Booboo - ein süßes Netzschwein und meine Frage...

Ich denke es reicht darauf hinzuweisen, das reine Männergruppen semioptimal sind, aber sie bitte nicht verteufeln. Ich denke ehrlich gesagt nicht, das sexuelle Frustration das Problem ist sondern die Sozialisation, so oft dürfen Haremschefs ja auch nicht "ran". Statt "homosexual" vielleicht auch eher "groups of one gender". Reine Weibchengruppen sind im Grunde ja auch nicht so toll.

Entscheidend sind noch die grundlegenden Bedürfnisse in Bezug auf Platz und Ernährung. Ah, sehe gerade, da geht es dann weiter.

Ja was die Gruppenwahl betrifft war es ziemlich schwierig es zu erklären :shock: Ich will ja nicht die Bockhaltung verteufeln, auf keinen Fall! Vielleicht lasse ich da einfach ein paar Sachen weg und schreibe einfach, dass Bochgruppen lieber nicht zur Wahl kommen sollten, wenn man Anfänger ist und Ende.
Generell bin ich persönlich aber auch der Meinung dass in Haremsgruppen gehalten werden sollte. Das sieht jeder eben anders.
Ich werde das nochmal überarbeiten

Platz und Ernährung kommt dann jetzt Es wäre auch super, wenn hier einige schöne Bilder die zu den Topics passen mir schicken könnten (oder hier reinstellen).

Soo, habe jetzt ein wenig überarbeitet und dazu geschrieben.
Diesmal allerdings ganz schnell >> Wer Verbesserungsvorschläge hat, bitte sagen
(Die ersten 3 Parts habe ich rausgeschnitten)

What do guinea pigs need?

Social life:
Guinea pigs are high socialized animals and live in groups. You need at least two guinea pigs, but more than 2 are way better, because they will interact much more. You will feel the liveliness of your guinea pigs, like they were reborn
You know from their natural life system, that guinea pigs life in harems. So the best thing you can do is to get a castrated/neutered male and one or more female guinea pigs.

The keeping of groups of one gender is impractical. Why? For example some people, who are familiar with guinea pigs, can keep groups of males. The problem is that not every male tolerates other males, depending on their socialization status. Many guinea pigs were separated from their mothers in a very young age, so they never got socialized.
In their first years of life they go through puberty. People who never owned guinea pigs often cannot assess these hormone surges. This can end fatal, if the amateur guinea pig owner doesn't know what to do. Also important is that male guinea pig groups need much more space than harem groups, so they can avoid each other better.

Pure female groups are not welcomed. The reason is that guinea pigs, living in female groups are more susceptible to hormonal diseases, like uterine cysts. This way of keeping guinea pigs is unhealthy and unnatural.

Guinea pigs shall never stay alone! They will wither and get mental problems.
It's like putting an animal in jail for doing nothing wrong. A good hint for the next topic:

The enclosure/cage and guinea pig equipment:

Besides to healthy food and social life, this topic belongs to the most important ones.
Just like rabbits, dogs and other animals', guinea pigs need much space. People often say that their guinea pigs are slowly moving, unmotivated, that they don't do anything; they bite the cage lattice and so on, but why?
Even if it sounds a little bit rude, you can answer yourself this question with a healthy human mind. If people would put their dog in a little Guest Bathroom for 24 hours a day, a lifelong, what will happen to this dog?
He will get frustrated, maybe even insane and tries to bite, he will get fat and after all that's not a good life, don't you think so too? This would be animal abuse.
And it's just the same as with guinea pigs and rabbits. They want to run (and hell yes, they can run fast Very Happy ), they want to explore their enclosure, they want to live with their companions.
Two guinea pigs will never be happy in a little 100x80 cage.

