Our beautiful range of guinea pig themed English china homewares is back in stock and available now on our website.
Each of our exclusive designs is scanned from original artwork and screen printed using traditional methods before being applied to English china and fired in a kiln.
Our range of china gifts is hard wearing, dishwasher safe and proudly made in Staffordshire. All items come gift boxed making them the ideal gift for the guinea pig lover in your life.
]]>Our beautifully hand crafted reclaimed oak guinea pig gifts are back in stock and available to order now.
Click on the link below to head over and shop the collection.
Made to our own exclusive guinea pig design, our wooden gifts are all handmade in the UK using reclaimed oak. Made to be used and enjoyed, each piece is finished in Danish oil and perfect for bringing a squeak of guinea pig love to your home.
]]>Our beautifully hand crafted leather guinea pig gifts are back in stock and available to order now.
Made to our own exclusive guinea pig design, our guinea pig themed leather gifts are all handmade in the UK and perfect for the guinea pig lovers in your life.
Made to be used and enjoyed, our leather gifts are perfect for bringing a squeak of guinea pig love to your day.
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CLICK HERE TO SHOP OUR COLLECTION OF GUINEA PIG THEMED BACK TO SCHOOL ACCESSORIES
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Each miniature piggy ornament is handmade in the UK and comes gift boxed. Click on the link below to find them in our online store (along with lots of other gorgeous guinea pig gifts).
CLICK HERE TO SHOP GUINEA PIG ORNAMENTS NOW
The wonderful people over at The Innocent Pet Care Company have sent us some rather delicious looking 'The Innocent Guinea - Luxury Guinea Pig Treats' to review. The treats we're reviewing are herb garden nibbles with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Following a recent re-brand, the design and packaging does indeed live up to the luxury label. From the choice of font to the images and colours, we can see that time and expertise has been invested into the branding and that all aspects of the design have been carefully considered. The overall image is one of luxury and quality and this ties in nicely to The Innocent Pets ethos.
On the reverse, the feeding guide, composition and analytical data are all clearly displayed and there’s a little window so you can see the treats (no dust or bits floating around which is a good sign). We’re also pleased to see the ‘Made in Britain’ and ‘Locally Sourced Ingredients’ badges proudly displayed, so extra points there too!
The ingredients list makes easy reading, all natural products that we’d be happy to eat ourselves. The treats also contain added Vitamin C (an essential component of guinea pigs’ health) and we’re pleased to see that there are no seeds, honey, colourants or sugary additives included. They’re just not necessary and your guinea pig’s health wouldn’t thank you for them either.
The treats have been gently air-dried to retain their nutrients, flavour and high fibre and this, combined with the aromatic selection of herbs, makes for a tasty looking treat. The expiry date has almost a year remaining, plenty of time to work through the treats whilst keeping to the recommended 2-3 treats a day as part of a balanced diet.
As you tear open the pack, the burst of aromatic herbs smells delicious. The treats look a natural green colour with no dust in the bottom of the pack. The pack also has a re-seal strip, very handy for keeping them fresh between servings.
After a quick sniff and a fleeting look of ‘I’ve not smelt anything like this before’ Humphrey tucked in and thoroughly enjoyed his treats, making light work of the days recommended three (he’s a sizable boar after all, but don’t tell him we said that). A well-deserved paw of approval from Humphrey!
Based on an RRP of £2.50 and the fact that our pack contained enough treats for eighteen sittings of three treats, we’ve calculated a per session cost of just under 14p. Very reasonable if you ask us, especially given the quality of the ingredients and the fact that they are manufactured in the UK from start to finish.
After rigorous testing (and tasting) we’re pleased to report we’d be very happy to recommend these treats to our guinea pig community. The Innocent Pet Company have consciously thought about their ingredients, both in terms of their suitable for guinea pigs and their quality, and we think this, in association with the luxury element to the branding, are a winning combination. A paws up from us, definitely our treat of choice for the future.
