Guinea Pig Awareness Week (GPAW)

GPAW 2024: 23rd - 27th September! This year's theme is Nibble, Nourish and Thrive!
Download your GPAW Pack

Supported by

Blue Cross
RSPCA
Woodgreen
Raystede

Endorsed by

BSAVA
BVA

What is GPAW?

Guinea Pig Awareness Week, or GPAW, is a week of activities dedicated to improving the health and welfare of guinea pigs. Throughout the week, we’ll be exploring what it means to be a guinea pig owner and share some top tips, uncover interesting facts and, of course, post lots of great photos!

Endorsed by the British Veterinary Association and British Small Animal Veterinary Association, we will be covering the five welfare needs of our guinea pigs.

For this jam-packed week of activities, we are supported by five animal welfare charities: Blue Cross, RSPCA, Wood Green Pets Charity, and Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare.

 

FAQs

Diet

stethoscope

Health

guinea-pig

Behaviour

Environment

companionship

Companionship

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Be the first to know the GPAW news!

This year promises to be better than ever for Guinea Pig Awareness Week. There’ll be free GPAW packs to download for owners, vets, rescue centres, and retailers. In the packs will be a wealth of materials, including the Perfect Piggies Programme, how to run your own GPAW campaign, guides to all things guinea pig, and more!

Want to be the first to hear all the GPAW news? Register for our reminders today.

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Latest news

How to create the perfect piggy environment

How to create the perfect piggy environment

For guinea pigs to be able to do all the things that come naturally to them, they need a safe, spacious and interesting home. Our 8 top tips can help you design a piggy des res…
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Is your guinea pig in good company?

Is your guinea pig in good company?

Naturally social creatures who love to chat to each other, guinea pigs are happiest as a couple, throuple or small group. However, introducing a new guinea pig has to be done very carefully indeed!
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A couple of Cavies – companionship for your guinea pigs

A couple of Cavies – companionship for your guinea pigs

As supremely social creatures, guinea pigs need at least one cavy chum to chat to If guinea pigs are your pet of choice, always get a pair, or even a trio. In fact, in Switzerland, an animal rights law was introduced in 2008 making it illegal to own just one guinea pig at a time as it was considered an
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5 steps to quality Guinea Pig Nutrition

5 steps to quality Guinea Pig Nutrition

Our guinea pigs have five welfare needs, which are the things that need to be met to keep them in optimum health. One of these needs is the need for a suitable diet, which is essential for your guinea pigs to live a long, happy and healthy life. Guinea Pigs are classed as herbivores, which means they are adapted to
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Feeding your guinea pigs – why they don’t need life stage food

Feeding your guinea pigs – why they don’t need life stage food

Unlike puppies, kittens and baby rabbits, baby guinea pigs are born fully formed and eat solid food almost straight away. So, what do they need from their diet? Did you know that baby guinea pigs are delivered fully formed with hair, their eyes and ears open and the ability to eat solid food from the day they are born? Although they
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Make your guinea pigs’ environment a home

Make your guinea pigs’ environment a home

The best environment for your guinea pigs is one that enables them to feel safe and secure – and lets them exhibit all their natural guinea pig behaviours For us humans, we like our home to be clean, comfortable and well furnished, with cosy places to hang out, a choice of things to entertain us, and somewhere snug and warm
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Top tips for Guinea Pig Enrichment

Top tips for Guinea Pig Enrichment

When we share our lives with pets, it’s important that we consider the ways in which we can meet their unique needs – this will help to keep them mentally and physically stimulated and help ensure they are able to lead fulfilling lives. By enriching their environment as much as possible we can help promote well-being and positive welfare, as
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Top tips for housing your guinea pigs indoors

Top tips for housing your guinea pigs indoors

Indoor Guinea Pigs: Top tips for housing your guinea pigs inside your home. Many owners choose to house their guinea pigs indoors and there is no right or wrong when deciding indoors or outdoors as long as all your guinea pig’s welfare needs are met. Here are some top tips for setting up an ideal indoor home for your guinea
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Housing our Runaround Guinea Pigs Outdoors

Housing our Runaround Guinea Pigs Outdoors

Blog by Caroline Dore, Runaround founder. Keeping outdoor guinea pigs snug It’s not uncommon for owners to worry about colder temperatures for outdoor guinea pigs when the seasons start to change. With our Runaround rescue guinea pigs living outside all year round, we keep an extra eye on them this time of year particularly as they adapt to cooler temperatures.
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Simple DIY housing ideas for your guinea pigs

Simple DIY housing ideas for your guinea pigs

Who said guinea pig housing had to be expensive? Let’s get creative! The cost of living is rising, but that doesn’t mean your guinea pigs need to end up with anything less than the perfect home.  Once you have decided if your guinea pigs are living inside or outside, it’s time to take a look at what option will work
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10 top tips for creating a great house for your guinea pigs

10 top tips for creating a great house for your guinea pigs

Owning guinea pigs can be really fun and rewarding, but it must not be underestimated how much time and care they need to stay happy and healthy. Traditionally guinea pigs have been thought of as children’s pets but while it’s lovely for children to enjoy the company of guinea pigs, the responsibility for any animal’s wellbeing lies with adults.They say
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How to adapt your Guinea Pigs’ environment for the change in seasons

How to adapt your Guinea Pigs’ environment for the change in seasons

Our guinea pigs have five welfare needs, which are the things that need to be met to keep them in optimum health. One of these needs is the need for a suitable environment, which needs to be met all year round, and even more so important as the seasons change. Guinea pigs are fragile little animals and can become vulnerable
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