One thing I have never mentioned on my blog, for reasons being that I haven’t been as active until this past March, are my two guinea pigs. They are my children and I think their little faces need to be seen! I had intended on doing a whole blog post about the process of deciding to have guinea pigs, deciding the appropriate guinea pig breed, and what their goal is, however I would like this post to be light and fun!

If anyone is interested in a blog post dedicated to the decision making process and knowing if guinea pigs are a suitable pet for you I will be happy to write it, however this post is gonna be a long one so I’ll leave it at introductions and showing them off for now!

I will just disclose that they are my emotional support animals, and they are also known as my “dorm pigs”, because I took them to college with me for two years.

It’s time to stop yapping because I know we all want to see some pigs!

Introductions

Many may believe that guinea pigs are simple and easy pets, and I know a lot of people receive guinea pigs as childhood pets. I would like to bust that misconception now and say that taking care of guinea pigs is a lot of work, they poop upwards of 150 times a day, they need fresh veggies, and you need to make sure that they always have a supply of hay, cleaning after them is a whole event in itself and needs to be done regularly.

One of the biggest things that uneducated pet owners look over is the space that is required to keep a healthy and happy pig. Most of the cages you see in pet stores are way too small for one guinea pig, and even then, guinea pigs need to be in the company of another. Did you know that in Switzerland it is illegal to only own one guinea pig?

It was in 2022 that my guinea pigs came to me as 3 month old babies, brothers, and they sure act like it. You would think that being together since conception would lead them to be best friends, however they are always picking on each other. When no one is looking, though, they do take naps with each other on occasion. Even though they act like typical siblings, they wouldn’t know what to do without each other.

They are very picky with treats and veggies, and their favorite snack are carrots. Their favorite toys are cardboard ones and hay chews, and their favorite part of the week is when I clean their cage. They get the zoomies, popcorn (where they get so excited that they jump up in the air), and take a nap on their fresh fleece beds.

Their birthday is in October and I threw them a party for their first birthday. They got large carrots, toys, and new absorbent mats that go under their hides. I think the treats were their favorite.

Donut

Starting off with our strongest personality, I am happy to introduce Donut. As a baby, Donut was shy and less dominant than his brother, so I gave him the middle name Bonaparte to try and give him a chance to have a comeback. Well, that middle name worked a little too well, and Donut now is the top dog of the cage and will pick on his brother.

Donut is very outspoken, he will let you know that it is time for a carrot, and any plastic has a treat inside according to him. He is the pioneer, whenever there is a new space he is always the first to explore. He is a fierce protector of his territory as well, whenever my cat Nacho walks in on the off chance that I let him (supervised, of course), Donut will chatter his teeth at him and charge at him. In his mind, he is the predator.

Donut doesn’t really like the camera. He can pull off a pose, but only when you aren’t trying to take a picture. When I tried to take a cute Halloween photo, Donut decided that it was time to go full rodent mode.

Like, what even is that 😭. Donut can always be found in the hay box or drinking water. He loves taking a nap after I clean their cage.

Apollo

My second guinea pig is named after the Apollo 11 space ship, with his silly middle name being Fitzgerald for JFK. I am a nerd, that is never something I denied, and it really comes out when I have to name something. Apollo is a quiet and shy pig, I want to say that he is the best behaved but he has his sneaky moments.

Apollo is the first to explore a new space and he is very adaptable. When travelling to and from my dorm, Apollo is the easiest to transport. Donut on the other hand likes to be picky on what carrier he gets into and sometimes likes to take me on a wild pig chase.

One thing that took me by surprise while watching Apollo grow up was the fact that he is a long haired guinea pig. When he was a baby, it was impossible to tell, as his hair was just as long as Donut’s. But as he got older, his hair grew longer, and his hairdos got crazier! I have to give him a haircut every 2 months or whenever his skirt of hair touches the ground.

Apollo is a lot more forgiving when it is time for nail trims, and overall is more kind than Donut. On their birthday, Apollo crawled all over me after eating his fill of carrots and treats, while Donut went to work on hoarding anything he could get haha.

In Conclusion…

When taking care of guinea pigs, you have to be prepared to clean up after them, a lot! You have to make sure they always have a supply of hay and be careful to not overfeed them. They need regular nail trims and if they have long hair like Apollo, you have to give them haircuts so their hair doesn’t get matted. I would classify them as a high maintenance pet.

In my experience with these two pigs, they are both very smart. I think it is hardwired in rodents’ brains to always be sneaky and to always gravitate towards the hard to reach areas.

Because of the work that they require, they are a big part of my life and I can’t believe I had never introduced them on my blog earlier! They are both so fun and silly, and I try to make sure that they have the best life that I can give them.