Guinea Pig Shaking?

First, let me say this is not qualified veterinary advice. This is something our family did that worked wonders, so we're passing it on in the hopes of helping someone else.

Is your guinea pig shaking? Is your guinea pig sick out of the blue? Our little girl, Coco, started the day out fine by at night she started twitching. In an hour, it was regular. In another hour, she was so weak she couldn't lift herself up to get food.

We were very worried, and looked online for advice. We don't have a 24-hour vet. In fact, the vet here doesn't know much about small mammals. We live in farm country and they are much more accustomed to dealing with hogs than hamsters.

Unfortunately, most of what was found online about guinea pigs shaking or otherwise being sick wasn't helpful. Many people were asking about the same symptoms but hadn't gotten any answers, or the shaking started after being in a draft (a sign of pneumonia) or accompanied by other problems. I made it to page six or seven in results before I found a site that said you can make your guinea pig sick by not giving it enough Vitamin C. They don't make it on their own, and have to get it through their food.

Though Coco had never shown interest in oranges before, we had them on hand and we hoped some juice might help. As soon as it was cut open though, she was rooting around. She went from completely lethargic and scooting her poor body toward it, so we laid it open and set her on top. She ate a huge chunk immediately, and five minutes later she was acting healthy! An hour later she was back to her old self ... and she went back to ignoring oranges.

We're certain our guinea pig had a Vitamin C deficiency, and now we buy pellet food with Vitamin C added. You can find it in almost any store that sells pet supplies for small mammals.

I feel foolish because we thought we had done a lot of learning before bringing a pet into our home. We didn't want our gina pigs sick. While I wasn't thrilled with the thought of rodents for pets, our guineas have completely changed my mind! They are the sweetest, more endearing animals to share your life with. They crave human attention, food, and your time ... and food. They also love food, swimming!, getting bathed and groomed, and food. They eat paper and boxes, too.

The problem with all that eating is they then do a lot of pooping ... and they eat their poo to redigest. In that way, they aren't a great first pet because parents of young children don't always have time to clean a cage two or three times a week. Otherwise, they're a wonderful first pet and I would encourage anyone with the time to spend with them to get one.