If you'd like to get your paws on some Innocent Guinea Luxury Treats for your herd, you can find them on the Innocent Pet Website here. Don't forget, spend £5 for free delivery on your order and if you sign up to their newsletter you'll also get 10% off your order too! [Click here and scroll to bottom of the page to sign up]. Happy munching folks!
The Team at Everything Guinea Pig
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The factory we use for our ceramics is based in Stoke-on-Trent, right in the heart of The Potteries, an area of the UK synonymous with manufacturing the world’s finest ceramics since the early 18th Century. Jason heads up the whole operation and is supported by a wonderfully skilled team of crafts people, each with their own specialist skill and many with several decades of experience working in the ceramics industry. There’s also Lola, Jason’s adorable little pug who is of course, head of customer services and tea breaks!
]]>The factory we use for our ceramics is based in Stoke-on-Trent, right in the heart of The Potteries, an area of the UK synonymous with manufacturing the world’s finest ceramics since the early 18th Century. Jason heads up the whole operation and is supported by a wonderfully skilled team of crafts people, each with their own specialist skill and many with several decades of experience working in the ceramics industry. There’s also Lola, Jason’s adorable little pug who is of course, head of customer services and tea breaks!
The inspiration for our ceramic designs has been taken from our own piggy family, past and present; Humphrey, Ernie, Martha and Gertie. After designing and painting our initial artwork using water colour paints here at Guinea Pig HQ, we sent our original paintings over to the design team to be scanned in using their high-resolution scanners. The scanners pick up every tiny detail and help to maintain the character of each of our paintings. We worked closely with the team of graphic designers to set about the task of applying our designs to our chosen range of ceramics. Firstly, we had to ensure that each design was the right size, shape and orientation for the piece that it was going to be applied to, wonky mugs and back to front jugs just will not do! We had great fun printing out our designs and sticking guinea pigs everywhere with bits of cellotape, it’s all very technical!
Once our layouts had been confirmed (and we’d run out of cellotape) we signed off the designs and passed them over to Andy the graphic designer ready to work his digital wizardry. A few clicks later (along with lots of other technical knowhow that we don’t understand) and voila, a beautiful work sheet had been created with our designs all laid out and ready to be screen printed.
In terms of applying designs to ceramics you have two options, digital printing or screen printing. Whilst digital printing certainly has its merits, we opted for screen printing for our range of ceramics. By employing the screen printing method, this meant that we could maintain the best quality and consistency across all of our products. With our original art work being created in water colour, the process of screen printing preserves more detail and gives a much more realistic effect when it comes to replicating the design on ceramics. By printing a run of screens, we were also able to ensure that colours and details remained as true to our original paintings as possible.
Having opted for screen printing, our designs were then passed from the design studio down to the factory floor where they are fed into a screen printing machine. An intricate mesh screen is created and each individual colour in our design applied to the screen using specialist ceramic colours and glazes. This process is repeated until all of the colours had been added and the design is complete. Screen printing is a very skilled and time consuming process and requires lots of individual components being pulled together to create the final screen ready for application.
From the screen printing room, our completed screens are then passed to the team in the application department. Here, individual components from each design, known as decals, are painstakingly hand cut and applied to the ceramic pieces using age-old methods and techniques. In addition to the designs and screens, each of the ceramic shapes (known as white-ware) in our guinea pig range is also manufactured in the UK.
The screen printed decals are gently floated in warm water to lift the printed surface away from the backing paper. The decal is then placed onto the pottery before being aligned, sponged and squeegeed to perfection. Whilst some designs are printed to shape and applied directly to the ceramic piece, others rely on placing individual components by eye, something that comes with many years of experience and practice.
You’ll see from the photographs that at this stage, each of the design elements is surrounded by a translucent yellow frame, the screen backing paper. During the firing process (which we’ll come on to in a moment) this yellow part of the screen burns away leaving only the coloured design behind.
The last part of the application process is our back stamp. Applied to the underside of each piece, this proudly states that the pieces were all designed, manufactured and hand decorated in the UK (of course).
