Your friendly, sociable guinea pig will trustingly follow you everywhere in your house, stopping for a nibble of a wire here (as you flinch and grab her away) and proceed to settle down on a chair just as another family member is about to sit down! She can't imagine that anything could possibly hurt her, and acts like it. Once your pet is comfortable in her home, she will let her guard down, and it is up to you to protect her from danger.
Sun
Whether your guinea pig is housed outside or inside, too much sun can make her very sick. Though in the wild guinea pigs are desert animals, they still spend most of the time inside burrows during the day. Because your guinea pig is either in a hutch or a cage, she doesn't have a nice cool burrow to retreat to. Over-exposure to the sun can be very serious; guinea pigs have been known to die from it.
Make sure your guinea pig's housing provides shade, even if the shade is only a small box with a hole cut in the side. Keep her cage well ventilated and provide her with plenty of water.
Doors
Your affectionate pet will often tail you around the house while you are otherwise occupied. She can easily get caught in an opening or closing door, and her small body is easily fractured, bruised and sprained.
Take care to keep all doors closed when you allow your guinea pig out to play. If there are other people in the house, let them know when it is playtime, or put a `Do Not Disturb, Guinea Pig at Play' sign on your door. This will ensure there are no accidental openings of a door onto your guinea pig. If your door doesn't have them, put door stops on the walls. This will mean that even if the door flies open and hits your guinea pig, it will only push her as far as the door stop and not squash her into the wall.
Furniture
Your favorite chair or couch seat is often also your guinea pig's favorite resting spot. The warmth that your body leaves on the furniture will soon lull her to sleep. Unfortunately, people often do not look before they sit down, and your guinea pig can easily be crushed. Reclining chairs are the worst for this, as your guinea pig can get caught in the mechanism inside.
You can prevent this by taking care to check where your guinea pig is before sitting down. This is a good habit to develop, as your guinea pig is often in the last place you expect her!
Predators
If you house your guinea pig outside there are many predators that consider your pet to be dinner. This is true whether you live in a busy metropolis or in a rural area. If they see her huddled inside her hutch, she will make a tempting target. Agile raccoons are a particular threat because of their dexterity and ability to manipulate locks and latches.
To protect your guinea pig against predators, first provide her with an enclosed area to retire for the night. This way if a predator doesn't smell her, it certainly won't see her, and your guinea pig will feel far more safe and secure, reducing the chances of her being frightened to death.
Next, make sure that there are no openings in the wire enclosing the hutch, that the roof is intact, and that there is no room to slide a paw through any part of the hutch. A good, sturdy lock will also protect against both animal predators and human thieves.
Finally, hutches should never be more than a few inches off the ground. Ideally, a hutch should sit right at ground level to prevent predators from sliding underneath the cage and attacking your guinea pig from below.
Wires
Guinea pigs have an innate need to chew; it helps keep their teeth from growing too long. Your pet may take a liking to cords, and this can be a problem. If your guinea pig severs an electrical cord, she could receive a life-threatening shock.
You can prevent your guinea pig from severing cords with her teeth by covering them in a thick, bite-proof wrap. There are several kinds of wire protectors, most of which can be purchased for a reasonable price at a hardware or electronics store. Spiral cable wrap and plastic tubing are the two types most commonly used. You can also run cords behind furniture to hide them.
Dog and Cat Saliva
Your guinea pig and your dog may even sleep together, but your dog still poses a danger to your pet. There is a danger in contact with cats and dogs because their saliva may contain bacteria called pasteurella multicocida. These bacteria release toxins that can osteoarthritis, resulting in swelling and joint damage and possibly paralyzing your guinea pig. Osteoarthritis in turn can lead to septicemia (blood poisoning), a condition that creates fatal liver and circulation problems.
If you suspect that saliva from feline or canine members of your family has got onto your pet, rush her to the vet. It takes 8 to 12 hours for osteoarthritis to develop, so getting your pet to professional care immediately is the best way to keep her safe and healthy.
To prevent this from happening, never leave your guinea pig alone with other pets, and don't leave her loose in the yard unattended. If her cage is in an area that is accessible to cats or dogs, make sure your guinea pig can't be reach though the wire and that the cage isn't broken into easily.
Pine and Cedar Shavings
Pine and cedar shavings, or `softwood' shavings, should be avoided as bedding material and litter. These woods contain a natural volatile chemical called phenol that causes the aromatic scent that is so characteristic of Christmas time. Constant exposure to phenol alters enzymes in your guinea pig's liver, and may also be responsible for increased cancer risk.
To rectify this problem, change any cedar or pine chips for hardwood bedding. There are no phenols in hardwoods.
Pests
Flies and insects are also a hazard, especially for guinea pigs housed outdoors. The fact that your guinea pig lies in the same bedding outdoors will make her a target for fleas. If bitten too badly, she can suffer from flea anemia. Also, some insects carry the virus myxomataosis in their saliva, and can infect your pet if she is bitten.
If your guinea pig is going to be outdoors, keep her sprayed with a flea and insect repellant. This will leave her feeling safer and happier. Keep her fur cut shorter in the summer as well; this makes it harder for fleas to infest her.
Drawers and Closets
Your guinea pig loves to wriggle and burrow, and if you are doing something that she can't see she will often come to investigate. While you are looking through your closets or pulling clothes out of a drawer, your pet may be crawling inside. Because she is so small she may manage to slip by you unnoticed. If she gets locked inside a drawer or closet, she may suffocate in there.
Take care to know where your guinea pig is at all times; never close something without checking where she is. If you are going to be opening and closing a lot of doors or drawers, it's best to put your pet back in her cage. If you don't, she could easily get hurt or squashed even if she doesn't get locked in.
Drafts
Your guinea pig is originally from South America, and her body is adapted to living in a warm environment. Drafts can be deadly because she is very susceptible to pneumonia and other respiratory ailments. A shift in temperature or a chilly breeze can lead to health problems later.
Keep your guinea pig's cage in a warm room that isn't close to any doors leading outside. A good temperature for the room would be between 64 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Never keep your guinea pig in a room that has air conditioning; this can be very damaging to your pet's respiratory system.