Who has Guinnea Pigs??

[archangel]

Since about two and a half years, we have Guinnea Pigs. :) We started with just two, Piggi and Mina. A year later we visited a local zoo where they had a herd of GPs, and spontaneously decided to get two more. The same afternoon, we adopted Kiki and Coco. :) It turned out that Coco had been pregnant when we adopted her at age of maybe 10 weeks :eek: (noone realized how big her belly was, or rather noone would've thought that such a small GP could already be pregnant) cause some weeks later, suddenly there were 6! :eek: :eek: Two boys, too... :p which we had to castrate to stop this game. We had to keep them all. :)

Their home is in our living room, and our living room is big enough so that their first enclosure could be extended - twice. They have ~3.5m2 plus an outdoor enclosure of another 4.5m2. Too cold and wet for them now though, but we are all so looking forward to being able to let them run around and have some fresh grass which they absolutely LOVE again soon!

Pics of our Pigs!! :D

Piggi

Kiki

Coco

Mina

Bob & Teddi

[archangel]

Their indood home.

The original first enclosure:

This one was added when Kiki and Coco joined Piggi and Mina:

And this one was build by me after the two boys had grown. It was placed in between enclosure 1 and 3:

All three areas in total:

All DIY made by me. Each area a half day of work. Does not win any prices, but it only cost much less than 100 bucks of materials each.

[JD Spydo]

I guess there's actually a case to be made that the American people are becoming Guinnea Pigs with this COVID vaccine as well as all the other calamity that we are seeing take place at this time. It sure hasn't worked out well for a lot of folks .

Now a few years back one of my neighbors found two baby gray squirrels that she made pets out of. And they would let you pet them and hold them too. I don't know about the Guinnea Pigs as far as a "bite risk" but I do know that you do not want a squirrel to bite you :eek: . Because I had a buddy who had one bite clear through his hand once :eek:

I sure hope those Guinnea Pigs don't have the propensity to do that :rolleyes:

[archangel]

And some extra pics of the baby boys surprise!

A few minutes after Bob and Teddi were born:

With their Mom Coco:

They were sooooo little!! :eek: :)

Especially in relation to their Aunties

[archangel]

Here's some pics of their outdoor home:

Also DIY.

[JD Spydo]

They are cute enough :) I bet they would make a great pet for kids.

But I would much rather have those Guinnea Pigs take that COVID vaccine>> I wouldn't touch that vaccine with a 1000 foot pole. And seriously I wouldn't do that to an animal either. I've often wondered over the years why researchers have used Guinnea pigs for lab experiments like many of them have over the years.

I would think you could raise rats and mice to test that kind of poison out on.

But those Guinnea Pigs that you have do look great and would make great pets for kids. They probably don't cost a fortune like Dogs and Cats do.

[archangel]

I guess there's actually a case to be made that the American people are becoming Guinnea Pigs with this COVID vaccine as well as all the other calamity that we are seeing take place at this time. It sure hasn't worked out well for a lot of folks .

Now a few years back one of my neighbors found two baby gray squirrels that she made pets out of. And they would let you pet them and hold them too. I don't know about the Guinnea Pigs as far as a "bite risk" but I do know that you do not want a squirrel to bite you :eek: . Because I had a buddy who had one bite clear through his hand once :eek:

I sure hope those Guinnea Pigs don't have the propensity to do that :rolleyes:

Nah, they're no biters. They nibble your finger at the most. Their defense strategy is to run and hide.

Our kids (9 1/2 and soon-to-be 12) LOVE them! Especially the older, my daughter.

Wife and I love them too, obviously. :)

Costs indeed are relatively low, if you compare them to what dogs would cost. Them Pigs eat mostly hay, and fresh mixed salad: carrots, red beat, baby tomatoes, ginger, pepper, cucumber, lettuce in the evening and a little bit of lettuce in the mornings as starter.

PS: for dogs you have to pay taxes to your local administration in Germany, could be up to 1000€ per year afaik.

[JD Spydo]

I guess there's actually a case to be made that the American people are becoming Guinnea Pigs with this COVID vaccine as well as all the other calamity that we are seeing take place at this time. It sure hasn't worked out well for a lot of folks .

Now a few years back one of my neighbors found two baby gray squirrels that she made pets out of. And they would let you pet them and hold them too. I don't know about the Guinnea Pigs as far as a "bite risk" but I do know that you do not want a squirrel to bite you :eek: . Because I had a buddy who had one bite clear through his hand once :eek:

I sure hope those Guinnea Pigs don't have the propensity to do that :rolleyes:

Nah, they're no biters. They nibble your finger at the most. Their defense strategy is to run and hide.

Our kids (9 1/2 and soon-to-be 12) LOVE them! Especially the older, my daughter.

Wife and I love them too, obviously. :)

Costs indeed are relatively low, if you compare them to what dogs would cost. Them Pigs eat mostly hay, and fresh mixed salad: carrots, red beat, baby tomatoes, ginger, pepper, cucumber, lettuce in the evening and a little bit of lettuce in the mornings as starter.

PS: for dogs you have to pay taxes to your local administration in Germany, could be up to 1000€ per year afaik.

That is insane :eek: !!! Because that sounds like some serious money just to own a dog. Surely it couldn't be that bad for owning a cat for crying out loud.

Is that because you're in a major city by chance that it would cost that much to own a dog. I wouldn't think that someone who lived in a rural area would be hammered with those types of fees for owning a dog or cat :confused:

Oh and just for your information I've owned two German Shepherds over the years and they are about the very best dog anyone can own. That is if you can afford the 40 pounds a week of dry dog food that it takes to make them happy. Both of my German Shepherds ate like horses. They were more expensive than having kids in many respects.