Once dried, the ceramics pieces are expertly loaded (no piece can touch another otherwise they fuse together!) into an electric kiln to be fired. During the firing process, pieces are gradually heated to over 1000 degrees. During the firing cycle, the glaze on the ceramic opens up and the screen printed design fuses into the surface. This is why our pieces are all dishwasher and microwave safe, they’ve chemically fused at high temperatures. At this stage, the translucent yellow frame and excess screen will burn away leaving behind just the design.
Once cooled, pieces are unloaded from the kiln and quality checked before being carefully packaged up and shipped over to us at Guinea Pig HQ ready to send out to all our lovely guinea pig friends.
So there you have it folks, the magical journey behind manufacturing the best quality fine bone china guinea pig themed ceramics especially for you!
To finish off, here is our delightful range of ceramics, all proudly design and manufactured in the UK. These adorable piggy themed mugs are fine bone china, perfect for that morning brew!
And now for our earthenware pet bowls, expertly (and rather handsomely) modeled by Humphrey. They're weighty (so they don't tip up during meal times) and top quality earthenware so they'll endure feed time for years to come.
Finally, our gorgeous fine bone china jugs. Available in 1/4, 1 and 2 pint sizes, they're perfect for flowers, custard, gin, utensils and milk, not all at the same time though!
Coming soon.....new additions to our range of ceramic guinea pig gifts, watch this space!
]]>Piggy pawfect dream team Tess Newall and Alex Goodwin have teamed up once again to bring us this delightful guinea pig themed adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, which we all know and love.
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Piggy pawfect dream team Tess Newall and Alex Goodwin have teamed up once again to bring us this delightful guinea pig themed adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, which we all know and love.
There was much excitement and anticipation here at Everything Guinea Pig HQ as we eagerly awaited the delivery of our review copy. Beside himself with excitement, Humphrey was eager to open the parcel and start reading all about the adventures of his fellow piggy friend Oliver Twist.
COVER & QUALITY
This string bound little hard back edition is of typically excellent Bloomsbury calibre and quality. The pages are a good weight, the printing clear and crisp the photographs exceptionally high definition (all the better for admiring those adorable little fluffers). The cover showcases Oliver, our furry little hero, in a dramatic shot against a Victorian London skyline and the title ‘A Guinea Pig Oliver Twist’ takes foil printed pride of place.
PLOT & STORY LINE
Oliver Twist is a classic that we all know and love and has been adapted many times for stage, screen and radio. The abridgement of this particular edition has been penned by Alex Goodwin, who has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Whilst heavily abridged (for obvious reasons) the key scenes are all there and the story manages to flow well without being too heavy.
We imagine that for the vast majority of purchasers (us included) this book is an excuse to see our favourite furry friends all dressed up and looking adorable, not that we need one of course! For this, it is perfect, a light hearted adaptation of a classic, beautifully told through guinea pig characters.
PHOTOGRAPHS
We must give special recognition to the time and dedication that has clearly been invested in the creation of the wonderfully elaborate costumes and scenery. We take our hat off to photographer Belmondo, if you've ever tried to photograph a guinea pig wearing a costume you'll appreciate what a remarkable achievement perfectly poised piggy photographs are! The intricacy and accuracy of the props and costumes used for the photographs is exemplary, bearing in mind of course that everything has had to be created in miniature! Tess Newall’s experience and expertise as a set designer certainly shows as every single photograph in the book immerses you in the scene, engaging you with the character and their setting beautifully. For us, the combination adorable guinea pigs and outstanding photography is what makes this little book a delight to read.
CONCLUSION
We have thoroughly enjoyed reading and reviewing this wonderful little book and feel that it’s a great addition to the Guinea Pig Classics range. We’re sure any guinea pig lover would be over the moon to receive this as a stocking filler on Christmas morning and can imagine the whole family (guinea pigs included, as demonstrated by Humphrey) being enthralled with its story and characters. We were particularly impressed by the inclusion at the end of the book that encourages readers to support their local rescue centres should they be considering adopting a guinea pig. As a pro-rescue business, Everything Guinea Pig is delighted that this has been recognised and certainly helps to earn some brownie points in our book.
