Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-04
Guinea Pig Is
Desirable Pet

One can easily translate its cry in
variety OF ways. The French child
would claim that is says "Oui, oui,
oui-yes, yes, am ready to be fed
yes, ready long ago!"
The American child would put 1t, "A
week, week, week-it seems a week,
week since you fed mel"
But in the little pets real home, Peru
and the western part of South Amer
lea, the Indians call it, "Coui, coui,
coui" or "Couy, couy, couy;" and
European visitors, hearing this name.
have readily changed 1t to "cavy."
And so cavy 1t is and cavy 1t should
be. To call 1t guineapig is to give 1t
the wrong name.
This Is Pet Easy to Care For
But aside from a matter of names,
every boy and girl should know these
little creatures Those of you who
want pet could find nothing better
than the cavy. 1t is easily cared for
it can be kept in a small box and will =
not bite. 1t has more variety in mark
ing and form than any other pet.
Then, too, the young run about, after
the manner of a calf, as soon as they
are born, and do not, like rabbits, re-
quire a mothers care while they re-
main blind and naked In a nest for q
while.
Cavies eat a great variety of food.
They are fond of almost any green
thing, but they should not be kept
just on any one diet. Hay should be
provided at all times, but If 1t is not
given with large proportion of green
food, or with wet mash, water should
be supplied at least once day in a
good-sized vessel.
One fancier makes this interesting
statement in regard to watering: 'It
seems odd to say that CAVES deprived
of water viii die of starvation, but it
occurs in this way: when they are
thirsty they will not eat. If you give
them a pan of water, you will see them
drink greedily, and then eat the food
they refused before. They are fond
of first taking a sip of water, then
nibble OF dry food. 1 had five young
CAVES in cage with a shelf. One
morning 1 put pan of water on the
floor and saucer of bran upon the
shelf. Each cavy in turn took sip
of water, and then jumped onto the
shelf for mouthful of brain. This
was so like lot of school boys playing
| follow my leader that / felt like
shouting out Keep the pot a-boiling,
my lads"
You Must Give Him Plenty of Water
| Another expert of twenty years ex-
perience feeds as follows: Every
morning a piece of mangel-wurzel beet
about the size of a hen's egg, or q
piece of carrot somewhat smaller. At
might feed a mash of one part wet
meal or cracked corn, soaked or
cooked, one part bran and four parts
alfalfa meal. Keep hay in the
hutches. On this diet 1t is claimed that
there is no need of supplying water as
the vegetable and the wet mash contain
enough. Most persons who keep only
few CAVES will feed hay, bread and
vegetable parings and water once
| day. Hutches or boxes should be part
! ly cleaned out once a week and thor
oughly once a month at least.
A Bill of Fare That He Enjoys
A cavy, If not handled much, is shy
and likes to hide in the hay or in the
dark parts of the hutch, but by petting
he soon becomes very friendly. He likes
especially to have his nose scratched.
For this he will hold very still.
Some advantages that the cavy has
over a rabbit as a pet are that it never
| grows too big to be carried, even by a
young child, and carrying is not harm
full to it, as 1t Is to rabbit For these
reasons, and for many other interest
ing facts that leave you to learn by
experience for yourself, / claim that
the cavy Is the most desirable four
footed pet for children to have.-E. r.
Bigelow in the Delineator.