Wheekerpedia: A

A is for:

Abscess: A pocket of pus that can be located anywhere on the body or internally. Caused by infection, they can result from bites from another guinea, infection during surgery or maybe a cut. Treatment is to lance the abscess and flush at least once daily with Hartmans solution (from your vet) and perhaps with some added Baytril (under the advice of your vet). Use a Canula attached to a syringe to achieve maximum flushing that gets to the parts not reached by just using a syringe, also a lot more comfortable for guinea.

Commonly found under the chin and in the mouth where there is usually a dental related issue too.

Abyssinian:

A rough coated variety of guinea pig with 8 to 10 rosettes placed in specific places on the body, coat should be stiff and ridges upright. Abyssinians come in all colours and have been satinised and there have been some rexoid versions known as Somalis.

Adoption: There are many rescues now that take in and rehome guinea pigs. Gone are the days when the local pet shop was the only source. A reputable rescue will address the medical needs (if any) and also any behavioural ones and match the guinea pigs to the Human.

Agouti:

There are several colours of Agouti including Golden (gold and black), Lemon (silver and cream), Silver (silver and black), Cinnamon (silver and chocolate), Cream (chocolate and cream). The hairs are two colour (ticked) and the pattern is uniform all over the body. The ticking should be regular/consistent and even be present round the eyes.

Alfalfa: A legume that most dry guinea pig foods are based on. Oxbow found that most of the guinea pigs that develepoed bladderstones were fed on alfalfa based diet. Also known as Lucerne.

Alopecia: Alopecia is a medical term for baldness. One reason for Alopecia may be a hormonal one. In larger animals neutering is the recommended first step of treatment but a course of Chorulon injections ten days apart is the less aggressive treatment that is successful and preferable for guinea pigs. It is important that the full course is given.

Alpaca:

A rexoid version of the Peruvian. This variety has very soft hair (the softest of the long haired breeds). Two rosettes on the rump throw the hair forward across the face of the guinea pig and falling down around the sides and rear. These are kept in wrappers if they are being shown, when their show ‘career’ is over they are trimmed off. This coated variety comes in all colours.

Anal Sac: The anal sac is present in both boars and sows but is much smaller in sows. It is the anal sac that gets impacted and needs cleaning when muscles stretch etc.


Anaesthetic: These days anaesthetic is done using ‘gas’ as opposed to injection. This makes surgery much safer as the source of anaesthetic can be removed at once if there is a problem and the body flooded with oxygen. Guinea pigs do not need to be starved before an anaesthetic as they cannot vomit. Their mouths should be flushed prior to the operation though to get rid of any food stuffs that may be caught in the many folds of the mouth. Isoflurane / Servoflourane are the two most popularly used on guinea pigs.

American Crested: 

A short haired, smooth coated guinea pig with a crest that is a contrasting colour to its body colour (white). Body colour must be solid. Comes in all the Self colours.

Apples: Should not be fed in excess as they have the wrong Calcium to Phosphorus ratio for a guinea pig’s diet. Occasionaly they can cause mouth sores which often clear up when acidic foods are left out of the diet. Failing this oral cream and advice can be obtained from Gorgeous Guineas .

Aromatherapy Skincare Products: The only guinea pig specific skincare products in the world are handmade by guinea pig enthusiasts Gorgeous Guineas.

Argente:

A ticked guinea pig (like the Agouti). Each hair is 2 colours. (Click on picture to see more detail).

Aubiose: Hemp bedding for equine use that is suitable for guinea pigs. A soft bedding (Medibed/Vetbed etc) will need to be put in the houses or whhere the guinea pigs rest as Aubiose isn’t particularly soft.

Avipro: A probiotic from Vetark. Probiotics should be used 1 hour after antibiotics are given. Available from SPH Supplies.

Pictures copyright of owner, donated to Guinea Pig Welfare.