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Guinea Pigs
These 7 new petcare guides for children introduce all the basics they need to know to own and care for a pet. Find out how to prepare your guinea pigs' hutch, and playing with your guinea pigs, indoors and outdoors. Learn what to feed your guinea pigs, and when, and how to keep your guinea pigs happy and healthy. Guinea Pigs is one of an exciting new series of pet care books designed to help young animal owners learn about and care for their pets. Illustrated on every page with full-color photography, Guinea Pigs is packed with practical information on every aspect of feline care. Published in association with the ASPCA, this series will engage and inform readers ages seven and up.
- GenresNonfictionScience
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 10, 1992
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 25, 2024
This is a review of the 1992 first edition, or at least, the first edition that appeared in America.
In the 1990s, I was kept by a small colony of female guinea pigs, most of them rescues. Care and knowledge of guinea pigs had really changed since I last had one in the 1970s. This book had many valuable care tips, such as not keeping rabbits with guinea pigs and recommending veterinary care. It also has a generous amount of color photos, albeit some with gaudy primary colors.
However, despite the title, the book was written for a UK audience. There are some areas that are going to be irrelevant or confusing to Americans. For example, there's a section about keeping guinea pigs in hutches. That was considered normal in the UK. It's now known that hutches are far too dangerous to keep guinea pigs in. The author recommends that guinea pigs graze on lawns while under a grazing ark, but in America, that also is too dangerous. Keep the guinea pigs indoors, folks.
There's nothing in here on showing guinea pigs. For me, I was relieved because I never showed my guinea pigs and don't see the point of them, other than bolstering an owner's ego. Other guinea pig owners adore shows and may be disappointed that they are not mentioned.
The book suffers from being so short. Although it was geared for kids, plenty of adults read it because there weren't many reliable guinea pig care books written for adults in the 1990s. Most books available were just reprints from the 1970s.
There are much better guinea pig care books out there, like anything written by Peter Gurney, so this thin book suffers in comparison.
This book is certainly better than nothing if you need to care for a guinea pig. You can currently find this on The Open Library, but I do not know how long it will stay up.
In the 1990s, I was kept by a small colony of female guinea pigs, most of them rescues. Care and knowledge of guinea pigs had really changed since I last had one in the 1970s. This book had many valuable care tips, such as not keeping rabbits with guinea pigs and recommending veterinary care. It also has a generous amount of color photos, albeit some with gaudy primary colors.
However, despite the title, the book was written for a UK audience. There are some areas that are going to be irrelevant or confusing to Americans. For example, there's a section about keeping guinea pigs in hutches. That was considered normal in the UK. It's now known that hutches are far too dangerous to keep guinea pigs in. The author recommends that guinea pigs graze on lawns while under a grazing ark, but in America, that also is too dangerous. Keep the guinea pigs indoors, folks.
There's nothing in here on showing guinea pigs. For me, I was relieved because I never showed my guinea pigs and don't see the point of them, other than bolstering an owner's ego. Other guinea pig owners adore shows and may be disappointed that they are not mentioned.
The book suffers from being so short. Although it was geared for kids, plenty of adults read it because there weren't many reliable guinea pig care books written for adults in the 1990s. Most books available were just reprints from the 1970s.
There are much better guinea pig care books out there, like anything written by Peter Gurney, so this thin book suffers in comparison.
This book is certainly better than nothing if you need to care for a guinea pig. You can currently find this on The Open Library, but I do not know how long it will stay up.
November 24, 2012
Maren's class pet is a guinea pig "Hazel." They read this non-fiction book at Children's Country Day.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews