One day I was laying in bed (because back then I worked nights) when my 6-year-old niece came in to tell me that there was a guinea pig running around the Garden and her and Uncle Christian (my fiance) were trying to catch it. I got up and of course, there was a rather small White, Dark Brown and light Brown Guinea Pig hopping its way around the garden. Our first thought was we needed to get the Piggie inside because of neighbourhood cats. The last thing we wanted to for it to be a meal for them. We set the work, laying lettuce out and looking up information on how to lure it in.
I immediately called the RSPCA, who stated that they would send someone out to help and we should put a notice out in our local newspaper for any owners who were looking for their pet. The only thing we could think of is that the Piggie was let out and ran when the owner tried to get pick it up.
Some poor kid who lost their pet. We didn’t get any response to the ad and by that time my nieces were very interested in keeping her even my fiance wanted to keep it. Seven days passed and finally, we managed to get the piggie inside. Chris named it Sargon (I call it Sarge)
We called the RSPCA who came to look it over and told us that Sarge was male. All I knew about Guinea Pigs was that you needed two since they were social animals and we head out to get supplies from the local Pets at Home including another Piggie, whom we named Hammurabi (Hammy)
Hammy was very shy and introverted and we wouldn’t even have known he was in the display at the Pets Store if the store clerk hadn’t removed the house, and tunnels and saw him hiding away. I fell in love with Hammy as soon as I saw him, a beautiful Black and Brown piggie and when we saw that he had nips from bite marks on him we had to bring him home.
Fast forward a few months from June to around December and we notice Sarge was getting a little chunkier and was eating a lot more. One day (December 10th, 2018) we came home and found a big surprise.
Four new piggies waiting for us when we got home, there were five but unfortunately, we lost one (R.I.P Larry). We had now:
We had no idea Sarge was female and because we lost one we rushed her and all babies to the vets to make sure that everything was okay because, to be honest, we were terrified. We also separated Hammy and Sarge. But everything was fine, after three weeks we got another cage and introduced Hammy to the boys (Winnie, Kirk, and Campbell) and left Sisko (the only girl) with mom.
So, did you know that Guinea Pigs could breed like rabbits? They are prey animals so they keep their numbers up by breeding and that sows (female Piggies) can be fertile again within 10-15 hours of giving birth? Yeah, I didn’t know that either.
This time when we noticed the signs we booked an appointment to the Vets right away and once again, yep, Sarge was pregnant again. By the time we found this out we had moved house so we had extra space and on February 15th, 2019 we came downstairs to find:
Now, we have eleven. With the elder four going through puberty its been a little rocky, we had to eventually separate Kirk from the rest of the Boars (male Piggies) because of fighting, but they seem good now.
We are still learning. We aren’t, by all means, experts in all things Guinea Pigs but we are learning. We hope they are happy, and with the jumping (popcorning) that happens every day, it seems they are.
One day we went into the garden, there we found a guinea pig, we got her gender wrong and now we have eleven (Oh and two fish we can’t forget Duke and Daisy).
Also, yes, Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh are named after the They Might Be Giants Song The Mesopotamians.
Kennie's Mind: Written Word 