth. They are born with hair and 
teeth, and with their eyes open. 
Within an hour after birth they are 
able to move about. After 2 or 3 
days they can eat solid food. 
Leave the young with their 
mother for 3 to 4 weeks. Keep 
them in the same pen with their 
parents, but never with other adults. 
Young guinea pigs gain weight 
rapidly and weigh about one-half 
pound in about 4 to 6 weeks. Young 
of this weight are preferred for 
many experiments. For the next 18 
months their growth rate is slower. 
At maturity, an adult male may 
weigh 134 to 214 pounds. At 18 
months of age, unbred females are 
33618—B 
The Abyssinian or rough-haired guinea pig. 
4 
