Guinea Pigs

[lizzieloo]

I had a couple when I was a kid, Pebbles and Bam-Bam. I love the squeeky thang

 

[Termite Man]

I've come to the conclusion that for a pet Rats are the much better option if you want to get a rodent . At least with my rats you could have fights with them and they would sit on your shoulder . These guinea pigs just hide in whenever I look at them ! They are cute and the noises they make are funny but thats not enough for me

 

[butterfly child]

I've come to the conclusion that for a pet Rats are the much better option if you want to get a rodent . At least with my rats you could have fights with them and they would sit on your shoulder . These guinea pigs just hide in whenever I look at them ! They are cute and the noises they make are funny but thats not enough for me

When Beyonce was little, she liked to sit on the back of my neck... now she just tries to bury her way off me, via the crook of my elbow

They're quite timid, but you have to remember that they're very little and don't have many ways of defending themselves...

There's not much that makes me happier than sitting on the sofa, with a warm wriggly pig sitting up around my neck..

Do I have visitation rights until they come home?!

 

[spanglechick]

we had guinea pigs when i was little - 3 brothers. My dad made them a toblerone shaped hutch (called the toblehome, natch )

they are cute, and when i had a rabbit a few years ago, i realise that the talking is sweet and generally a good thing - but they do poo a lot more than rabbits. I don't think i'd have another guniea pig - might be tempted by a bunny.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I've come to the conclusion that for a pet Rats are the much better option if you want to get a rodent . At least with my rats you could have fights with them and they would sit on your shoulder . These guinea pigs just hide in whenever I look at them ! They are cute and the noises they make are funny but thats not enough for me

Only if you don't handle them much. Ours is very bold. When longdog came to our flat, Mr Pig was sitting under the kitchen table. The pig came out from where he was sitting and bit him!

I've also dropped a big frying pan n the floor when the pig was there and he didn't even jump. Perhaps ours is an odd one.

 

[wtfftw]

We used to put our guinea pigs in a run on the grass. They were fine with the cats stalking them from beyond the wire. Practically showed off that they were safe and the cats gave up.

 

[pennimania]

Ours are tame too.

But they were practically handled to death at a tender age. They will sit on your shoulder or lap for hours

especially if there is some cucumber.

They adore cucumber

 

[Termite Man]

Only if you don't handle them much. .

Well I'm we're only pig sitting so they probably just aren't used to me ! I expect if I manage to catch one then they will settle down once they realise they won't be hurt !

 

[butterfly child]

Oh yes, they'll try to run away from you whilst you're trying to catch them, but once you've got them, they'll be fine!

They think you're a predator, you silly thing.

I once read a book that said "do not lean over them, because they will think you are a bird and will run away from you"... hmmmm... I don't think I look like a bird of prey, but you never know!

I think males are a bit bolder than females, but I could be talking scribble.

Pinkmonkey, one of my guinea pigs bites me too.. well, nibbles me really, thinking I might be food.. she also chew holes in my clothes when she's sitting on my lap. The other, sillier, pig just tries to escape

 

[butterfly child]

We used to put our guinea pigs in a run on the grass. They were fine with the cats stalking them from beyond the wire. Practically showed off that they were safe and the cats gave up.

Mine go very still if there's one of the neighbours cats in the house.. it made me decide not to get any other animals, but maybe they'd have settled down after a while.

 

[Termite Man]

I caught one , shes sitting quietly on my lap while I'm typeing

 

[butterfly child]

I caught one , shes sitting quietly on my lap while I'm typeing

Was it Shirley?

Pepsi was the best one, she didn't mind being picked up and would sit happily on my lap for hours. She never even fussed when we had to rub cream into her eyes when they had conjunctivitus...

I still miss her, it's been a year since she died

 

[Termite Man]

Was it Shirley?

yeah it was shirley . Beyonce is way to fast to be caught ! I didn't realise they vibrated when they made their noises either . It surprised me a little

 

[pinkmonkey]

Well I'm we're only pig sitting so they probably just aren't used to me ! I expect if I manage to catch one then they will settle down once they realise they won't be hurt !

One thing I've noticed, it doesn't matter how tame they are, they don't like being picked up. Once you've caught them, they're fine. They're not very bright though, kind of more sweet and bumbling that smart like rats are.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

yeah it was shirley . Beyonce is way to fast to be caught ! I didn't realise they vibrated when they made their noises either . It surprised me a little

Are you sure they haven't eaten a mobile phone instead?

 

[May Kasahara]

talking scribble (

What a brilliant expression! I'm off to change my tagline forthwith.

I love guinea pigs - the noises they make are just too cute. Never having had one of my own, I'm intrigued to hear of their individual personalities. It's so easy to think of rodents as just a big mass of undifferentiated furry lumps, but even my dwarf hamsters had distinct characters (Happy = amiable bumbler, Thumbelina = shortlived ADHD hamster, The Baby = psycho).

Be careful though - a friend put her newly acquired pig into a hutch with the pet rabbit on the first night, as a temporary measure till they got it its own house, and the rabbit shagged it to death!

 

[liberty]

I used to have two they spent most the time under my bed... They need lots of vit C is the main thing I remember

 

[butterfly child]

One thing I've noticed, it doesn't matter how tame they are, they don't like being picked up. Once you've caught them, they're fine. They're not very bright though, kind of more sweet and bumbling that smart like rats are.

Sweet and bumbling is about right. My two are total chancers, you just have to go out of the room and they're wheeping for food. Beyonce has only just started wheeping, it came as a real surprise when I heard her do it for the first time. Their popcorning is cute too, Beyonce is the popcorner of the two. I'm SO tempted to get another girl, there is a farm round the corner where they breed them and they've got some available now, but I'm just not sure their cage (as huge as it is) is really big enough for three.

When we move, they're going to have something really special

 

[onenameshelley]

i have to say they are mega cute but i still want my rabbit when we move. They did the wheeping thing yesterday when SH started rustling the crisp bag in the kitchen they went mental!

They love their carrots as well i have been giving them a carrot every day.

 

[Termite Man]

Last night I noticed on a couple of occasions Shirley was making a funny noise and then beyonce jumped out of her way , I can only assume Shirley was saying "get the fuck out my way"

 

[butterfly child]

They do loads of cute things, like..

"getting large" - that's what we call it, when one of the pigs (usually Shirley, but Beyonce has started recently) does this funny little shuffle with her back legs and makes this rattling noise. Apparently it's something to do with mating, which is a bit odd with two girls. Mind you, I think Shirley attempted to hump Beyonce a few times, when she was quite young. Then, once the pig has finished getting large, she nuzzles the other pigs face, which usually causes the other pig to run off.
Sometimes, she'll chase her, sometimes not.

One of the pigs will keep lunging at the other one, in a face off stylee, which I think is some attempt to get the other one to chase her.
They're really funny when they chase each other around the cage. But it's even funnier when one just gets it in her head to run like a fruitloop around the cage, whilst the other one looks on totally bemused.

They also push their tubes out of the way, which makes me wonder whether I should buy them some toys to play with. I think they might headbutt stuff if I suspend it from the roof of their cage..?