After many people kept their guinea pigs in cages, they noticed that they needed something: More space!
People who are familiar with guinea pigs will advise you to build/buy a/an enclosure/cage with at least 0, 5 square meter per pig.
You'll need a cage with the sizes 140x0, 80 or 1, 60x0, 80 for two guinea pigs. Many know that such a cage costs very much and don't want to buy it.
But first:
Every animal is expensive! If you don't want to spend money for a good cage/enclosure, you won't pay the vet costs as well! That means you should not keep animals.

2:
A self made enclosure is low-priced and better.
For sure some people know these '300 Euro palaces', but you don't have to spend so much money for this. There are hundreds of ways to build a nice enclosure; you can also 'tape' an enclosure.
If you got even more space: nice! A beautiful 200cm x 100cm enclosure would be the best! Your guinea pigs will love you for doing this! The Guinea pig is a bottom dweller, it rarely uses floors, also a reason, why people should not buy cages with floors.

Summed up, you just need 4 wood panels and a urinary dense ground (so as example, pond foil or PVC coating). That's it.
Even if the enclosure will be big, you should not forget to let your guinea pigs going outside sometimes

Guinea pig equipment:
Just like in their natural habitat guinea pigs need much hiding places. They live in thick vegetations and don't like it, to move in an open area.
Because of being a flight animal, they feel unsure, when the cage or the enclosure they live in is 'empty'. Every guinea pig needs at least one little 'house', little 'shelters' will be gladly accepted too.
Be careful with equipment in pet stores, some are very dangerous or even deadly!

Equipments:
-houses with 2 or more entrances / shelters
(no 'windows', because guinea pigs can get stuck in it!)
-big tunnels
-Hay racks (there has to be hay 24h a day, all time! Be careful, some hay racks are dangerous, because the pigs can get stuck in them too)
- Watering or drinking bottle/s
-cuddle stuff There are many shops in the internet with guinea pig cuddle stuff

Guinea Pig food:
We will take a look again at the natural diet of a guinea pig. It consists of grasses, herbs and other 'green plants'.
Guinea pigs always need grass or hay to keep their gastrointestinal tract fit and to wear down their teeth. They cannot produce Vitamin C by themselves, so they need it from outside (herbs).
Not everybody has the option to get herbs and grasses every day, so we can give our guinea pigs vegetables, which they can digest.

Little summary:
-Guinea pigs need 24h a day, every day fresh water and hay (also for their dental care)
-Varied and fresh vegetables, like salads, cucumber, paprika, carrots, fennel etc.
-herbs and grasses, like dandelion, meadow-grass, edible wild herbs etc.
-occasionally fruits, like an apple, watermelon, strawberries etc.

Dry Food, Drops, Sticks, salt licks:
Usual Pet store Pellets (etc.) are full of grain, sugar and animal by-products.
This has nothing to do in a guinea pigs stomach; it's very unhealthy and unnecessary. Only guinea pigs that live outside should get sometimes grain-free dry food for more energy.
Guinea pigs cannot digest starch, they get stomach ache from it. The big portions of sugar in drops, pellets etc. are very unhealthy for the liver and generally for the pig.
Just some of the aftereffects of dry food etc.:
-Overweight (Underweight-> old guinea pigs)
-Dental problems
-Fatty liver disease
-Kidney infections / Kidney stones

Finde ich super.

Zu den heuraufen würde ich wohl eher schreiben, dass man drauf achten soll,d ass die Schweinchen nicht mit dem Kopf zwischen den Stäben durch kommen können.

Habe ich überarbeitet
Ich werde heute abend dann weiter schreiben...uff das ist echt schwer aus so vielen Infos das Wichtigste rauszupicken.

Wenn jemand zu weiteren Themen Ideen hat, sagt es

Hab auch still mitgelesen

Klingt gut!
Aber noch zwei kleine Anmerkungen: highly socialized animals statt high socialized und many people statt much people (aber den Abschnitt hast du eh gestrichen oder?)

