Zootechny of guinea pigs

Keeping guinea pigs in a vivarium differs from keeping them at home, while zootechnical conditions must meet all the needs of animals. To do this, it is necessary to comply with the optimal size of the cells of the content, as well as the recommended parameters of the microclimate, including temperature and humidity. It is also important to properly prepare diets that take into account the requirements of the nutritional needs of guinea pigs. To reduce stress and anxiety levels in guinea pigs, a suitable enrichment environment is provided for them, the choice of which depends, among other things, on their behavioral characteristics. To maintain the number of livestock at the required level, animal reproduction is being introduced. At the same time, it is necessary to create parental pairs correctly, and also take into account the time of the first mating, since guinea pigs have calcification of the fibrous-cartilaginous pubic symphysis, which negatively affects reproductive ability in the future. The search for publications was performed in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The review inclu­ded searchable publications as of April 10, 2023. This review contains data on the basics of keeping guinea pigs in a laboratory, including optimal options for group keeping of guinea pigs and parameters of their maintenance cells, optimal microclimate parameters and types of environment enrichment, feeding and watering of animals, as well as features of their reproduction, based on from the reproductive indicators of males and females. In this review, the main issues related to the animal husbandry of guinea pigs were highlighted, taking into account the recommendations for their maintenance and breeding.