My Italian Guinea Pigs

[adorolecavie]

I thought I'd start a thread about my first guineas so I'll have an excuse to post a bunch of photos (as I'm sure my friends on my Facebook page are tired of having their walls spammed with fluffy guinea pics).

It all started out when a friend of a friend had too many "oops" litters and we sorta got guilted into taking home these two "sisters" (born together but to different, though related momma pigs).

Meet Pina


And Dory Amos aka Lady Gaga


They were my first ever piggies. Needless to say I fell in love the day they came home with us.

Dory has always sort of been the grumpy, but more laid-back pig. Pina was sweet, wild, and quite strange, perhaps because of her most certain inbreeding. She would run to the cage door and loved to be pet, but if you picked her up she would flop all around. Though she did settle down in my lap and loved to hang out with me on the couch -


Sadly, my baby Pina left me just short of 2 years old this April. Vet isn't 100% sure what happened, but it was neurological.

"Hey human, you got any treats for me?" (Notice Dory lurking in the shadows)

[adorolecavie]

So for a while, it was just me and Dory. We spent a lot of time together each day, and she really started to come out of her shell.

"Gimme dat gwass, human!"


"If I pose nicely, can I have dat piece of grass?"


"Why must you stick that thing in my face?"


But even though I think the few weeks of just me-and-her bonding time did wonders for her confidence and trust in me, I knew that I couldn't always give her everything she needed and that I was no substitute for a cage mate. So I started looking around for the right pig to be her new pal...

[adorolecavie]

That's where Miss Olivia Pope (aka triangle face) comes in!

She's from a very reputable breeder in Tuscany - Il Giardino delle Meraviglie. This is the picture the breeder sent me, and how could I not fall in love?


So in mid-May, Olivia and her crazy mutton chops joined our family.


They got along right from the start:

"You eat dat pepper, I'll eat dis lettuce. See human, we're sharing!"


They both obviously go to the same fur-stylist:


And Olivia is baby Sylvester the Cat reincarnated:


I asked Dory if she liked her new pal, and she gave her a big heads-up (since guineas don't have thumbs)

[adorolecavie]

After a few ups and downs, here we are today... Olivia is no longer a little squirt, she's almost as big as Dory!

Liv and Dory (aka back combover and side combover!) eating grass during floor time today:



Thanks for reading!

[Lynx]

Your guinea pigs are very cute, adorolecavie!

[Lunatic Pandora]

Le sue cavie sono molto bello!

(I hope that's right, I'm only a beginner!)

[adorolecavie]

Grazie Lunatic Pandora! Almost perfect !! :-D (it would be "belle", since the adjective must always agree with the gender and number of the noun, but way to go for just starting out!) Keep studying, Italian is a beautiful language and Italy is an incredible (though sometimes backwards) place!

Speaking of backwards - I went to the pharmacy today to pick up some Vitamin C and I asked the pharmacist for a 1ml syringe. He of course asked why, and when I told him that it was for my guinea pigs, he replied "Ah, so you must be a researcher, yes? Guinea pigs are only for experiments!"

....

grrrrrrrrr! It took all my strength and patience not to point out his stupidity (putting aside the guinea pig thing, 'cause maybe he's just lived in a hole his entire life and doesn't know they're kept as pets - but what kind of researcher doesn't even have her own syringe??) and tried to explain that no, my pigs are not for research, they're just my buddies, like a cat or a bunny or a goldfish. He definitely did not get it.

Anywho, Italians in general are much less "accepting" of guinea pigs as pets. I've had many people tell me they carry diseases and will make me sick *eye roll* so I get a good laugh in when I tell them that in the US I used to have a whole bunch of rats! Muahahahaha :-D I'm sure they think I'm crazy...

/rant

[GP_mum]

Your 2 girls are lovely. I especially liked the photo with their comb overs and facing that yummy plate of grass.

I too get alot of confused looks when I explain that the 1cc syringes, anti-fungal cream etc are for my pigs.

[Lovemypigs]

Oh my gosh........your piggies are so friggin adorable!!!

I can't wait to hear and see more stories on these lovely ladies.

[snowflakey]

Miss Olivia is absolutely darling.

[adorolecavie]

Guinea train!


Floor time (or should I just call it nap time?)


They do have all sorts of things on the floor during floor time to run and play/hide in - tunnels and big paper bags and the like, but apparently they prefer this corner the most. I like to scatter around their veggies so they have to move around to eat them all, it seems the apple slices and carrots were the least favorite. Weird pigs.

[Crazy4me]

I love how you started a chronicle, especially when I get to see your pigs as they are absolutely beautiful!

[adorolecavie]

Thanks Crazy4me! It's nice to have people to share these moments with! And thanks to everyone else for all the sweet comments. I haven't posted much on others' threads but I love looking through them all and seeing all the adorable pigs. If I had my dream house, I'd have a room full of 'em!

I'll leave you with Dory and another of my favorite red-heads...

[NoCableisSafe]

I like that a new Chronicle has surfaced!

What beautiful floofy piggies you have!
Clearly very cultured through puzzles too :)

[adorolecavie]

Olivia and I watching Witches of East End together (that's Kora my frenchie):


And Dory snuggling up next to me, my little bug:

[snowflakey]

Extra cute! I love French bulldogs, too.

[Lynx]

Aw, what sweeties!

[adorolecavie]

Just caught the tail end of the girls popcorning during floor time...

http://youtu.be/PvGwFatDf7I

What set them off you ask? I made a paper tunnel. They had a blast running through it! What weird little creatures. ;-)

[Crazy4me]

It is funny how the little things can make them so happy. I find their happiness is very contagious!

[Magnolia]

What cuties!!!
I know it's been a bit since your last posts, but I have to say... OH MY GOD FLUFFY LITTLE PIGGIES. I swear my brain exploded when I saw them popcorning.
:) They sound perfect. :)