Guinea Pig Basics:

Cages: Most cages sold in pet stores are too small. They aren't much more than a glorified bathroom.  You'll enjoy your guinea pigs more and they'll enjoy life more if they can have a bigger cage. You also won't have to clean the cage as often if it's bigger!  www.GuineaPigCages.com is a great website. They show you how to make a big cage for cheap. I can make one in about a half hour and I am horrible at this type thing normally. You can make a cage that is over 2' wide to 4' to 6' long for under $40. If you need help locating the materials or need advice on how to cat-proof it, just email us at sue@cavyhouse.org.  If you'd rather buy one, there are a few places that sell a very good brand of cage in a good size for a reasonable price. Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel. Rabbit Ears Pet Supply (in the Kensington part of Berkeley)  and For Other Living Things (in Sunnyvale) sell the Marchioro Tommy 120 cage (2' x 4') for very competitive prcies.

Diet: Guinea pigs need a diet that is about 70% hay, 20% guinea pig pellets and 10% vegetables.

Hay:  We tend to free-feed the hay and pellets as long as the guinea pigs aren't putting on too much weight. They need hay to wear down their teeth, which grow their whole lives. I read somewhere (but haven't validated this) that they they refill their stomachs 17 times a day! They do need food to be moving through their systems constantly. Pregnant and nursing guinea pigs and guinea pigs under the age of 6 months should have alfalfa hay because it has more calcium.  After 6 months of age, they should be fed timothy hay or some other kind of grass hay. The extra calcium in alfalfa can contribute to bladder stones so it's recommended to avoid extra calcium in adults. They do need hay available constantly - not just at mealtime.

Guinea pig pellets: Plain guinea pig pellets without all the extra gourmet goodies are the best for your guinea pigs. Avoid the feeds that have seeds, nuts, dried fruit, sugar, corn syrup or dyed pieces. Guinea pigs can choke on seeds in husks. Most guinea pig feeds have vitamin C in them, which guinea pigs need. Rabbit pellets do not have vitamin C and so are not a good substitute. Most of the vitamin C in guinea pig food will degrade 3 months after the milling date so it's best to not buy more food that you can use within 3 months of the milling date (not the date you open the package). The milling date should be on the label. Oxbow makes a high-quality pellet with a more stabilized form of Vitamin C which lasts longer than three months.  Their Cavy Cuisine pellet is good for adult guinea pigs (timothy hay based) and their Cavy Performance pellet is good for pregnant, nursing and guinea pigs under the age of 6 months.

Vegetables: Don't let your piggies talk you into unlimited veggies! We had one guinea pig come into our shelter in very poor health (almost died) because she had convinced her previous owners she needed veggies all the time. We feed one veggie treat every morning - such as a leaf of romaine lettuce, slice of red bell pepper etc.

Vitamin C: Guinea pigs can't make their own so they need to get it from their diet. They can get scurvy without it. They need around 10-30 mg daily. A good guinea pig food should have it in it. You can also supplement with a chewable vitamin C (cut into pieces because they don't need the whole tablet). Some people put vitamin C in the water. Most recommend against this because it may alter the amount of water your guinea pig drinks. Vitamin C in the water also degrades within 24 hours so needs to be replenished.  Don't get multi-vitamins for your piggy. Vitamin C is the only one they need. You can print out charts that have the vitamin C content of various fruits and vegetable from this website:

http://www.guinealynx.info/charts.html

Fruit: Fruit should be fed very sparingly as too much can lead to diabetes. A slice of orange (good vitamin c) a few times a week is fine.

Water: Like all animals, guinea pigs need access to water at all times. I always buy the 32 oz water bottles instead of the smaller size. Aside from the extra dollar it costs to buy, there are no downsides and if you happen to be delayed getting home because of some emergency, at least your piggy will have water. My guinea pigs never liked the "Critter Canteen" brand. I don't know why but they wouldn't drink out of those. I've had the most luck with the Oasis brand of water bottles.

Temperature Range: Guinea pigs do best between 65-75 degrees. They are very prone to heat stroke and shouldn't be kept in direct sunlight. Guinea pigs will die from high heat. They really need to be sheltered from bad weather too and do best indoors.  You can freeze water bottles and put them in the cage to lean against on real hot days. They are a very social animal and do great if they can share your home with you.

Bedding: There are a lot of bedding products available. Carefresh is a good product but a bit pricey (especially if you have 12-50 guinea pigs at a time like I do!) I use Kiln-dried pine shavings. You have to use kiln-dried because of the volatile oils in non-kiln-dried shavings. Don't use cedar shavings. If you have room to store a large bale of shavings from a feed store (not a pet food store), you can save a ton of money. I buy the horse-size bale. It costs about $8 for the size that would cover an entire horse stall. For $6-7 at a pet store, you can get a very small package that might last one cage change.

I'll add more information as I get more time.

For lots of great Information: http://www.guinealynx.com/healthycavy.html

This is a great website for detailed information about guinea pig care. A lot of what I've listed here is information I read on the www.guinealynx.com website.  There is a whole lot more information on this website than I can list here. I recommend taking a look.