Hausmeerschweinchen
Guinea pigs do not store their food. They typically travel in groups, or herds, scavenging for grass and other vegetation. They are commonly active during dawn or dusk when they are less likely to encounter predators (crepuscular). As pack animals in the wild, the domestic Guinea pig also thrives when kept with one or more companions (except boars in the presence of a sow). They live off a diet consisting of grass hay and food pellets, typically synthesized from timothy hay. Like humans, Guinea pigs can not synthesize their own vitamin C making their food intake their only source of vitamin C; a lack of vitamin C will often cause fatal scurvy. At merely four weeks old female Guinea pigs become fertile and may produce as many as four to five litters a year. With an average gestation period of 59–72 days, a female Guinea pig may become pregnant again in as few as 6 hours after giving birth. Guinea pigs live to be around 4 to 5 years old.