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    How to Clean a Guinea Pig Water Bottle

    Have you ever noticed the inside of your guinea pig’s water bottle looking a bit sludgy? Does your guinea pig seem to have trouble getting the water to come out? Over time, green gunk (“hay sludge”, mmm!) can build up in the tube as well as the main container of your guinea pig’s water bottle. How do you clean your guinea pig’s water bottle to help make sure it’s nice and sludge-free? Find out below!

    How to Clean a Guinea Pig Watter Bottle

    First, unscrew the cap of the water bottle and put the dispenser under some warm running water and shake it around a bit. This will help give it a good rinse for starters.

    Next, fill the basin of the water bottle about 2/3 full with warm water and either put the cap on or hold your thumb or palm over the opening and shake it vigorously over the sink. The friction of the water combined with water’s solvent properties can help ‘scrub’ off some of the buildup on the insides of the glass or plastic of the guinea pig water bottle. Give it a good rinse with clean water.

    If you’re still seeing buildup, particularly in the dispenser area, you can take a cotton swab and poke it in from the opening where your piggie drinks to clean near where the little ball rolls around, and again from the other direction in the cap.

    You may be able to find a small bottle brush to help scrub the inside of the bottle, but here’s a hack that can be very effective – use rice! If you fill the bottle up with some rice and a bit of water and give it a vigorous shake, this will help scrub the sides, and then rinse the rice and water out thoroughly.

    While you can use a bit of soap, it’s super important to make sure that if you do that you rinse and rinse and rinse until you’re absolutely sure it’s completely soap-free, as you don’t want your piggie ingesting any soap!

    I hope these guinea pig water bottle cleaning tips have been helpful for you!

    For more tips and a complete illustrated guide to care of your guinea pig, check out The Guinea Pig Guide book here!

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    5 Simple Ways to Help Your Guinea Pig Live Longer

    On average, guinea pigs’ life expectancies tend to fall between the 5-7 year range, though it is not uncommon (and quite likely, if you follow tips like the ones you’re about to read!) for a guinea pig to live to be 8 or older! But how can you help your guinea pig to join the ranks of the 8+ year old piggies out there?

    While guinea pig lifespan does depend partially on each unique guinea pig’s particular health profile, there are many things you can do as a guinea pig owner to help ensure that your guinea pig lives the longest and happiest life possible under your care.

    The following 5 tips will help you maximize your guinea pig’s lifespan. In the medical world, approaches like this are known as preventive care – helping to prevent disease and injury before it happens, because the chances for health and recovery are much better through prevention than trying to treat an existing condition.

    5 simple ways to help your guinea pig live longer:

      1. Provide your guinea pig with a proper diet consisting of vitamin C-rich pellets, fresh water, unlimited timothy hay, and a generous portion of appropriate fresh fruits and vegetables. Unsure what you should feed your guinea pig and how much? A comprehensive list of what guinea pigs can and cannot eat is included in the official Guinea Pig Guide!
      2. Weigh your guinea pig regularly. Weight loss is often an early and clear sign of illness in guinea pigs. By monitoring your guinea pig’s weight on a regular basis (at least once a month, weekly if you’re really diligent!), you’ll be able to see if he or she is maintaining a steady weight and be able to react accordingly if weight loss occurs. You can invest in an inexpensive digital kitchen scale that measures in grams, and use a plastic or glass bowl to place your piggie in. Easy as pie!
      3. Find an experienced exotic animal veterinarian close by to you. Unfortunately, not all veterinary offices treat guinea pigs, and even some that do aren’t very experienced in proper guinea pig care. This is why it’s so important to not wait until your guinea pig is sick to begin searching for a vet. Be sure as soon as you bring a guinea pig into your life (ideally beforehand!) that you find a vet that’s knowledgeable and experienced with guinea pigs. Some offices specialize in exotic pets (guinea pigs, bunnies, birds, reptiles, all fall under this category), but other general vet offices have veterinarians who are excellent with piggies. XXX PUT INFO ABOUT FINDING A VET HERE XXX
      4. Keep an eye on your guinea pig’s teeth and nails. Both guinea pigs’ teeth and nails grow continuously. With a constant supply of hay, guinea
        pigs grind their teeth down to a comfortable length, but sometimes their teeth can become misaligned or snap and cause problems. Be sure to check your guinea pigs’ teeth for evenness regularly, and safely trim their nails every few weeks so they don’t overgrow, curl, and cause potential foot problems that can lead to even worse medical problems over time.
      5. Keep your guinea pigs comfy and cozy. Piggies are sensitive to temperature, so one of the easiest things you can do to help ensure their health is to provide them with shelter in a room that maintains a fairly stable temperature throughout the year. Ideally you don’t want your guinea pigs to be any colder than 65 degrees or any warmer than 75 degrees if you can help it. Otherwise they are at risk for heat stroke or other cold-related problems which can cause stress, lower immune function and bring on upper respiratory infections, which can be fatal.

    There are of course many many more ways to help your guinea pigs live a long time, but these are just five to get you started! I hope you’ve found this list helpful and an approachable way to ensure your guinea pigs live a long time with you!

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    Guinea Pig Care Topics

    • Guinea Pig Behavior & Social Life
    • Guinea Pig Breeds
    • Guinea Pig Facts & Fun
    • Guinea Pig Grooming Tips
    • Guinea Pig Health & Medical Care
    • Guinea Pig Toys & Accessories
    • Guinea Pig Water Bottles
    • Guinea Pigs 101
    • Is This Normal?
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