We're also known as cavies - a name which comes from our origins in South America, where some of our wild cousins still live in abandoned burrows. If you've got a pet guinea pig, then choose the largest cage you can afford, to make sure he or she has plenty of room in which to stretch and move around. We can live indoors or out, though inside is best in extremely cold weather.

We're very sociable and a lone guinea pig will be unhappy. It's best to keep a least two of us together, but remember a male and female will have babies. You can keep any number of girls together, but boys prefer to live in pairs, either littermates or a young weaned male with an older male. Avoid keeping us with rabbits, as they can be aggressive towards us.