Pets like their toys, and guinea pigs are no exception. However, they do get bored easily if they only have the same toys to play with over and over again, so it’s nice to give them a lot of variety.
There are some toys made just for guinea pigs, such as Bounce Back toys (you place a treat inside the toy and the cavy knocks it down to get to the treat, then it bounces right back up again). At only $6 or so, it’s an affordable purchase and most guinea pigs seem to like it.
Besides toys made just for guinea pigs, you’ll also find that many items designed for rabbits and ferrets can be enjoyed by your pet as well. Some guinea pigs also enjoy playing with cat and bird toys, but you must be cautious when using these items since they can be easily broken and swallowed by your pet.
Of course, you don’t have to go out to your local pet stores in order to gather toys for your guinea pig. Many items that you have lying around your house would also be perfect. Let me give you some examples:
- Paper – Guinea pigs love to chew on and play with any kind of paper, including the newspaper. If you do give them paper to play with, make sure it is as plain as possible since the cavies will probably be ingesting some of it.
- Cardboard spools – You know those spools inside your rolls of toilet paper and paper towels that you normally just throw away? Don’t throw them away any more. These are great toys for your guinea pigs.
- Old Clothing – Socks, towels, even small shirts can be added to your pet’s cage so that they can hide in them or use them as pillows.
- Small balls – While guinea pigs usually love those cat balls with the bell in the center, they aren’t the best toys for your pet. A tennis ball or ping pong ball will deliver the same fun but without the danger.
- Some children’s toys – Small stuffed animals, old-fashioned wooden blocks, and similar items can be passed down to your guinea pig for hours of amusement. Be sure to watch the guinea pig so that he or she doesn’t start eating the inside part of the stuffed animal which can be dangerous.
- PVC Tubing – If you have some old pieces of plumbing pipe around, you can put it into the cage. The guinea pig will usually hide under it or push it around the cage.
There are two things you should not allow your guinea pig to play with even though they are regularly sold in pet stores and may seem ideal for your pet: exercise wheels and balls.
While smaller versions of both of these are commonly enjoyed by hamsters, gerbils, and rats, the larger versions are not good for guinea pigs. Both can actually cause serious injuries to the cavy’s feet, legs, even back. Plus, the exercise balls have a habit of popping open which could give the guinea pig enough time to escape.
If you want to safely allow your guinea pig to get exercise while staying in a confined area, you are much better off purchasing a small pet playpen which you can set up in any room of your house, then covering the floor with newspaper, and allowing your pet to run around or to play with their ordinary toys inside of the fenced in area. Its much safer for the guinea pig.
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Without seeing a picture of the koi it is very difficult to correctly name it. I also have a 2 solid yellow koi, one is what they call a ginrin yama butterfly. The koi are a mix of jap and magnoi with sturgen. The closer the koi is to the natural carp the hardier it is. Any koi that does fit a type of koi falls into the Kawarimono class which is all other koi.
My husband and I planned on purchasing 3 koi this spring. I picked it out by accident as just an interesting dusty looking little koi then winter came and he turned mostly white. What is nice about the white koi is they do stand out in the pond. So it will not be a problem and not all Platinum Ogons are a problem it is just that they are the only type of koi that have demonstrated this type of behavior. I guess when you see a lot of pattern koi, it is nice for a change to have a few solid ones in the bunch.
Compatible Pond Fish Koi Gold Fish
All ornamental goldfish varieties, koi, and golden orfe are compatible with each other in a water garden. It seems that a lot of people start off with a few goldfish and then add koi later, which is fine, but why not just start with koi? Koi and goldfish actively maintain a natural balance of electrolytes in their body fluids. Excellent condition,comes with two filters and a large amount of bio balls witch are in side the canister ,works wonders on Koi and gold fish ponds. Koi eat plants including water lilies and bog plants.
