My parents were great about letting us have pets growing up. We had a dog, a hamster, fish, a rabbit, lizards, snakes…am I forgetting anything? Not all these pets occupied our home at the same time, but the point is, my parents were open to letting us learn through pet ownership — even ones they probably would have rather said no to! Now that I’m a mom, when I think about my kids having pets all I see is the work! I know this is the wrong attitude, but hey, I’m just being honest. As a friend of a friend who is a vet recently mentioned, having pets is a privilege, not a right. With the privilege of owning a pet comes a lot of responsibility. Often the responsibility seems to fall on Mommy, especially when your kids are 7, 5, and 3 years old.
In February, Lilly started begging us to get a guinea pig for a pet. At first we thought this obsession would go away, but we soon realized it was here to stay. She talked about getting a guinea pig non-stop. When Lilly gets an idea in her head, she is like a dog with a bone — she can’t let it drop! Lilly planned to buy the guinea pig with her own money and even started calculating how much she would need for the guinea pig and supplies. We had a conversation with her about how she would need to show us that she could be responsible for taking care of a pet. Over the course of the next month or so we tried to work with her on responsibility issues such as cleaning up after herself, helping with chores, etc. She worked really hard to prove to us she could take care of a pet guinea pig. For her birthday in March we bought her a guinea pig cage and later that week we went to the pet store and she bought the guinea pig with her own money. She named her guinea pig Ella!
We are 3 weeks into guinea pig ownership so far, and I must say things are going well. Lilly picked a sweet little guinea pig with a friendly personality. The first few times we got Ella out to play, Lilly was a little nervous because Ella’s claws are a bit sharp. She has really impressed me with her persistence in learning to be comfortable with Ella. Now she takes Ella out to play every day on her own and does a very good job of handling her gently. When it comes to cage cleaning, Lilly has jumped in and tried to do as much as she can herself with no complaints. I know we are still in the early days, but I have been impressed so far with her level of responsibility for Ella.
I personally am growing quite fond of Ella. She is quite soft and cuddly. I didn’t know much about guinea pigs before we took on this adventure, but the more I learn about them, the more I like them! Guinea pigs are social creatures and like human interaction. Sometimes when we are holding Ella she makes a purring sound to show she is happy. Guinea pigs need fresh fruit and vegetables to eat such as carrots and apples. I think it is really neat to have a pet that actually eats produce and not just food off of a pet store shelf. Guinea pigs make lots of unusual noises. Sometimes Ella makes this “wheek” sound which indicates that she wants more carrots or apples! I must admit that I was surprised that a rodent can communicate with people so well! Ella will also eat right out of our hand. In some ways Ella is like a small house cat. Lilly will even sit on the couch with Ella in her lap while she watches a show. When we put Ella on the ground, she doesn’t try to dash away, she just starts to explore. We are very careful when we set her on the ground to make sure she doesn’t go too far away, but I was surprised that she would stay with us and not make a run for it! (This may be gross, but here goes: since her little poops are hard, it is easy to clean up! Plus often she makes it the whole time out of her cage without pooping at all. Other times she seems to be in a “pooping mood” so we just put her back in the cage for a bit.) Here is a cute video of Ella walking about, eating, and making cute sounds!
We are still learning a lot about guinea pigs, but I must say I’m glad we decided to let Lilly get a pet guinea pig. When Holden came for a visit he kept calling her Guinea the Pig! Hence the name of my post! It was so cute to hear him say Guinea the pig over and over! Let me know if you have a guinea pit of your own, and any tips or advice you might have for us!
