reading time: 7 min
You guys,
I've got some big news! No I'm not pregnant, but ! I did become a mommy – of two guinea pig girls! 🙂 (And in fact I'm also engaged as of last weekend 😱 if you look real close, you can actually spot the ring in the picture above! but that's another story...)
Let me introduce you to G I N N Y and L U N A!
So when I was a child I used to have guinea pigs as well, two boys that both lived for 8 years and had a fabulous life with loads of fresh grass and running around in our garden :) They eventually died ten years ago, and ever since I wanted to have guinea pigs myself when I was older.
Now I'm older and I live in a house with a big garden, and for the past year or so I kept bugging my boyfriend about getting guinea pigs – it actually turned into some kind of a running gag between the two of us. Funny enough, the universe got ahead of me (or answered my wishes), and in November 2018 the two guinea pigs of a friend's sister lost their home because she couldn't keep them any longer. They were temporarily taken in by our friend, however he couldn't keep them long-term either, and so my boyfriend and I were thrilled to adopt them.
Ginny and Luna* have now been living with us for quite a while now, and each week they have become more and more trusting, adventurous and comfortable at home :) But now enough talking from me – I'll hand over to the piggies!
Ginny and Luna* have now been living with us for quite a while now, and each week they have become more and more trusting, adventurous and comfortable at home :) But now enough talking from me – I'll hand over to the piggies!
*We might need to adopt an Hermione and possibly a Lily or a little Dobby as well ;)
G I N N Y
(aka "the Ginny pig")
sex: I'm a girl.
age: I don't remember, but the humans say I'm about 3-4 years old.
breed: I'm a super pretty tricolor Abyssinian cavy.
coat colour: My fur comes in three different colours: buff, white and black. My mom loves that my right little paw is white and my left is black. It looks like I'm wearing a tiny black boot!
favourite food: I love tomato! and cucumber. and bell pepper. and grass. and carrot. and apple. and lettuce. and... Did I mention I like food a lot? I even learned to climb onto our little wooden tunnel AND place my front paws onto mommy's hand to get my favourite food!
special attributes: I'm very nosy and love to explore (I even broke out of our cage twice but don't tell mommy!). I also love to push my house around and run around it in circles. Sometimes I like to chat and popcorn, but Luna rarely joins in. I still do it anyway! I also love to strut around Luna and purr, although she usually doesn't seem very impressed by that. I love to sleep on the roof of Luna's house and stretch out in a half moon shape – it's the best! My mommy sometimes calls me a furry sausage because of that. Even though I don't like to be picked up that much, I enjoy it when mommy strokes my head or tickles my neck. Before I moved into my new home I was called Minnie but since that was also the name of our neighbours' dog I was renamed Ginny. That suits my cheeky personality better anyways!
*
L U N A
(aka "Loony Pooch")
(aka "Loony Pooch")
sex: I'm a girl too. (and sometimes a bit of a granny)
age: I don't remember, but I was told I am about 3-4 years old (though the vet lady says I act like I'm older, so maybe I'm actually 4-5 now – or perhaps I'm just an old soul!)
breed: I'm not sure, but I think I am a mix of a Coronet cavy with some Abyssinian in it, or at least some type of mix with a longhaired guinea pig breed. I have a super cool forelock due to the swirl on my butt that makes all my coat grow forward on my body! Unfortunately that means that mommy has to brush my hair every week because I always get hay and other things into my fur and then it becomes matted.
coat colour: white and red
favourite food: I like almost everything mommy or daddy give us, even the kohlrabi leaves and the broccoli florets that Ginny usually rejects. I really like carrots and bell pepper, lettuce, cauliflower leaves, sweet potato, parsley and celery. But my favourite is fresh grass, of course, and also cucumber.
special attributes: I am very chill most of the time and I'm not as jumpy as Ginny, but I do get scared by certain unknown noises – I usually freeze and wait for a bit, and then I ran back to my house as fast as I can to hide. I also don't like to share my house with Ginny (only sometimes), and I always take my food into my house if I can – even if it's a huge beetroot or a carrot. Ginny sometimes steals my food, but I'm still getting enough to eat because mommy and daddy take care of that. I am a little careful when it comes to jumping around – it has also happened to me before that the house tipped over while I was trying to jump down (or actually "lean down") because I was too slow. I'm very quiet and keep to myself. I also don't like to be touched by humans very much, not even on my head.
*
Here are some cute pictures of the two of us!
om nom nom! we LOVE fresh veggies and especially grass! it's the best!
this is actually not ONE guinea pig inside that hat, but TWO! Ginny to the left, Luna to the right.
2 pigs 1 cap 😂
it's nicer to have the whole hat to myself though... 
every week the humans do a little check-up to clean us, clip our claws, look after our teeth and so on. i really don't like it – but don't i look cute in this picture? like a little otter!
hey that's MY tunnel!
the best thing in the world is the huge meadow with LOADS of grass and dandelion and plantain for us to eat! during spring and summer we get to go out every day for up to 12 hours!! it's pretty much heaven on earth.
fresh air makes you sleepy... 😴 bye for now...
*
IMPORTANT:
Yes, these guinea pigs are cute as a button, but I do not want to encourage anyone to go out and buy a pet just because it's so adorable.
On the contrary, please be aware that while these animals are very cute and sweet, they also come with a lot of work and cost a lot of money (food, equipment, vet visits; we spent 200 bucks on their first vet visit alone!). They are living creatures that make messes, pee everywhere, nibble everything, get sick, get hurt, need to be looked after while you're on holidays, and cause emotional distress because you're the one responsible for them and the one to make decisions over their precious little lives!
As the famous quote goes: With great pets comes great responsibility. (or something like that)
If you do want to give an animal a new home, do not buy it from a pet store or a breeder! Instead, think about adopting a pet from an animal shelter, or even from an online marketplace. There are so many stray or unwanted or abandoned pets out there who need someone to take care of them and love them and give them a home, so please think twice before getting a cute lil’ piggie or a puppy from a store or breeder – by which you also support horrendous animal dealers, large-scale breeding mills and the breeding of defects as it is the case with overbred dog breeds like pugs or French bulldogs.
Unfortunately, you don't "save" an animal by buying it from a pet store. Another animal will be bred to replace him or her, and you are thereby supporting the never-ending cycle of misery. It's a mass production that treats animals as if they were products and often ignores their basic needs.
Unfortunately, you don't "save" an animal by buying it from a pet store. Another animal will be bred to replace him or her, and you are thereby supporting the never-ending cycle of misery. It's a mass production that treats animals as if they were products and often ignores their basic needs.
The last three pets I took care of where all adopted (dog from a Spanish rescue center, guinea pigs from a private owner who couldn't keep them any longer), and I will never ever buy a living creature from a pet store again. Just thinking about all those dogs cats and rabbits and hamsters and guinea pigs and mice and rats and chinchillas and budgies and parrots and horses and ponies and donkeys and goats and chickens and goldfish and snakes and lizards and turtles and what not who are anxiously waiting in shelters for a new life breaks my heart.
A pet is not an "item" you buy at a store. Think of it rather as a child! You wouldn't buy a child from a store or a breeder either, would you? – but you would probably go to an orphanage or an adoption agency to adopt a homeless or unwanted or abandoned child and provide it with a loving home ♡
♥
Maisy
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