It's Not All Fun And Games With Piggies

    Are you getting guinea pigs soon? If you are, you need to know that it's not going to be all fun and games. Here is a quick story in which YOU are the main character, and this is what it's really like getting and owning guinea pigs.

    You really want to get guinea pigs. For the past few weeks or even months, you have been researching about them. After doing some extra chores and limiting your device time, you've finally persuaded your parents to let you have them. You and your parents go online and find a big cage, order it, and now all you have to do is wait a few days/weeks for it to come. 

    

    Finally, one morning, it arrives. You have already bought bedding, hay, treats, pellets, etc. and all you need are the guinea pigs themselves. You and your parents start assembling the cage, which is hard work and takes 2 days. The next morning, you wake up excited because this is day you are finally getting your guinea pigs! You and your parents drive to the pet store/shelter and go to the small animal section. 

    There are 4 small piggies sitting in a huge glass cage, with huts, pellets, hay and water. The pet store/shelter associate lifts the huts, and out run the guinea pigs, looking scared at the sight of such big people. They all huddle up in a corner and eat hay. There is a brown and white one, a fully black one, and 2 white ones that have brown noses. 

    You ask to hold one of the white ones that have brown noses, and the pet store/shelter associate brings it out, but doesn't let you hold it. You ask why and she says, "It's quite scared." She's right. The piggie is trembling and hiding its face in her arms. She puts it back and says, "Want to feed them?" You agree, and she gives you a slice of cucumber in your hand. You reach into the cage, and immediately,  all the piggies run into the huts that have now been put back. 

    One guinea pig timidly peeks out from the hut and snatches the cucumber from your hand. You pull out your hand from the cage. "You're a new person," the pet store/shelter associate explains. "They aren't used to you yet." The pet store/shelter associate walks away, leaving time for you and your parents to discuss. 

    "They are quite scared," your mom says. "And slightly aggressive," your dad says. You argue with them, and finally they say you can pick one. You remember something important you saw in a blog called Trisha's Guinea Pig Adventures, and say, "We need to get two." 

    Your parents look confused. "Two?" they say. You nod. "That's a lot of money." "What? How much money is a guinea pig?" You ask. They point to the sign on the cage. "$50 each?" You squeal. They nod. After long debate, you get the guinea pigs anyway. You picked both the white ones with the brown noses. 

    During the car ride home, there is a lot of moving around in the small box you got with your piggies. You ask your parents to drive slower so your piggies don't get scared. Once you get home, you get the bedding ready in the cage and put your piggies in it. You named your piggies Fluff and Marshmallow. You expected your guinea pigs to be wheeking and ready to play, but so far they are just sitting in their huts, trembling.

    You feed the piggies romaine lettuce for dinner. Fluff and Marshmallow aren't eating, just hiding. When you turn off the light and leave the room, though, they come out cautiously and start eating. You see this and go back into the room. Your guinea pigs run back into the huts, and now, even when you turn off the light and leave the room, they don't eat.

    By morning though, all the food is gone. You feed them again, and still they don't eat until you have left the house completely. Once you get back, you think they are ready to play since they are awake. You try and pick up Fluff carefully, but she squeals loudly. You then realized that your guinea pigs were asleep. 

    Eventually, your guinea pigs become more adapted to their surroundings. But they still don't want to play, though. You do take them out once a week for lap time, but they get real scared, don't move, and pee on you. You are slightly disappointed, and wish you knew that ahead of time. Your guinea pigs do not respond to their name, they don't do tricks, and they don't want to be hand-fed at all. 

    You later learn that is takes lots of time to TAME guinea pigs. Many months, at the very least. Our guinea pigs are still not quite tame (they know their names, like to be hand fed, but are still quite skittish and hate lap/floor time).  

I hope you enjoyed this post, and that it was helpful! Make sure to subscribe so you can be the first one to know when a new post comes out! Bye! 🐹😋