Heat Exhaustion
This is always the one warning I give to all prospective new Guinea Pig owners. 'Be aware of direct sun'. The heat is a big killer for Guinea Pigs in the extreme heat of the African Sun. Housing kept in the direct sun can cause the heat in the hutches to rise to excessive temperatures, causing the Guinea Pigs discomfort, and more often then not causing the Guinea Pig 'Heat Exhaustion'
The symptoms are very obvious. The Guinea Pig will lay floppy, like a rag doll. The respiration will be really slow, and you will see he mouth will be wet around the jaw. This is not how you want to find your precious piggy.
You need to react fast.... Two ways to deal with the situation is firstly to run cold water in the basin and place the piggy into the water in the basin holding their head out of the water, or secondly you can wet a towel and wrap the piggy in the wet cold towel, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE THE PIGGY WATER while they are in this floppy state!
Often piggies that have been exposed to this crazy African heat don't make it... But hopefully you have caught the piggy in time, and as soon as the piggy starts to come around you will need to restore their electrolyte depletion. This can be achieved by buying over the counter human products from the local pharmacy. this should be done slowly and not force fed but rather drop by drop from a dropper.
The symptoms are very obvious. The Guinea Pig will lay floppy, like a rag doll. The respiration will be really slow, and you will see he mouth will be wet around the jaw. This is not how you want to find your precious piggy.
You need to react fast.... Two ways to deal with the situation is firstly to run cold water in the basin and place the piggy into the water in the basin holding their head out of the water, or secondly you can wet a towel and wrap the piggy in the wet cold towel, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GIVE THE PIGGY WATER while they are in this floppy state!
Often piggies that have been exposed to this crazy African heat don't make it... But hopefully you have caught the piggy in time, and as soon as the piggy starts to come around you will need to restore their electrolyte depletion. This can be achieved by buying over the counter human products from the local pharmacy. this should be done slowly and not force fed but rather drop by drop from a dropper.
Diarrhoea
Diarrhoea is more often then not caused by a serious bacterial infection of the digestive system, so as an owner it is very important to monitor your piggy through the process...