[archangel]

Cats = zero tax. Dog tax varies hugely depending on where you live. It IS insane.

Shepherd dogs are super! It's a favourite of mine. :)

My wife wants no dog. She wanted no pets at all, cause she never had any when she was a kids. Pets were not wanted in her parents' home at all. My kids and I managed to have her agree on the GPs, and now she loves them just as much as we all do. :)

I always wanted a dog, still want one. As do the kids. We'll have a dog eventually.

[JD Spydo]

Cats = zero tax. Dog tax varies hugely depending on where you live. It IS insane.

Shepherd dogs are super! It's a favourite of mine. :)

My wife wants no dog. She wanted no pets at all, cause she never had any when she was a kids. Pets were not wanted in her parents' home at all. My kids and I managed to have her agree on the GPs, and now she loves them just as much as we all do. :)

I always wanted a dog, still want one. As do the kids. We'll have a dog eventually.

Is that kind of consistent throughout Europe? Or is that draconian law mainly for the German citizens to be hammered with?

The reason I ask is because here in the USA the regulations on pets ( mainly dogs and cats) are extreme and draconian in some places (mostly cities) but very relaxed in others ( mainly rural/farm areas). Here in the town I live in if you don't get your dog or cat a "Rabies vaccine" immediately you can be fined upwards of a thousand dollars or higher. Whereas in rural/farm areas the regulations are so relaxed that they are not even enforced at all in some places ( including rabies vaccines). So I'm wondering if that's some type of revenue raising tactic that cities are using over there in Germany >> or throughout Europe for that matter?

[archangel]

Some other countries have it (Austria for example, afaik), idk about the others. How much you have to pay also depends on the breed of your dog. Fighting dogs cost more. It's up to the local administration to decide how high the tax is. Cities or counties with empty bank accounts use this to raise some funds. So I guess richer counties may raise less.

Now back to them Guinnea Pigs!! :)

[JD Spydo]

Some other countries have it (Austria for example, afaik), idk about the others. How much you have to pay also depends on the breed of your dog. Fighting dogs cost more. It's up to the local administration to decide how high the tax is. Cities or counties with empty bank accounts use this to raise some funds. So I guess richer counties may raise less.

Now back to them Guinnea Pigs!! :)

Are Guinnea Pigs required to have rabies vaccines? Because here where I live I've heard that people that even have pet rabbits are even required to get those rabies vaccines.

The only type of pet that seem to be exempt from rabies vaccines are "birds" like parrots, Cockatiels, mynah birds ect. For some reason they give those a free pass. So I was wondering if they required those Guinnea Pigs to get the needle?

[archangel]

I was surprised to learn it back when we got our first pair of GPs, but they need no vaccination whatsoever. We had to treat some of our GPs against skin fungus, and mites brought in with the food or litter. But no vaccines needed for/against worms or any other infectious diseases, not even rabies. GPs seem pretty harmless, in any way. All our GPs pass on is love.

They don't like to be grabbed and lifted, and they still run and hide when I come close with my hand (I'm the bad guy who is catching them when we need to), so they are not in physical contact with us all that much. Plus like I said, they don't bite. Kiki you can pet, and scratch her neck. Piggi and Mina you can pet if they let you. Coco and her sons are wussess, they will always run and hide from you.

[JuPaul]

So cute! I had guinea pigs growing up. We also unknowingly bought a pregnant female (Cuddles) and we ended up keeping her daughter (Lizzy) as well. They're pretty funny and sweet. My step-daughter has two at her mom's house now.

[TkoK83Spy]

They are cute little creatures that's for sure. My step daughter also has 2 (Skunky and Tulip)...both are boys, but she calls Tulip her "queen" hahaha. I love the little noises they make and then they start popcorning around whenever they excited for food or when they are in their playpen for "floor time"

Definitely a great first pet for a child, or anybody that's never had pets.

[bearfacedkiller]

I am the reluctant owner of a hamster named Peanut. She is cute, docile and has never bit us. Could be worse. Oh the joys of parenthood!

I have had a dog for most of my life and don’t really want any other pets except fish.

[archangel]

I've had hamsters when I was a kid. My sis and I always had small pets: hamsters, mice, fish. I've even had a chipmunk in a BIG cage and free running in my room almost every day for several years, after my sis had moved out. I knew that kids can only gain from having pets around. Had to persuade my wife, and at some point she yielded. :) This is why I know she will love the dog that we WILL have at some point.

[SG89]

Growing up we had a Guinea pig same color and name as your Teddi. He would squeak/whistle all the time. Do your pigs whistle too?

[archangel]

Yeah they do :) especially between boy and girl, I think. This is one of the sweetest sounds they are capable of. Oh, the squeeking they perform when I bring them their veggies or fill their bowls! :D

I just remembered: when Coco was pregnant, I think a day before she gave birth to Bob and Teddi, she suddenly made a sound like a siren for abour 20 seconds. :eek: Only the one time in her life so far, and no other GP has ever made any similar sound. That was super weird.

Unfortunately they don't really popcorn anymore. It's something that most GPs stop doing when they become of age. Too bad, it's a super adorable thing to watch.

[OrangeShoes]

Their lifespan ranging from 4-8 years is enough to bring joy to their pet owners. It requires dedication to train a Guinea pig in order for them to perform different stunts like turning in circles, jumping through hoops and maybe singing like portrayed in the movie, Chipmunk