Welcome to the guinea pig page! They are fascinating little creatures and we are all enjoying their antics and chirpy conversations. 

Nutmeg

Nutmeg and Muffin arrived together. They came from a pet shop which we know is not the best place to get a guinea pig from! They were are both females. Nutmeg (white with one brown eye patch and one black one!) is still with us and doing well at 5. Muffin, who was all black, was slightly larger than Nutmeg and we think she was a bit older. She was very shy when we got her and needed lots of handling; it seemed as though she had been waiting a long time for someone to choose her, possibly because of her colour. Sadly Muffin had a stroke early this year and despite vetinery attention suffered a second stroke and passed away.

Nutmeg pined, refused to eat and was silent - normally they were so vocal. So we obtained a companion for her.

Poppy

Coincidentally Poppy was also black. She was a rescue from the South Tyneside Guinea Pig rescue. She had been an unwanted pet and had had skin problems on her arrival there. By the time she came to us she was looking well and her coat was glossy. She too needed lots of handling and had obviously not had a wide variety of fresh food as she seemed bemused by some of the offerings. Learning from Nutmeg she soon started to enjoy a varied diet.

Portia 

Portia can from a breeder and is a grey Sheltie. She has lovely long hair that needs a periodic haircut - which she takes great exception to! Portia was about 13 months old when we got her and is very relaxed. 

In the summer months, the guineas spend most days out in our garden in their grazing ark. This is a safe run which has a sheltered part for them to stay out of the sun, and plenty of room for them to scamper and play - as well as munch grass and dandelion leaves which they are very fond of. In fact, although not too sure about the idea of the 'big outside' when they first leave the safety of their hutch for the first time, they soon love it and one will often show off her athletic skills to avoid being caught and put back in the hutch for the night. 

In the new double-decker hutch there is fresh hay and a full bowl of food waiting!  Their hutch is always kept very clean as guinea pigs do not like to be dirty and we change the bedding daily, making sure it is thoroughly swept out before they go in for the night. During the summer we have some very rainy days and on these we use an indoor hutch in the dining room. In the winter the outdoor hutch comes in from the garden into the conservatory but it would be far too hot in the summer. They like to be not to hot and very dry - damp can cause bronchial problems.

We brush them daily and periodically need to give them a bath. They don't seem to mind this. Getting them dry is the tricky part as their coats are so thick. We use a hairdryer, and then put them in a box of towels and a wrapped hot water bottle. They mustn't be overheated. Teeth and nails must also be checked. They have lots to gnaw on so teeth are taken care of but we do need to cut their nails.

As all guinea pigs are a little shy of strangers - human and animal - as well as unusual noises, it is important to get them used to being handled and accustomed to the sounds and looks of all family members from an early age. Our first two guinea pigs, Frankincense and Myrrh, came to live with us just before Christmas and so could not go outside in the garden. They had their hutch in the conservatory where Maisie and Zeta, the mini schnauzers, could come and watch them and both guinea pigs soon became very friendly with the dogs. Here is a picture of Zeta keeping an eye on Frankincense and Myrrh in their basket with their Christmas dinner of seeds and grapes - Zeta is known to have a taste for grapes herself!  

We always make sure that our guinea pigs have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - their particular favourites are curly kale and carrots (which are good for their teeth), and we've recently discovered the benefits of parsley! Like humans, guinea pigs do not manufacture Vitamin C in their bodies and need to get this vitamin from their diet - they cannot manage on dried foods alone unless they are specially made for cavies with added Vitamin C. Guinea pigs also have long front teeth which need to be constantly worn down by gnawing or they will grow too long - we provide  hard seed sticks from the pet shop as well as softwood branches from fruit trees. We prefer to use fresh fruit and a specialist guinea pig food. There are modern guinea pig dried foods which prevent selective grazing but we have rejected these as when you check the ingredients the ones we have come across contain fish products, and besides look very boring! Guinea pigs like to graze and to pick and choose.

 Guinea pigs are bright little creatures who enjoy playing in a stimulating environment - however, we have found it difficult to find many guinea pig toys in the pet shops. Hamsters and rats seem to have a better deal when it comes to leisure pursuits! We did buy some tunnels - intended for ferrets - and also some woven hay hollow balls which a guinea pig can just about fit inside. Frankincense and Myrrh loved these hay nests and would take it in turns to sit inside and peep out at us, Muffin and Nutmeg simply ate them! 

Frankincense and Myrrh 

It is very difficult to think about how our first two little guinea pigs are managing now - they were stolen together with their hutch (and the hay nest) several years ago while we were on holiday in Wales. Here is a picture of happier times when Frankincense (the chocolate and white) and Myrrh (the agouti) were still with us. We had arranged for Frankincense and Myrrh to stay with a family in Cramlington, Northumberland, not far from here, and we were shocked to discover on our return from holiday that thieves had taken them, when they had burgled the home. We cannot imagine what sort of people commit such crimes - without caring how both the creatures themselves or their family will suffer from the separation. We believe that they went to a local family because our missing ads kept disappearing from the Cramlington branch of Asda Supermarket. We also had a couple of phone calls from a woman asking if we had any children - obviously someone trying to justify keeping them. As a guinea pig costs very little it is hard to seem why anyone needs to steal one, and we certainly worry that they were not given the fresh bedding and food they were used to.  Maisie and Zeta, the little dogs, were both distressed that Frankincense and Myrrh had gone and Maisie kept checking the grazing ark - which we still had in our garden - as if she thought the guinea pigs would come back. We just hope that whoever has our little guinea pigs is looking after them - they were used to much love and a happy home. And of course we still have not given up hope of their eventual return. We still periodically check rescue centres.