Get information, facts, and pictures about California at Encyclopedia.com. Make research projects and school reports about California easy with credible articles from. Louisville to Honor Armed Forces during Veteran’s Day Salute Cards’ Annual Military Appreciation Game on Nov. 12 will unveil POW/MIA Chair of Honor and debut new. Click Here for the Parkway Area Business Directory : Older Articles of Interest : Richard Sherrick Inducted into Prestigious Hall of Fame. Guinea pig - Wikipedia. The guinea pig (Cavia porcellus), cavy or domestic guinea pig, or cuy for livestock breeds, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family Suidae, nor do they come from Guinea. They originated in the Andes, and earlier studies based on biochemistry and hybridization suggest they are domesticated descendants of a closely related species of cavy such as Cavia aperea, C. Since the 1. 96. 0s, efforts have been made to increase consumption of the animal outside South America. Their docile nature; friendly, even affectionate responsiveness to handling and feeding; and the relative ease of caring for them, continue to make guinea pigs a popular pet. Organizations devoted to competitive breeding of guinea pigs have been formed worldwide, and many specialized breeds of guinea pig, with varying coat colors and compositions, are cultivated by breeders. Biological experimentation on guinea pigs has been carried out since the 1. The animals were frequently used as model organisms in the 1. They are still used in research, primarily as models for human medical conditions such as juvenile diabetes, tuberculosis, scurvy, and pregnancy complications. History. The guinea pig was first domesticated as early as 5. It's difficult to forget that “all time,” as video games are concerned, isn't a very long time at all. This fact poses something of a unique list-making challenge. Get information, facts, and pictures about Chad at Encyclopedia.com. Make research projects and school reports about Chad easy with credible articles from our FREE. Eskom CEO Brian Molefe’s resignation was welcomed by political parties and civil society groups, which urged Eskom directors to follow his example. BC for food by tribes in the Andean region of South America (the present- day southern part of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia), some thousands of years after the domestication of the South American camelids. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and often depicted the guinea pig in their art. Folklore traditions involving guinea pigs are numerous; they are exchanged as gifts, used in customary social and religious ceremonies, and frequently referenced in spoken metaphors. They also play a role in traditional healing rituals by folk doctors, or curanderos, who use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus. They are rubbed against the bodies of the sick, and are seen as a supernatural medium. Black guinea pigs are considered especially useful for diagnoses. The animal also may be cut open and its entrails examined to determine whether the cure was effective. These methods are widely accepted in many parts of the Andes, where Western medicine is either unavailable or distrusted. Spanish, Dutch, and English traders brought guinea pigs to Europe, where they quickly became popular as exotic pets among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I. The earliest known written account of the guinea pig dates from 1. Santo Domingo; because cavies are not native to Hispaniola, the animal was earlier believed to have been introduced there by Spanish travelers. The guinea pig was first described in the West in 1. Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner. Cavia is New Latin; it is derived from cabiai, the animal's name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they also spend a large amount of time eating. The German word for them is Meerschweinchen, literally . This derives from the Middle High German name merswin. This originally meant . For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs, which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat. The French term is cochon d'Inde (Indian pig) or cobaye; the Dutch call it Guinees biggetje (Guinean piglet) or cavia (while in some Dutch dialects it is called Spaanse rat); and in Portuguese, the guinea pig is variously referred to as cobaia, from the Tupi word via its Latinization, or as porquinho da . This is not universal; for example, the common word in Spanish is conejillo de Indias (little rabbit of the Indies). The Japanese word for guinea pig is . One proposed explanation is that the animals were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. According to the 2. Guinness World Records, the longest living guinea pig survived 1. They are social, living in the wild in small groups which consist of several females (sows), a male (boar), and the young (which in a break with the preceding porcine nomenclature are called pups). They move together in groups (herds) eating grass or other vegetation, and do not store food. Guinea pigs learn to recognize and bond with other individual guinea pigs, and testing of boars shows their neuroendocrine stress response is significantly lowered in the presence of a bonded female when compared to the presence of unfamiliar females. The