Disease recognition in guinea pigs
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The limited guinea pig welfare research available has highlighted concerns in recent years regarding insufficient owner knowledge about guinea pig health and welfare needs. A study by Norman and Wills (2016) discussed the high incidence of dental disease in pet guinea pigs and possible causes. A significant relationship was found between access to an outside environment and not displaying clinical signs of dental disease. Vitamin C supplementation was found to be related to the presence of dental disease; a possible explanation may be that owners who are aware of dietary needs are more aware of clinical signs, or that sick guinea pigs are given Vitamin C to help support them, but the findings warrant further research. The authors emphasise that clinical signs of disease can be subtle, that additional advice may be necessary to help owners recognise signs of disease in their pets. Indeed, some owners were not able to identify obvious incisor elongation in the above study.
A later, larger-scale owner survey (Harrup and Rooney, 2020) listed welfare concerns including diet, guinea pigs living alone, insufficient enclosure size, no attached run, and lack of engagement with regular veterinary checks – only 12.8% of guinea pigs received at least six-monthly health checks. They recommended further research on enclosure size. Evidence of inadequate enclosures is further supported by research published this year from a guinea pig housing survey in New Zealand (Cameron et al. 2022) – please see here for further discussion of Harrup and Rooney (2020) and Cameron et al. (2022).
It may be difficult for owners to recognise signs of ill-health in guinea pigs, especially being prey mammals as they may hide symptoms. Research has revealed that owners do not always realise when a health issue is urgent, for example, gut stasis and ocular opacities. Discussion regarding pet health plans or insurance for guinea pigs may be useful for owners, as they may not have considered these. It may be helpful to owners if veterinary professionals can direct owners to resources provided by national animal welfare bodies or alliances such as Guinea Pig Awareness Week (GPAW), which was initiated in 2021. GPAW packs, including for vets and owners are available – access the site here. Don’t forget to check out the BSAVA Guinea Pigs Collection, which will be free from 26th September until the 3rd October to mark GPAW.