Sunday, May 4, 2014

Can Guinea Pigs Swim?

If you search YouTube, you can find lots of videos of guinea pigs swimming. While this proves that guinea pigs are capable of swimming when necessary, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea to make your guinea pig swim. Why not, you ask? Well, consider the following:
I can't speak for other piggies, but I don't like the water!
If you think your guinea pig might actually enjoy the water, we'd recommend giving them the option to wade in water, rather than actually swim in it. You can do this by having a setup where your piggy can get in and out of the water him/herself (for example, using a gradual ramp to the water, or a building a brick staircase in a bathtub). Do not throw your piggy into a kiddy pool with no way of getting out! (We've heard there are some YouTube videos where people do this.) Only fill the water up to our legs and no higher. Some guinea pig owners use this as an alternative method of bathing. If you do have one of the rare guinea pigs that enjoys water and you decide to do this, keep in mind what we said before about how frequently guinea pigs should be bathed.

We should also note that Peter Gurney, a "campaigner for the rights and welfare of guinea pigs," discussed the use of "swimming therapy" for guinea pigs with "weak or stiff joints." He also stresses the need to introduce your guinea pig slowly to water, watch their reaction, and being willing to take them out if they are getting stressed out.

5 comments:

  1. Awesome info! We saw on the sites we like thing that there was one for guinea pig costumes. looked and them ; adorable! do you know where we can find more sites like that.
    XOXO
    Ashley & Wendy

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  2. Hi! This is Ashley and Wendy's owner! I have a question. Well, wendy has a hyper problem. The person who sold her to us told us, and I still wanted her. She's really hyper.
    But when I was reading aloud, wendy calmed down. So, would music calm her down? I dont want to hurt her ears, but I do want a pretty calm guinea pig. Can you tell me if it's safe or not? Thank you!!
    :)
    riordan77piglove

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    Replies
    1. We've read mixed things about music and guinea pigs. Playing music too loud can be upsetting. Some guinea pig owners claim their guinea pigs like soft music (oldies, etc.), but hate music with lots of bass.

      We may do a post on this in the future, so thanks for the question! :-)

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  3. Your welcome! Our owner recently tried some we were freaked out at first, but then were fine.
    XOXO
    Ashley & Wendy

    ReplyDelete