Mother of Guinea Pigs

So, this week I finally managed to persuade my mum to let me buy two gorgeous baby Guinea Pigs! It sounds daft coming from a 22 year old woman that I needed my mother's permission, but after all I do live in her house and she rules the roost. It took me about two or so weeks to win her over, which I personally think is a record, but that was after extensive googling and youtubing of how to care for Guinea Pigs and how to recognise the different noises that they make. Obviously I wanted to make sure that I could give them the best home possible :)

At the moment there's currently a shortage of Guinea Pigs being bred in the UK, which came as a surprise to me because pet shops always seem to be overrun with the little cuties whenever I go in. But thankfully we managed to find a shop that was ready to pop six baby females on sale on Tuesday, so you can all guess where I headed straight away after work that day. It took me all of five minutes to decide exactly which two I wanted to take home when I saw them all scurrying around. Roxie (right in the above picture) was an instant choice because she stood out from the rest by being the only rosetted Guinea Pig of the bunch. Ruby (left in the above picture) was the quietest and calmest, and as soon as I picked her up I fell in love with her. 

The assistant who helped us to pick out our new family members was so, so helpful! I haven't owned a pet for quite some time, but he gave us plenty of advice and tips for keeping both little Guinea Pigs happy. I have to give kudos to Pets At Home, because I really did feel confident and happy when I left with my babies, as I've gotten into the habit of calling them! Hay/straw makes up around 80% of their diet, so we stocked up on plenty of the stuff to keep their cage nice and cosy. I made the choice long before I set foot in the shop that I wanted to keep them indoors, simply because we do get a few foxes around our area, and I've spotted two red kites who like to keep an eye on whatever is beneath them from up above. I didn't want to risk anything happening to them, so a nice, big, spacious cage in the warmth of the house suits them well. The only extra things we need to do because of this is let them run around for a few hours a day, preferably outside in a run where we can keep an eye on them, and also keep their claws clipped - living outside usually gives them the opportunity to wear their claws down naturally. 

Today was a particularly lovely day weather-wise, so we carried Roxie and Ruby out in to the garden for a little play on the grass in a makeshift run, and they loved it. Both have been a little timid to start off with, understandable as they're both only about 9 weeks old, but I can really see them becoming far more curious and daring. Roxie has the cheekiest personality ever, and she is damn greedy, already having learned that when we open the patio door it means that it's time for dandelion leaf snacks! Ruby is most definitely the calmest of the two, and absolutely loves having cuddles into mine or my mum's dressing gown. It was lovely to see both of them spending the best part of the afternoon chomping on the lawn and having a good run around, discovering new things that we haven't introduced them to yet.

My dad has expertly dubbed me as the 'Mother of Guinea Pigs', a title which I am more than happy to take considering its basis on my new favourite TV show, Game of Thrones. 

We've already noticed that Roxie has started to grow, not surprising since she spends literally all day eating, and when they're fully grown they should reach about double the size of what they are at the moment. By then I might have to look into getting a bigger cage! :)

~ C xxx