WARNING: If you would like to attempt watching your cavy have a swim please make sure you:[size=-1]
- Watch the cavy very closely 100% of the time and do not leave the cavy unattended.
- Make sure there is a towel on hand
- Do this only in nice warm temperatures so the cavy does not catch a chill
- The cavy has a place where he can swim to easily get out of the water if he needs to
- Do not push the cavy or touch him while he is swimming unless it is to lift the pig out of the water as if the cavy gets water up his nose it could get into his lungs and then cause a cold, pneumonia.
- Most cavies are fine swimming, but if the cavy is clearly not enjoying it then please do not force your cavy to do this
It was a horribly hot day one day in the summer of 2003 and I have always wondered if cavies could swim so I did the risky and went and got one of my 4 year old pet shorthair boars " Rodney ". It was quite nerve wrecking as I thought as soon as I'd let go he would get water up his nose or worse SINK! So for 20 minutes I sat with him in my hand hovering over the pool. But finally I let go and boy was he off!!! Cavies are extemely fast little swimmers and they hold their noses high in the air. Alot of the paddling is done by their front paws.
I also tried a longhair to see how they would swim. The longhairs swim just as well as the shorthairs, and look rather like swimming MOPS, although after a few minutes if their coats are long they seem to get heavy with water and the cavy struggles to keep afloat so they must be watched very carefully.
Below are some photos of Rodney and a longhair boar " Minstrel ". It was quite hard to get some photos as they are so fast! They really seemed to enjoy the water though and just came back to the edge of the pool when they were ready to hop out. It is a pity that Shampoo and Conditioner can't go in the pool or bathing would be quite easy! So for anyone that has a pool and that is allowed to use the pool for the piggies, on those hot summer days they'll enjoy a nice cool swim closely monitored by you.[/size]