BSAVA Manual of Guinea Pigs

The BSAVA Manual of Guinea Pigs provides a comprehensive guide to the veterinary care of cavies. Discussion of guinea pig medicine and surgery has previously been confined to chapters or sections in exotic or rodent books, and often coupled with rabbit medicine or welfare. Whilst guinea pigs do share many problems with rabbits and other rodent species kept as pets, they are distinctly different.

The BSAVA Manual of Guinea Pigs provides a comprehensive guide to the veterinary care of cavies. Discussion of guinea pig medicine and surgery has previously been confined to chapters or sections in exotic or rodent books, and often coupled with rabbit medicine or welfare. Whilst guinea pigs do share many problems with rabbits and other rodent species kept as pets, they are distinctly different.

The rise in guinea pig ownership and the associated increase in the number of cavies being presented to veterinary clinics, as well as the growing veterinary knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, means that a text dedicated to guinea pigs is now needed. The BSAVA Manual of Guinea Pigs aims to fulfil this task.

The Manual begins with chapters covering the basic needs of guinea pigs. This is followed by chapters guiding practitioners through adapting routine examinations, basic techniques and diagnostic processes for use in guinea pigs. Anaesthesia and analgesia, nursing care and hospital management, diagnostic imaging, and soft and hard tissue surgery are considered next. The remaining chapters are dedicated to the management of diseases and disorders of each body system. Three appendices have also been included that provide:

• A step-by-step guide to investigating thin and anorexic guinea pigs
• A formulary of drugs with doses and usage notes
• A guide to toxic plants and substances.

The BSAVA Manual of Guinea Pigs has been written and edited by international experts for both general practitioners and those with a specialist interest in cavies. As well as introducing the range and depth of possibilities for diagnosing and treating guinea pigs, the Editors have kept true to the purpose of a BSAVA Manual – to provide a practical, easy-to-use resource for the practice team.