If you’d like to get your paws on a copy of A Guinea Pig Oliver Twist, we’re delighted to report that it is now available to order from our online store here.
]]>As every intrepid guinea pig explorer knows only too well, a family holiday is the best kind of piggy adventure. Not only is it the ideal opportunity to catch up with some snoozing, it’s also perfect for sampling some local snacks and squeaking to some new friends.
Unfortunately, as Mummy and Daddy have been very busy setting up Everything Guinea Pig this year, we haven’t had opportunity to pack the car and head out exploring. However, all is not lost! I have scampered around and found out last years album to share with you. You’ll see that I had the most fabulous time and looking through the photos has brought back lots of special memories.
Ok here goes…
]]>As every intrepid guinea pig explorer knows only too well, a family holiday is the best kind of piggy adventure. Not only is it the ideal opportunity to catch up with some snoozing, it’s also perfect for sampling some local snacks and squeaking to some new friends.
Unfortunately, as Mummy and Daddy have been very busy setting up Everything Guinea Pig this year, we haven’t had opportunity to pack the car and head out exploring. However, all is not lost! I have scampered around and found out last years album to share with you. You’ll see that I had the most fabulous time and looking through the photos has brought back lots of special memories.
Ok here goes…
As any seasoned guinea pig traveller will be well aware, the first step of any adventure is travelling to your destination of choice (obviously). Our destination of choice for this holiday adventure was the beautiful Lake District, and a beautiful cottage on the edge of Skiddaw Mountain. Just look at the view from our window!
As you can see, I travel lightly bringing only the essentials with me. In addition to the minimal essentials, there was of course the cool bag FULL of fresh greens and tasty treats for me! By the time Daddy had unloaded it into the fridge, there was no room for the human snacks!
Next on the agenda? Making myself at home of course! I had to test the bed for springiness and high up on the priority list was having a comfortable settee with the remote control within immediate reach. I was aiming for as little disruption to my holiday snooze time as possible.
Before leaving for my holidays, Mummy and Daddy treated me to a new radio and timer thingy for me to listen to. I learnt a lot from Radio 2, very informative and according to Daddy the only radio station available in the middle of a mountain range! I also met some lovely new friends, here I am with Mr Bear from the garden. Sadly, I couldn’t find Peter Rabbit.
As well as being the best guinea pig Mummy in the world, my Mummy is also super duper organised and often referred to as the Queen of Lists. With a heavy agenda of exploring on the cards, I thought I had better lend a paw with the planning. Here I am writing out the agenda, not forgetting lots of tea rooms stops on the way! After giving my paws a bit of a rest from all the military planning, I made a start on my post cards home. First on the list…. Dear Grandma.
Daddy is partial to a sweet treat, especially when on holiday, so the cupboards began to fill up with all sorts of delights. Mummy and Daddy said that these are the sort of treats that guinea pigs aren’t allowed, it turned out that Mummy wasn’t too keen on them either. Daddy said no problem, he’ll be sure to eat them all up!
Not wanting to miss out (I’ve been known to squeak a little when I’m hungry) I too was treated to some special holiday snacks. Here I am tucking into delicious cherries and mandarins, all from my very own Peter Rabbit spoon that Mummy and Daddy bought for me. Mummy says these treats are only because you’re such a good boy and on holiday! We’ll see about that….!
Despite the additional holiday snoozing time I still found the adventure exhausting. Eating new snacks, writing on post cards and meeting new friends in the garden are all very tiring. There was just enough time before turning into bed for the night to enjoy a bedtime story with Mummy. My choice of story for my Lake District holiday? Beatrix Potter of course!