LG

Danke, dass du mich auf die Fehler aufmerksam gemacht hast
Werde ich überarbeiten.
Ja da muss ich nochmal schauen

“many“ statt “much“ auch bei den “hiding places“ und ich bin mir auch nicht sicher ob man nicht eher sagt “they feeling insecure...“ statt “...unsure ...if their cage is empty“. aber sonst echt Top. Du hast ein echt gutes Englisch, schreibst du das so frei runter oder musst du manche Fachbegriffe auch nachschlagen?
Wo “unterhältst“ du dich denn mit ihr? Hast du schon einen öffentlich lesbaren Kommentar hinterlassen?
LG

Danke Leider kam ich noch nicht dazu, den Text nach Ausdrucksfehler abzuklappern.
Ist einfach runtergeschrieben, bei einigen Fachbegriffen musste ich aber zur sicherheit nachschauuen und nochmals danke :wink:

Ich habe sie ein wenig 'angestachelt' auf ihrer Seite (die hier auch angegeben ist). Jetzt schreibe ich mit ihr in DeviantArt, also privat und darf den Artikel dann auf ihrer Seite veröffentlichen.
Hoffentlich ist sie auch wirklich so offen und tolerant, wie die es vorgibt. Das wäre dann nämlich super!

Und dass ein schönes 2x1m Gehege am besten wäre, klingt für mich etwas zu sehr nach verbindlicher Vorgabe... für Ca. 3 Schweine mag das gut sein (wobei ja auch da nach oben keine Grenzen gesetzt sind), hat man aber 5 oder mehr ist das schon wieder viel zu klein. Es sollte noch besser rüber kommen dass das das Minimum ist und auch nur bei einer kleinen Gruppe.

Hoffen wir's dass sie es gut annimmt und Online stellt, wenn man damit auch die Niederländer vllt erreichen kann. Scheint ja recht nötig zu sein...

Sie ist in deviantArt weltweit bekannt mit über 1,188,000 'Pageviews'. Das wird nicht nur Niederländer erreichen

Ja da hast du auch recht O_o Das überarbeite ich auch nochmal

Wie wäre es mit 200x100cm für 2-5 Meerschweinchen? Das ist noch im Rahmen, sowohl für die Tiere als auch für die Halter.

So bin fertig
Muss nochmal alles durchschauen, nach Fehlern aber ich glaube so ist es gut.
Tut mir Leid für den großen Spam ^^"

Guinea pigs are one of the most favorite pets.
They look cute and it's just fun to watch them interact with others of their kind.
But much people also ignore the fact that guinea pigs are not that simple and uncomplicated to keep. Just like other animals, like dogs, horses, cats etc. they got requirements. They are no cuddle toys for kids and no birthday presents.

So where does our guinea pig come from?
Guinea pigs come from middle- and South America. They live in caves above ground in thick vegetations and their natural diet consists of grasses, herbs and other green plants. They are highly socialized animals who live in groups, so called harems. A harem is known as a group with one male guinea pig as a leader and his many 'wives'.

What do we have to know as Owners?
Anybody who keeps an animal as a pet should know that keeping a pet means responsibility.
We should take the nature of our pets as an example in order to give them a beautiful and species-appropriate home. To make this real we cannot put our animal in a little cage with unhealthy food as a present for a little 5 year-old child. Only a human, who is responsible, can take care of animals. They are no birthday or Christmas presents, no toys, no dump and no propagation machines. They want to live, they want to be healthy, they want conspecifics, they don't want to feel pain or suffer and they want to be happy. And we want to give them a happy life in our home.

What do guinea pigs need?

Social life:
Guinea pigs are highly socialized animals and live in groups. You need at least two guinea pigs, but more than 2 are way better, because they will interact much more.
You will feel the liveliness of your guinea pigs, like they were reborn
You know from their natural life system, that guinea pigs life in harems. So the best thing you can do is to get a castrated/neutered male and one or more female guinea pigs.

