I don't recommend this! Pick a more robust animal. Almost anything else would be better.

    Pictures you have seen on the internet of 'cuy' guinea pigs being farmed for meat were taken in South America, or islands in the southern hemisphere, or Africa. It's done in areas where there are plentiful, nutritious plants available year-round and a climate that naturally accommodates their limited temperature tolerances.

    Temperature variation is not well-tolerated by guinea pigs. We're talking same-day temperature variation as well as cold winters / hot summers.



    Guinea pigs have health catastrophes if kept in incorrect temperatures, including too much heat for even a short period of time.

    Additionally, they require fresh vegetables being fed daily. A grass-only diet would not work long-term:

• Grass-only on the veggie feed can drive their urinary PH too high and they can develop urinary tract infections and calcium accumulation in their bladders
• In my experience they are susceptible to fescue toxicosis
  

    And don't forget, like humans (and unlike pretty much everything else):
    Guinea pigs require vitamin C.

    Guinea pigs were first brought to Western civilization in the 1500's. One thing that Europeans did not do with guinea pigs historically was pop them into production as some great new meat-producing livestock.
 
    Also noteworthy: guinea pigs can carry ringworm without symptoms and are able to transmit it to people. Children are more vulnerable to infection than adults. It's supposedly a cavy-specific ringworm that has been known to not fluoresce under a black light like the cat-and-dog one may.

---

Sources:

Pigière, Fabienne & Van Neer, Wim & C., Ansieau & Denis, Marceline. (2012). New archaeozoological evidence for the introduction of the guinea pig to Europe. Journal of Archaeological Science. 39. 1020-1024. 10.1016/j.jas.2011.11.021.

This article also include impressions and information directly from the author's experience.

<< Back

---