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We've all been there, you're enjoying snuggle time with your furry family, everyone's feeling relaxed (perhaps a little too relaxed) and suddenly you get that warm sensation.... slowly seeping through onto your lap. Little Piggy looks adoring into your eyes as if butter wouldn't melt and you're thinking not again!
Well, now snuggle time can be puddle (or should that be piddle) free affair with our waterproof lap protectors. Each protector comprises four layers of fabric; a warm and comfortable fleece for your piggy to bed down on, a PVC lining that provides an impenetrable waterproof barrier, wadding for additional padding and durability and finally, a hard wearing cotton that is placed down onto your lap. The video below demonstrates how the layers are stitched together to create your lap protector and just how affective they are at offer complete protection.
If the demonstration video wasn't enough, here's a review from our online store for a recently-purchased lap protector:
Bought this as a gift for a friend who owns a guinea pig. It went down a treat, they have raved about how many wet laps it has saved them. A must have for any piggy owner!"
As with all of our fleece products, our lap protectors can be washed in the washing machine. Full instructions are included in with your purchase.
Our lap protectors are available in pink/brown colour way and blue/white colour way. Perhaos you could consider our blue or pink pigloo as a matching set too?
]]>There's a huge amount of information available on the subject and it's easy to get bogged down with figures, intakes and supplements not to mention milligrams, oxidation and deficiencies.
To clarify exactly what you need to know and how this can be incorporated easily in to your daily guinea pig care routine, we've scoured the internet, undertaken all the leg work and pulled all of the important bits into this comprehensive guide for you to use as an easy reference.
]]>A frequent topic of conversation amongst piggy parents is Vitamin C. How much do you give? What are the best foods? How much is too much?
There's a huge amount of information available on the subject and it's easy to get bogged down with figures, intakes and supplements not to mention milligrams, oxidation and deficiencies.
To clarify exactly what you need to know and how this can be incorporated easily in to your daily guinea pig care routine, we've scoured the internet, undertaken all the leg work and pulled all of the important bits into this comprehensive guide for you to use as an easy reference.
WHY IS VITAMIN C SO IMPORTANT FOR GUINEA PIGS?
Like humans, guinea pigs can't make their own Vitamin C (also known as Ascorbic Acid) and as such, the only source of the vitamin is through their diet. Vitamin C is important for healthy bones, blood vessels and connective tissues, it also plays a vital roll in several biological systems and processes within the body including collagen production.
Image credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C
WHAT HAPPENS IF MY GUINEA PIG DOESN'T GET ENOUGH VITAMIN C?
A vitamin C deficiency is commonly known as scurvy and if left untreated can cause abnormalities in blood vessels, bones and connective tissues. Symptoms of Vitamin C deficiency in guinea pigs can include:
It is important to note that many of these symptoms may be as a result of something other than Vitamin C deficiency. If your guinea pig shows any of the above symptoms, you should take them to a vet as quickly as possible for an urgent assessment. Building a diagnoses from a set of varied symptoms is complex and should be left to the professionals.
HOW MUCH VITAMIN C DO GUINEA PIGS NEED?
We've found as many sources as possible that reference this amount and as an average, a guinea pig requires 10-30mg/kg daily (more on what this actually means later on). There are of course other factors that need to be taken into consideration. The requirement is based per kilogram meaning that the bigger your piggy the more Vitamin C they will require. Pregnant sows, poorly piggies or those with a deficiency that is being treated will also require more Vitamin C.
Photo Credit: http://petguineapigcare.com/breeding-babies/
CAN I GIVE MY GUINEA PIG TOO MUCH VITAMIN C?
Vitamin C is water soluble so a small excess will be processed by the kidneys and passed harmlessly from the body in the urine. It would be very difficult to give an excess of Vitamin C simply through fresh greens and daily pellets but if a Vitamin C supplement is used (more on this later) and an excess of 100mg/kg is ingested this can cause problems. Excessive Vitamin C intake has been linked to the development of kidney and bladder stones, worsening arthritis symptoms and poor growth amongst young piggies. If a piggy is is fed a high level of Vitamin C over a long period of time this can also reduce their sensitivity to Vitamin C and cause a condition known as Pseudo-Scurvy. In Pseudo-Scurvy, a reduced sensitivity to Vitamin C means that what would usually be considered a normal 10-30mg/kg intake of Vitamin C wouldn't be sufficient and could like to symptoms of deficiency. If you think this may be the case in a member of your herd, veterinary advice should be sought immediately.
