The Great Adventure of the Guinea Pigs

My November and December 2018 consisted of doing research about guinea pigs, and trying to persuade my  mom to let me get them. I soon found out that guinea pigs need to live with at least another guinea pig, they need a large cage, lots of hay, and lots of veggies. In early December, we went to our local Petsmart, and looked at the guinea pigs. I held one, and instantly fell more in love with the idea of owning one.

I worked out a deal with my mom. For a Christmas present, my parents would buy me the cage, and the first round of food. I would pay for the guinea pigs themselves, and all future costs.

The busyness of Christmas arrived, which meant that I would get my guinea pigs soon. While we were eating dinner on Christmas day, my mom mentioned that the guinea pig cage arrived in the mail. After dinner, my brother and I tore open the box, and started assembling the cage. After a few mishaps putting it to together, and help from my mom, we finally got it put together. It was much bigger than I anticipated, but I loved it anyway.

In early January, we planned a day to get the guinea pigs. I was anxious to get out the door, and to the pet store. Once we got there, I went straight for the guinea pig isle. I looked in the glass case that held the guinea pigs, and only one lonely pig sat in the case.

We asked a store employee if there were more guinea pigs in the back. It turns out that there had been a ringworm breakout. Ringworm isn’t fatal, but is very contagious, and humans can get it as well. The treatment takes about a month. The ringworm breakout, along with Christmas, had resulted in only one guinea pig left for sale.

I had a very important decision to make. I could buy the last guinea pig, but since guinea pigs are social creatures, they can’t be alone. I would eventually have to get another guinea pig. The problem with that, I realized, was the fact that introducing another guinea pig that hasn’t seen, or briefly lived with the other guinea pig will usually result in a fight. With all the research I had done, I realized that wouldn’t be a good option. I decided to get all the supplies I needed, but wait until I could get two guinea pigs on the same day.

Over the next three weeks, my mom called periodically to see if the pet store had guinea pigs. One Sunday, she said they had five left. I at first decided to just wait until the next day to get them, so we could get everything set up, but then I thought more about it. The fact that there hadn’t been many guinea pigs for the Christmas rush probably meant there were more people like me, who were waiting until the pet store had guinea pigs. Since there were only five left, I decided to get them that day.

I came back home with two guinea pigs. Peppermint, is black with speckles of white and patches of brown. Fudge is a mix between brown and white, and has a single stripe of white around his neck.

Over the next few weeks, I learned through trial and error how to clean the guinea pig cage, the best place to get supplies (Amazon) and many more things. My whole family has fallen in love with Peppermint and Fudge. My little brother drew pictures of them. My mom adores them, and my baby sister and brother love feeding them bell peppers. There are some downsides to owning guinea pigs, but their cuteness keep the me from hating them.

Would you like me to post a guinea pig care guide? Or maybe more stories about Peppermint and Fudge?

Until next time!

Hannah