The Chronicles of M&M: It's Been A Year!!
It's been a year!!! So that would mean Biggie Man is about 1 year 2 month old and Little Moz is 1 year old.
One year ago, I finally decided, I wanted a pair of guinea pigs, the very first pet I have for myself. (Honestly and seriously. Yes I have dogs back in my hometown, but mom is the one 'compellingly' fully in-charge, my responsibility is only playing with them)
A year ago, both of them were the size of my palm, I could easily grab them and put them on my palm, freaked the hell out of them. I think that's when they started frightened of me, and they still scared of me =( Failed bonding attempts =( Besides failed bonding, they also fail in toilet training, so I think that makes me not a thumbs-up owner? -_-
This is their temporary cage layout while I was away for the weekend. The half-cage-half-solid-floor setup is to make my house-mate's life easier when he cleans after them. The green color mat thingy is a mosquito net, so their pee would flow to the cloth under and all he has to do is sweep the poo. Since they excrete the most in dining area, the wired-bottom cage (layered with toilet mats) is the ideal solution of cleaning.
This is to do a comparison between the piggie and their food bowl, since those are the only few things remain after one year long of cage improvement. You can see a photo in the linked blog post, where both of them were almost similar size with the bowl. But now....!!
Mannie is now about 25-6 cm long and weighs 895g. Although he is 2 weeks older than Moz, that doesn't make him better in size increment. His fur is longer than Moz, and the fur gets longer to the back. His long fur is often covering his buttock, and sometimes when I was lazy to groom them (they hate grooming too, don't like the feeling of fur brushing at all), his long fur would stuck with liquid and some glue-y thing, and it would be a mess. He is the 'long' type of guinea pig, where his body (from his front leg to back hind) is longer than Moz. The challenge of carrying him out of the cage would be when he struggles a little too extreme, as it can be hard to control and I'm afraid I would break him! -_-
Mozzie is almost as long as Mannie, but he is so much rounder and heavier. He is 25-6 cm long, and weighs 1051 g. 1kilo!! He has short and swiveled fur all over his body, which makes him look messy sometimes especially his back side. From top view, Moz has a big fat buttock, and it's not the effect of his white fur. He HAS a big fat buttock mind you. This makes carrying him a little tricky, as sometimes my palm can't even support his whole buttock! Although Moz is bigger in size, that doesn't make him the healthier and stronger one. Over the year, he suffered eye problem and diarrhea, which freaks the hell out of me.
As a first timer, keeping pets are quite a big challenge for me, and it drives my creativity and problem solving skills etc to the max. As guinea pig is somewhat a 'cage' animal (sound so wrong and cruel), the creativity works wonders on the cage setup etc. Along the year, I have changed their cage layout few times, to accommodate more space for them, and to save my room space for their cage. That, and their dining area and leisure/playing/sleeping area. Besides that, temporary accommodation is a bit of a challenge too. As sometimes I am away and need my housemate's help to feed the brats, making everyone's life easier is the priority.
Everyone says my furbrats live a luxurious life, based on their diet. This is a list of what they eat: capsicum/bell pepper, tomato, lettuce, young white, butterhead, green coral lettuce, spinach, parsley, cucumber etc. Capsicum alone is enough to make everyone disbelief and amazed and feel weird, they always say:"wow! Your pets eat this?? 很好命噢!!!". As for the green leafy vegetable, it depends on the availability. I wouldn't say they are not picky, but one year of trial and error makes both them and me understand what they like and dislike, so that makes everyone's life better too - prevent waste of food and money.
Overall, I'm happy to have them, and I get so psycho, I love it very much when I 'bully' them and they wheek for help and escape. LOL.
My point of view about keeping guinea pigs as pet (or maybe a friendly suggestion for those interested):
1) It's better to have a pair instead of just one. The way they interact with each other can be very amusing.
2) They need space, a LOT of space, to run and play.
3) Their pee and poo can be quite a challenge.
4) You'll find fur all over you, your clothes and your stuff.
5) Besides veggie, they need hay and pellets which in my case, the easiest way is to purchase online.
6) I often receive threats like wanting to make them curry! -_-
One year ago, I finally decided, I wanted a pair of guinea pigs, the very first pet I have for myself. (Honestly and seriously. Yes I have dogs back in my hometown, but mom is the one 'compellingly' fully in-charge, my responsibility is only playing with them)
A year ago, both of them were the size of my palm, I could easily grab them and put them on my palm, freaked the hell out of them. I think that's when they started frightened of me, and they still scared of me =( Failed bonding attempts =( Besides failed bonding, they also fail in toilet training, so I think that makes me not a thumbs-up owner? -_-
This is their temporary cage layout while I was away for the weekend. The half-cage-half-solid-floor setup is to make my house-mate's life easier when he cleans after them. The green color mat thingy is a mosquito net, so their pee would flow to the cloth under and all he has to do is sweep the poo. Since they excrete the most in dining area, the wired-bottom cage (layered with toilet mats) is the ideal solution of cleaning.
Mozzie is almost as long as Mannie, but he is so much rounder and heavier. He is 25-6 cm long, and weighs 1051 g. 1kilo!! He has short and swiveled fur all over his body, which makes him look messy sometimes especially his back side. From top view, Moz has a big fat buttock, and it's not the effect of his white fur. He HAS a big fat buttock mind you. This makes carrying him a little tricky, as sometimes my palm can't even support his whole buttock! Although Moz is bigger in size, that doesn't make him the healthier and stronger one. Over the year, he suffered eye problem and diarrhea, which freaks the hell out of me.
As a first timer, keeping pets are quite a big challenge for me, and it drives my creativity and problem solving skills etc to the max. As guinea pig is somewhat a 'cage' animal (sound so wrong and cruel), the creativity works wonders on the cage setup etc. Along the year, I have changed their cage layout few times, to accommodate more space for them, and to save my room space for their cage. That, and their dining area and leisure/playing/sleeping area. Besides that, temporary accommodation is a bit of a challenge too. As sometimes I am away and need my housemate's help to feed the brats, making everyone's life easier is the priority.
Everyone says my furbrats live a luxurious life, based on their diet. This is a list of what they eat: capsicum/bell pepper, tomato, lettuce, young white, butterhead, green coral lettuce, spinach, parsley, cucumber etc. Capsicum alone is enough to make everyone disbelief and amazed and feel weird, they always say:"wow! Your pets eat this?? 很好命噢!!!". As for the green leafy vegetable, it depends on the availability. I wouldn't say they are not picky, but one year of trial and error makes both them and me understand what they like and dislike, so that makes everyone's life better too - prevent waste of food and money.
Overall, I'm happy to have them, and I get so psycho, I love it very much when I 'bully' them and they wheek for help and escape. LOL.
My point of view about keeping guinea pigs as pet (or maybe a friendly suggestion for those interested):
1) It's better to have a pair instead of just one. The way they interact with each other can be very amusing.
2) They need space, a LOT of space, to run and play.
3) Their pee and poo can be quite a challenge.
4) You'll find fur all over you, your clothes and your stuff.
5) Besides veggie, they need hay and pellets which in my case, the easiest way is to purchase online.
6) I often receive threats like wanting to make them curry! -_-
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