SHOULD I FEED A VITAMIN C SUPPLEMENT ALONGSIDE A NORMAL DIET?
Opinion varies on this between authors and piggy parents. In some circumstances, for example a poorly piggy, pregnant sow or guinea pig with an underlying condition preventing the intake or absorption of Vitamin C, a supplement may be necessary to maintain good health. This should be given in accordance to veterinary advice. If a supplement is given it is important that a simple Vitamin C is used, not a multi-vitamin or mixed supplement. This can lead to complications in guinea pigs and may cause a toxic build up of some elements. It is also widely advised that Vitamin C should not be added to water bottles as the vitamin degrades quickly in water and light, it can encourage bacteria to grow and the altered taste may prevent your guinea pigs from drinking at all which is very dangerous.
Photo Credit: http://www.wikihow.com/Feed-Guinea-Pigs-Vitamin-C
Personally, as life long piggy parents we have never routinely given additional supplements to any of our guinea pigs as part of their everyday care. We believe that a good quality Timothy hay combined with a guinea pig specific pellet (not mix) and varied supply of fresh food should be sufficient to maintain a healthy intake of Vitamin C. We've never had a problem with Vitamin C deficiency. Of course, each guinea pig has their own unique requirements and if there is any aspect of their care that concerns you or leads you to believe that they require an additional supplement, we recommend that you discuss this with your vet on a case by case basis.
WHAT ARE THE BEST FOODS FOR VITAMIN C?
Below, we have compiled a list of the top 5 foods for vitamin C content. They're not necessarily the foods with the highest Vitamin C content but a considered variety that can be fed to your piggies on a regular basis. Some foods, for example kiwi, oranges, melons and grapefruit are very high in Vitamin C but must be fed sparingly given their high sugar and/or acid content. Dark greens such as cabbage, turnip greens, beetroot greens and mustard spinach must also be limited to 1-2 feeds per week given their high calcium content which can, over time, lead to the development of kidney or bladder stones.
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FOOD HIGH IN VITAMIN C |
mg OF VITAMIN C PER 100g |
PORTION PER DAY PER AVERAGE SOW 900g |
PORTION PER DAY PER AVERAGE BOAR 1200g |
|
Red Bell Pepper |
190 |
1/16 of a pepper (quarter of a quarter) |
1/12 of a pepper (third of a quarter) |
|
Parsley |
133 |
1/3 of a small bunch (or one sixth of a plant from supermarket) |
½ of a small bunch (quarter of a plant from supermarket) |
|
Curly Kale |
120 |
½ medium kale leaf |
2/3 of a medium kale leaf |
|
Broccoli |
93.2 |
1 small floret |
1 ½ small florets |
|
Green Bell Pepper |
89.3 |
1/8 of a pepper (half of a quarter) |
1/5 of a pepper |
mg of Vit. C per 100g figures: http://www.guinealynx.info/chart.html all other calculations are our own
The above suggestions are based on a Vitamin C intake of 30mg/kg per day, average vegetable weight (red bell pepper 220g, kale 50g per medium leaf, broccoli 30g per small floret, green bell pepper 220g and parsley 55g per small bunch) and portions for an average sow (900g) and average boar (1200g). The suggestions are intended as a guide to ensure that enough Vitamin C is included in your guinea pigs diet, not as a complete diet plan. A selection of these foods accompanied by a constant supply of good quality fresh Timothy hay and measured allowance of guinea pig specific pellets is the best diet combination for a healthy guinea pig.
BEST PRACTICE FOR A HEALTHY VITAMIN C INTAKE