Guinea pigs are popular companion animals often kept in inadequate conditions. Understanding their social and environmental needs dramatically improves their wellbeing.
Guinea pig welfare failures commonly involve inadequate space, solitary housing, and vitamin C deficiency. The minimum recommended enclosure for a pair is 7.5 square feet — most commercially sold cages fall far short of this. Solitary housing causes chronic loneliness in highly social animals. Without daily vitamin C from fresh vegetables, guinea pigs develop scurvy within weeks. Because they hide illness as a survival mechanism, owners who are not observant may miss serious health problems until the animal is critically ill.