The keeping of groups of one gender is impractical. Why?
For example some people, who are familiar with guinea pigs, can keep groups of males. The problem is that not every male tolerates other males, depending on their socialization status. Many guinea pigs were separated from their mothers in a very young age, so they never got socialized.
In their first years of life they go through puberty. People who never owned guinea pigs often cannot assess these hormone surges. This can end fatal, if the amateur guinea pig owner doesn't know what to do. Also important is that male guinea pig groups need much more space than harem groups, so they can avoid each other better.

Pure female groups are not welcomed. The reason is that guinea pigs, living in female groups are more susceptible to hormonal diseases, like uterine cysts. This way of keeping guinea pigs is unhealthy and unnatural.

Guinea pigs shall never stay alone! They will wither and get mental problems.
It's like putting an animal in jail for doing nothing wrong. A good hint for the next topic:

The enclosure/cage and guinea pig equipment:

Besides to healthy food and social life, this topic belongs to the most important ones.
Just like rabbits, dogs and other animals', guinea pigs need much space. People often say that their guinea pigs are slowly moving, unmotivated, that they don't do anything; they bite the cage lattice and so on, but why?
Even if it sounds a little bit rude, you can answer yourself this question with a healthy human mind.
If people would put their dog in a little Guest Bathroom for 24 hours a day, a lifelong, what will happen to this dog?
He will get frustrated, maybe even insane and tries to bite, he will get fat and after all that's not a good life, don't you think so too? This would be animal abuse.
And it's just the same as with guinea pigs and rabbits. They want to run (and hell yes, they can run fast ), they want to explore their enclosure, they want to live with their companions.
Two guinea pigs will never be happy in a little 100x80 cage.

After many people kept their guinea pigs in cages, they noticed that they needed something: More space!
People who are familiar with guinea pigs will advise you to build/buy a/an enclosure/cage with at least 0, 5 square meter per pig.
You'll need a cage with the sizes 140x0, 80 or 1, 60x0, 80 for two guinea pigs. We know that such a cage costs very much and many don't want to buy it.

But first:
Every animal is expensive! If you don't want to spend money for a good cage/enclosure, you won't pay the vet costs as well! That means you should not keep animals.

2:
A self made enclosure is low-priced and better.
For sure some people know these '300 Euro palaces', but you don't have to spend so much money for this.
There are hundreds of ways to build a nice enclosure; you can also 'tape' an enclosure.
If you got even more space: nice! A beautiful 200cm x 100cm enclosure for 2-4 Guinea pigs would be the best! Your guinea pigs will love you for doing this!
Guinea pigs are bottom dwellers, they rarely use floors, also a reason, why you should not buy cages with floors. They won't be often or never used.

Summed up, you just need 4 wood panels and a urinary dense ground (so as example, pond foil or PVC coating). Tape or screw the panels together. That's it.
Even if the enclosure will be big, you should not forget to let your guinea pigs go outside sometimes

Guinea pig equipment:
Just like in their natural habitat guinea pigs need many hiding places. They live in thick vegetations and don't like it, to move in an open area.
Because of being a flight animal, they feel insecure, when the cage or the enclosure they live in is 'empty'. Every guinea pig needs at least one little 'house', little 'shelters' will be gladly accepted too.
Be careful with equipment in pet stores, some are very dangerous or even deadly!

Equipments:
-houses with 2 or more entrances / shelters
(no 'windows', because guinea pigs can get stuck in it!)
-Big tunnels
-Hay racks (there has to be hay 24h a day, all time! (Be careful, some hay racks are dangerous, because the pigs can get stuck in them too)
- Watering or drinking bottle/s
-cuddle stuff There are many shops in the internet with guinea pig cuddle stuff

Guinea Pig food:
We will take a look again at the natural diet of a guinea pig. It consists of grasses, herbs and other 'green plants'.
Guinea pigs always need grass or hay to keep their gastrointestinal tract fit and to wear down their teeth. They cannot produce Vitamin C by themselves, so they need it from outside (herbs or vegetables).
Not everybody has the option to get herbs and grasses every day, so we can give our guinea pigs vegetables, which they can digest.