success of this type of interspecies interaction varies according to the individual animals involved. Domestic guinea pigs generally live in cages, although some owners of large numbers of guinea pigs dedicate entire rooms to their pets. Cages with solid or wire mesh floors are used, although wire mesh floors can cause injury and may be associated with an infection commonly known as bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis). Bedding made from red cedar (Eastern or Western) and pine, both softwoods, were commonly used in the past, but these materials are now believed to contain harmful phenols (aromatic hydrocarbons) and oils. Housing of guinea pigs with other rodents such as gerbils and hamsters may increase instances of respiratory and other infections. Some published sources say that guinea pigs and rabbits complement each other well when sharing a cage. Their strongest problem- solving strategy is motion. They startle extremely easily, and either freeze in place for long periods or run for cover with rapid, darting motions when they sense danger. Groups of boars often chew each other's hair, but this is a method of establishing hierarchy within a group, rather than a social gesture. They have well- developed senses of hearing, smell, and touch. An expression of general excitement, it may occur in response to the presence of its owner or to feeding. It is sometimes used to find other guinea pigs if they are running. If a guinea pig is lost, it may wheek for assistance. It may also make this sound when grooming, crawling around to investigate a new place, or when given food. In these cases, the rumble often sounds higher and the body vibrates shortly. While courting, a male usually purrs deeply, swaying and circling the female. A low rumble while walking away reluctantly shows passive resistance. Guinea pigs tend to raise their heads when making this sound. Squealing or shrieking is a high- pitched sound of discontent, in response to pain or danger. Very rarely, the chirping will last for several minutes. Unlike the offspring of most other rodents, which are altricial at birth, newborn pups are well- developed with hair, teeth, claws, and partial eyesight. Litters yield one to six pups, with an average of three; the largest recorded litter size is 1. Large litters result in higher incidences of stillbirth, but because the pups are delivered at an advanced stage of development, lack of access to the mother's milk has little effect on the mortality rate of newborns. This might take place if the original parents die or are for some reason separated from them. This behavior is common, and is seen in many other animal species such as the elephant. The position of the anus is very close to the genitals in both sexes. Female genitals are distinguished by a Y- shaped configuration formed from a vulvar flap, while the male genitals may look similar, with the penis and anus forming a like shape, the penis will protrude if pressure is applied to the surrounding hair. The male's testes may also be visible externally from scrotal swelling. Females that have never given birth may develop irreversible fusing of the pubic symphysis, a joint in the pelvis, due to calcification which may occur between six and 1. Calcification of the female's pubic symphysis (if not bred) is a common myth. The reason for potential calcification is a metabolic disease, like ochronosis. A healthy, normal female guinea pig's pubic symphysis does not calcify. Signs of toxemia include anorexia, lack of energy, excessive salivation, a sweet or fruity breath odor due to ketones, and seizures in advanced cases. Pregnancy toxemia appears to be most common in hot climates. Other serious complications of pregnancy can include a prolapsed uterus, hypocalcaemia, and mastitis. Diet. A silver agouti guinea pig eating grass. A short- haired guinea pig eating a piece of apple. Grass is the guinea pig's natural diet. Their molars are particularly suited for grinding plant matter, and grow continuously throughout the animal's life. However, they do not consume all their feces indiscriminately, but produce special soft pellets, called cecotropes, which recycle B vitamins, fiber, and bacteria required for proper digestion. In geriatric boars or sows (the condition is rarer in young ones), the muscles which allow the softer pellets to be expelled from the anus for consumption can become weak. This creates a condition known as anal impaction, which prevents the boar from redigesting cecotropes, though harder pellets may pass through the impacted mass. The condition may be temporarily alleviated by carefully expelling the impacted feces. Guinea pigs benefit from feeding on fresh grass hay, such as timothy hay, in addition to food pellets which are often based from timothy. Alfalfa is also a popular food choice; most guinea pigs will eat large amounts of alfalfa when offered it. Some pet owners and veterinary organizations have advised that, as a legume rather than a grass hay, alfalfa consumed in large amounts may lead to obesity, as well as bladder stones due to excess calcium, in any but pregnant and very young guinea pigs. If guinea pigs do not ingest enough vitamin C, they can suffer from potentially fatal scurvy. Guinea pigs require about 1.
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