THE GUINEA PIG

 

 

This was the 1st female guinea pig I ever bought (sometime around mid 2001) because its fur was really beautiful in colour and texture.

1st day photo of my latest pets bought on the 2nd January 2003! Both of them are local Peruvian guinea pigs at only about 1 mth old then. Both are females (sows).. Who is prettier? (By the way, at this point I thought the black/white one was male.. Long story.. will be elaborated below)

Here are 4 pictures of my beloved piggies taken 2 weeks later... They're especially photogenic and so tame to handle and play with! Also, they've gotten to know me better over time and call out 'Wheeek wheeek wheeek' when I'm near their cage during feeding time! Ka-wa-i-ne!

One of the 1st 'pair' pictures of both piggies together, taken on 3rd March 2003.

Individual pictures of the 2 peruvian sows taken on 31st March 2003. A sad day for me because they were about to be sold a few hours later to someone with experience in keeping guinea pigs; reason being that I intended to breed a pair initially but found out later from a nearby pet shop that both were female! (Originally, I was told the white/black one was male) Sigh... Anyway, I enquired a lot and found out that the new owner was a very caring person who knew what's best to feed them with and how to take good care of them... :) Now they're both named 'Brownie' and 'Buttcup' respectively.

Both peruvians had a chance to take a photo with the new addition in the centre, another sow (Breed: Sheltie). I got her and a boar on the 29th March 2003 from someone selling her piggies online . Both shelties were about 2 mths old then.

The last 'pair' picture of my beloved 2 peruvian cavies... Sayonara and best wishes for a new loving home!

Finally, a picture of the sheltie boar taken on 4th April 2003! He's almost purely brown except for some white fur at the top of his head growing towards his rear, the typical fur-type for shelties.

Don't the 2 cute shelties look lovely together? :)

Purposely made this picture relatively smaller.. cos it's an indecent act by the sheltie boar.. hehe.. however it's not successful cos the sow is not in heat yet and they're still young anyway. :) (Picture taken on 8th April 2003)

Solo picture of sheltie boar and sheltie sow taken on 10th April 2003. Boar was recently named 'SONY'. Still thinking of name for the sow.. probably 'SASSY'? (Since she treats SONY like the female lead in the Korean movie 'My Sassy Girl') :P

Very cute 'couple picture' of my shelties taken on 10th April 2003. They look so cuddly I just can't resist patting them everyday and snapping photos of them frequently!

SONY and SASSY relaxing in their cage on a warm afternoon... Their poo looks disgusting but hey, who doesn't poo! :P (Photo taken on 26th April 2003)

2 photos of SONY taken out of his cage... Vain piggy grooming himself in the 1st picture, rubbing all over his face and body; Greedy piggy in the 2nd picture, busy munching away a stalk of orchard grass hay! (Photo taken on 26th April 2003)

Decided to name my sow SASSY after all... cos she's sooo sassy! Never allows SONY to get intimate with her and nibs him off when he tries to get fresh with her... A very vigilant look on her face after I blew at her to catch her attention.. hehe... (Photo taken on 26th April 2003)

Both photos of my piggies in a relaxed mood.. because it's lap time for them! Everytime they sit on my lap while I pat them and watch TV in my room, they'll be extremely calm and sometimes purr like a cat or coo like a pigeon! Of coz, I'll feed them with occassional stalks of hay to keep them steady.. Juz hope they don't ever poo or pee on me! (Photo taken on 26th April 2003)

Didn't actually observe that guinea pigs have very long whiskers indeed! It was this close upfront shot of SONY that I realised so! (Photo taken on 27th April 2003)

2 more pictures of SONY when I let him out for some running before he takes his bath and I clean the cage... Surprisingly he was quite calm and juz stayed stationary for some time and posed, making it irresistible for me to capture some cute shots! Again, a greedy pig in the 2nd picture when I fed him a stalk of hay! (Photo taken on 27th April 2003)

Next it's fair for SASSY's turn to exercise.. Unlike her mate, she's ready to run and sped off once I put her down on the floor. However, still managed to catch up with her and cornered her beside the wall to capture these 2 shots before she scrambles off again! (Photo taken on 27th April 2003)

Cage's been cleaned, bedding's been changed, and piggies been bathed... Hungry pigs busy munching away all the orchard grass hay in the hay rack before even grooming themselves entirely, as such their fur still looks damp! (Photo taken on 27th April 2003)

1st May 2003 was a special day for SONY and SASSY because I decided to try toilet-training them although I know it was very difficult to train these animals as compared to dogs, rabbits, hamsters, etc. Nevertheless wanted to give it a try so that I have less frustrations cleaning up poo and pee on the floor when I give them floor time almost everyday... Was happy so far because both of them did not fail me and did their 'business' in a potty twice each. Will persist on for a few more days till I'm confident they are 'stable'.. This is a picture of SASSY lying down and resting by the door after running around too much and feeling tired.. Does she look like she's praying? :P

Finally, SASSY gave birth to 2 beautiful babies on 4th January 2004.. A Texel (left) and Sheltie (right) breed..

Babies suckling on mum's milk...

Suddenly, SASSY feels like such a loving and caring mum.. no longer the 'sassy' female she used to be!

Babies: Let's see who finds mum's nipples first! (By the way, guinea pigs have only 2 nipples for babies to feed on.. it's lucky she has 2 babies so no one needs to queue!)

Babies: Mummy, we want to be beside you... don't go away!

Can you believe it? This is the sheltie baby above many months later in November 2004. She is so obviously pregnant.. just look at her tummy! Where's dad?

Oh yes, this is the daddy peruvian guinea pig I bought from someone.. and he's going to be a father soon!

I wonder how many babies she's carrying in her...

Oh my! It's late in the night (at 11+ pm) on 22nd November 2004.. I took a peek at the cage and saw 3 little piggies snuggling near mum.. Well Done Mummy! You have 3 peruvian babies now and can call yourself a real mum!

Such a lovely sight the next morning...

The 3 little piggies a few days later...

Picture of one of the babies a month later in December 2004.. Isn't he/she cuddly?

A sibling of the piggy baby above.. So cute!

OK, that's a happy family of 3 siblings cuddling together near mum's backside.. Haha!

OK, don't be shy.. you've finally become a daddy!

Presenting the 3 lovely babies (determined to be 1 male & 2 females)... Photo taken on 15th January 2005.

Who's this again? Can you believe this is the baby of one of the females in the earlier pic, born on 27th July 2005? It's such a pity that he/she is 1 of the 2 babies who survived; the other was a stillbirth...

That's little white piggy (white genes probably inherited from mum who has a little white fur) helplessly waiting for mum to come to him/her.

* It's a great pity that mum did not nurse the baby and he/she only survived for a few days and died thereafter.. might be due to mum being inexperienced as first-time mum and depression which resulted from her stillbirth.. sigh..

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