Little summary:
-Guinea pigs need 24h a day, every day fresh water and hay (also for their dental care)
-Varied and fresh vegetables, like salads, cucumber, paprika, carrots, fennel etc.
-herbs and grasses, like dandelion, meadow-grass, edible wild herbs etc.
-occasionally fruits, like an apple, watermelon, strawberries etc.

Dry Food, Drops, Sticks, salt licks and bred:
Usual Pet store Pellets (etc.) are full of grain, sugar and animal by-products.
This has nothing to do in a guinea pigs stomach; it's very unhealthy and unnecessary, guinea pigs don't need that!
Only guinea pigs that live outside should get sometimes grain-free dry food for more energy.
They cannot digest starch, they get stomach ache from it. The big portions of sugar in drops, pellets etc. are very unhealthy for the liver and generally for the pig.
Just some of the aftereffects of dry food etc.:
-Overweight (Underweight-> old guinea pigs)
-Dental problems
-Fatty liver disease
-Kidney infections / Kidney stones

So where do I get my guinea pigs from?
If you think you are ready to take care for an animal, (besides you are also familiar enough with guinea pigs, have a nice and big cage or enclosure) you have to think about, where to get your pigs from.

Animal Shelters:
First of all, everyone who wants a pet should visit animal shelters.
There are many animals that want a new lovely home and deserve it as well, as animals from a breeder. Most were given away because of lack of time and exemplary animal shelters let their animals free for adoption in a healthy condition. Males are almost always neutered/ castrated.
In addition, the staff can assess the animals and say how dominant it behaves. (Based on guinea pigs)
There are also private animal shelters for guinea pigs, which they take care off and let them free for adoption again.

Breeders:
If you couldn't find guinea pigs in (private) shelter you can go to a breeder.
Make sure, that the breeder is professional.
People who simply throw guinea pigs in a cage to produce babies are inhuman propagators and animal abusers.
Professional breeders are familiar with genetic and guinea pigs. They know about genetic errors, pregnancy complications, how to nourish young, thin and powerless babies or mothers and and and..
Things that a guinea pig amateur don't know about, so let it be!

Pet stores:
Many people will advise you against, to go to a pet store to buy guinea pigs.
The reason for this are employers, who are not familiar with animals, wrong gender information's, (too young) pregnant females, many animals with genetic errors (because of fabric-like propagation; similar to puppy mills!), animal abuse and not neutered/castrated males.
These reasons should be enough to not visit a pet store.
For sure there will be some stores who look professional, but most of the time it just seems like the pet store would be animal-friendly.
In a pet store animals are just a product.

Health, Medical help and Vets:
Not every Vet is familiar with guinea pigs.
Vets cannot know everything about every animal for sure.
Also guinea pigs are classified as 'unimportant animals', which means that Veterinarians, even small animal doctors usually only deal with farm animals, dogs and cats, some birds and sometimes rabbits. Teachings of rabbits for example are often confused with guinea pigs.
Ask your Vet, if he/she is familiar with guinea pigs and ask him/her questions about guinea pigs.

The Check up:
If you got a guinea pig you should check it up once a week.

-Weigh your guinea pig
(normal guinea pigs weigh between 700-1200g (females) and 800-1500g (males), significant weight loss indicates a disease)
- Look at eyes, nose and ears. Are they clear and clean?
-Feel your guinea pig. Does it have tumors or is it thicker somewhere?
-Investigate the fur and skin of your guinea pig. Can you see bald spots, other abnormalities or even injuries?
-Take a look at the anus. Is it clean?

If something isn't good with your guinea pigs, go to the vet!

Thank you for reading my little article about guinea pigs and owning a pet
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Greetings, Sarah S. from Germany ~

Respekt. In Bezug auf Ausdruck oder Grammatik hat die Seitenbetreiberin ja vielleicht noch Anregungen. Oder kennst du vielleicht einen "native speaker"? Ansonsten kannst du das schon so abschicken.