A first visit sets the baseline for everything that follows, so treat it as an information-gathering appointment as much as a check-up. Your vet will weigh your guinea pig, listen to the chest, look into the mouth as far as a conscious pig allows and feel the abdomen, and the answers you collect tell you whether your home setup — food, housing, handling — is on the right track. Arrive with questions written down, because once your pig is on the table being examined it is remarkably easy to forget half of what you meant to ask.
Start With Sex, Age and Weight
Confirm the sex and the best age estimate first. Shop sexing mistakes are common, and if your guinea pig will ever live with a companion, knowing the sex for certain prevents an accidental litter arriving a few weeks later. Ask the vet to tell you your pig's current weight and the healthy range for its build, and note both down: weight is the single most useful number you can track at home, because a slow slide often shows on the scales before it shows anywhere else. Ask how often a healthy guinea pig of this age should be seen — many exotics vets suggest a check once or twice a year, with teeth and nails reviewed as part of it.
Ask About Vitamin C and the Daily Bowl
Guinea pigs cannot make their own vitamin C, so ask exactly how yours should get enough: the vet can sanity-check the hay you feed, the type of pellets you use, and the fresh vegetables you rotate through the week. Bring the pellet packaging, or a photo of the label, rather than relying on memory of a brand name. Ask which vegetables suit daily feeding and which sugary fruits should stay as rare treats, and whether a supplement is needed at all — for a pig on a well-chosen diet it usually is not. Cover water too: bottle or bowl, roughly how much drinking is normal for one pig, and what a sudden drop or rise in drinking might be worth a phone call about.
Teeth, Skin and the Checks You Can Do Yourself
Ask the vet to talk you through the teeth. Guinea pig teeth grow continuously, and while the front incisors are easy to inspect at home, the back molars are not. A vet can show you what healthy, evenly worn incisors look like and explain the drooling, picky eating or damp chin that suggests the molars need a closer look. Ask about the skin complaints new pigs commonly arrive with — itching, flaky patches, thinning hair — and which of those you can monitor at home and which need booking in. Feet and nails deserve a mention as well: how long is too long on your flooring, and how to trim safely around the quick.
Leave Knowing the Same-Day Warning Signs
Before you go, ask what should bring you back the same day instead of at the next routine visit. For guinea pigs the list usually includes a pig who stops eating or produces far fewer droppings, breathes with visible effort, sits hunched and quiet in a corner, or has a swollen, hard belly — prey animals hide illness well, so small changes carry weight. Write the answers down while they are fresh, because a few months from now you will not remember which vegetable the vet told you to go easy on. KinsLe's Pet Passport is built for exactly this: your guinea pig's visit notes, weights and health records sit in one portable packet, ready to open at the next appointment or hand straight to a new vet if you ever move.