How to Take the Temperature in the Ear of a Guinea Pig

The name guinea pig is two mistakes for the price of one -- they aren't pigs and they don't come from Guinea. They're small rodents from the Andes Mountains of Peru that were domesticated by the ancient Incas as a food source. Today they are popular as pets and companion animals. Possibly because of their high-altitude heritage, they do not tolerate heat well and can suffer from heat prostration at air temperatures higher than 85 degrees, with an abnormally high body temperature. Illness can also cause their temperature to rise, and the quickest way to measure this physical indicator is with an instant-read animal ear thermometer.

  1. Equipment

    • There are three ways to take a guinea pig's temperature: rectally, aurally (in the ear) and from a microchip transponder implanted under the skin. The rectal measurement is the most accurate, but the most invasive and uncomfortable and the least sanitary. Microchip placement is practical only for large numbers of animals, usually in a laboratory setting. An instant-read ear thermometer is readily available, inexpensive and convenient for home use. It measures infrared heat waves coming from the eardrum and the small animal model is specially shaped to fit a horizontal ear canal.

    Preparation

    • Click the activation button on the ear thermometer. It will show a test image and a lens cover symbol to remind you to put on a new one. The display will then change to the last temperature measures, with the symbol M for "memory." When it's ready for a new reading, it will show you "Ready," and ask you to select a measurement scale: C for Centigrade or F for Fahrenheit. Have someone hold your guinea pig while you take his temperature.

    Procedure

    • The holder steadies the guinea pig's head and folds back the ear flap to expose the ear canal. The operator inserts the tip of the thermometer into the canal gently, but as deeply as possible, angling the tip toward the guinea pig's jaw on the opposite side of his head and pushes the activation button. One second later the thermometer beeps to indicate completion of measurement, and the operator withdraws it and reads the temperature. The holder releases the animal's head and the operator records the temperature and removes and discards the used lens cover.

    Results

    • A guinea pig's normal body temperature is between 99 and 103 degrees. If the reading is higher than 103, administer first aid by misting the guinea pig with cool water, wrap him in a cool damp towel and apply rubbing alcohol to the pads of his feet only. Take him to a veterinarian immediately for additional medical treatment.