My Daily Reads

My Peeps

Love Around the World

Visitors

Sunday, August 20, 2006

The guinea hogs

I have never mentioned to the two smallest members of our family. They are Toby and Roger the guinea pigs.

Bug came to us a few months ago and said it wasn't fair that we all had a pet (J-man had a turtle at the time) and she didn't. So she says either wants a chiahuahua (however you spell it), a kitten, or a guinea pig. We settled for the guinea pig.

We went to Pets Mart not once, but FOUR times and each time we got a "defective" pet. They all had some sort of respiratory disease, scab, or something. The one that lasted the longest was Midnight and she lasted about 2 weeks. I will never forget Bug calling me at work to tell me her pet had passed away. She was heart broken! Midnight is buried in our backyard and Bug keeps planting little plants on the spot. It is so sweet to go out there and see a little piece of orange or carrot...

Anyway...

We didn't really know how to take care of a turtle and it seemed cruel to keep him in a tank all day. He went to a good home and we wound up getting both kids guinea pigs.

Toby

Toby is Bug's. We bought him from a pet store in our town as a baby. He is so sweet, but doesn't really like being handled all that much. When he is hungry he will whistle so loud that I can hear him downstairs! The first time he did it I yelled at the kids to stop making all that squeaking noise with their toy. They laughed at me and told me it was Toby.

Bug adores her little man. I hear her telling him stories and talking to him all the time.

Roger

Roger is a rescue. My step-sister is a vet and she rescued him from someone that couldn't take care of him anymore. She found out we were looking for a guinea pig for J-man and thought he would be perfect for us.

Roger LOVES being held. When you pet his little nose he will start talking. The other day I opened the door to his cage to give him some food. He met me at the door, placing his little paws on the door frame and gave my fingers a nudge. He was so happy to see me!

They make my kids happy. I like to take them out -- believe it or not, they are pretty good snugglers. Toby likes to get on Bug's bed and jump up in the air. It is SO funny! It is like a little dance. Roger just stares at you like "OK, when does the lovin' begin?"

Both boys have really grown since we got them. Roger is an adult, so he hasn't gotten bigger because of maturity -- he just likes to EAT. We can't call them guinea pigs anymore. We have taken to calling them guinea hogs.

Aren't they cute?!

9 comments:

Old Lady said...

I love guinea pigs, watch out though, they are as prolific as rabbits.

Marni said...

That is why we have two boys and they stay in seperate cages. No guinea babies for us!

KLee said...

Aw! How sweet. I had a GP in high school. She used to chatter all night long while I was trying to sleep. Used to make me nutty. :)

Nice pics!

Cup said...

I don't like rodent-type pets ... but these two are cute. Do the pugs try to eat them?

Marni said...

The pugs aren't allowed near them. When we have the hogs out the boys either stay downstairs or outside. They hogs rarely come out of the kids' rooms.

ccw said...

So cute!

My husband hates rodent type pets so I have to enjoy others adorable hamsters and guinea hogs. This is also why I have so many cats.

comebacknikki said...

They are so adorable! M & I are thinking about getting one sometime soon. Our hamsters both died a few months ago and the house feels so lonely now. :(

Marni said...

They are wonderful! Just DO NOT get them from PetsMart!!!!

Biddie said...

We love our pigs,too. They squeal with delight when they're happy.let you know when they're hungry, and are so gentle. I would suggest the SPCA for anyone that wants a gp. We paid something like $3.00 for one of ours, and he was great.