Healing and tissue regeneration in koi and goldfish can usually be seen in the first four days of treatment. Pond Salt can also be used to reduce the toxicity of nitrite to koi and gold fish. Goldfish are cheap, but quality koi are not that much more. Koi are a different fish species, Cyprinus carpio, and will certainly grow too big, swim too fast, eat all the food, and nip on all the types of Goldfish in Groups 2 and 3. Compatible fish include rudd, tench, orfe and koi, but the latter will require specialized care. Koi also have a greater growth potential, rapidly outstripping the goldfish clan. For the control of anchor worm (Lernaea) in ornamental ponds, water gardens, Koi ponds and display tanks containing fish including koi, goldfish and tropical ornamental fish.
But sometimes Koi and Goldfish from Group 1 get along for a while, but not always. Melafix has been used for many years for the treatment of external wounds and fin damage in koi and goldfish. Koi are best kept in a deeper, unplanted pond compared with a traditional garden pond. Anchor worm infestations are most common on koi and goldfish.
Japenese Koi Carp Tattoos
Koi and tattoos of koi are traditionally considered lucky. Koi varieties are distinguished by coloration, patterning, and scalation. Koi fish have been used in Chinese artwork and carvings and some Chinese rulers kept . Oriental Outpost has a number of images of artwork for sale with all different types and styles of koi fish. Koi breeding is generally held to have begun around the 17th century in the Niigata prefecture of Japan. These are the most common type of koi, white with red markings. Koi have many different colors.
In myth, the very strong koi will be able to swim upstream and leap the waterfalls, being rewarded at the end of the journey by being turned into a dragon. A legend tells of how any koi that succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate (on the Yellow River) would be transformed into a dragon.
Koi Fish belongs to the same family as Carp and is often mistaken for large goldfish. Ghost koi, developed in the 1980s are metallic hybrids of wild carp and Ogon koi and are not considered true Nishikigoi. Koi are descendants of the common carp, Cyprinus Carpio .
All about Magnoi Koi Carp.
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If children are older and reasonably responsible, they can (and should) take on a role in the care of your family’s guinea pig. With the words: Okay, we’ll get a guinea pig – but you will have to take care of it, many parents are tempted to completely abdicate their pig care responsibilities and assign them all to the child. This is almost never a good idea. While caring for any living creature is a great learning opportunity (and the parent may even tell the child that they are totally in charge of the animal’s health, safety and welfare); ultimately, the final accountability should always remain with the responsible adult.
While full responsibility for your pig’s welfare should never be given to a child, it is actually a good learning experience to assign specific tasks to the children in the family. If the tasks are a life-critical – such as those involving food, water or supplements – the responsible parent must monitor the situation to make sure these duties are not being neglected. Your pigs’ lives depend on it! The parent should give occasional praise and positive reinforcements when the job is well done and they should give reminders and negative consequences when the job is neglected, forgotten or done poorly. Owning a pet is an excellent learning opportunity for your children – but it should never come at the expense of your pets’ health, safety or well-being.
If the task is less life-critical – such as cage-cleaning or giving the guinea pig daily attention and exercise – then monitoring does not need to be as diligent. However, this does not mean that you can simply delegate the task and walk away. Remember that ultimately the responsibility for your pigs’ safety and happiness falls on you – the parent. Also remember that the monitoring of tasks is for two very different and important reasons: 1) to insure the care, safety and comfort of your pet(s) and 2) to teach your kids to be responsible, caring and respectful pet-owners. So even if the task is not critical to your pigs’ health or safety, it is still an important part of your children’s transformation into responsible adults and community members.
It goes without saying that tasks assigned to children should be age-appropriate. That is, life-critical tasks should be assigned to older and more responsible children. Less critical tasks can be assigned to younger and less capable children. In either case, stretch your child by letting them do everything that they are capable of and by periodically adding new and harder tasks, but also be sure to give parental aid, coaching and guidance with any portions of the job that your child is not able to perform correctly.
It is a great learning experience for kids to be involved in the raising of a pet. However, all tasks assigned should be based upon your children’s age and ability. And at no point should you as a parent abdicate your responsibility in the situation. Ultimately, the responsibility for your guinea pigs’ health, safety and welfare rests on your shoulders.
Image taken on 2006-12-17 15:40:46 by Mollivan Jon.
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