I have never had pets before,coz there were not many options.I never wanted sharp-toothed,noisy pets coz I love my calm and quite.Dogs though faithful and dearly attached,gnaw furniture plus you have to train them etc etc..cats cute and high maintainance.I have always loved animals and birds but mostly prefered them at zoos coz of this main reason.I wanted something cute and cuddly and low maintainance and silent.I cant help but hopelessly adore guinea pigs.I did my bit of research before wanting to have pets.After thinking about hamsters,sheeps,squirrels,fishes,doves,ducks;I settled for guinea pigs.I prefer herbivores,coz i’m a dedicated veggie.
They are so damn cute.They take their own sweet time to trust you and then they are so affectionate.The weeking noise they make is never noisy enough to disturb you.They do that only when they need food.Basicly they make different kind of sounds only with a purpose.They love pigging on food,thats probably the reason these rodents are called pigs.They love eating all day,its their idea of fun and adorable activity.They donot know how to play with various toys.They will either stare at them or get scared and run away.They love to run and stroll and lick almost anything and everything they come across.Curious pets,a sudden big noise can startle them.I had to give them some blankets to burrow in during the time of diwali.They love burrowing.If they see some fabric or garment or even carpet,furniture, they will always go under it and hide.They enjoy doing it,its like their little type of zen meditation.
I’m so attached to them,they will never pee or poop on you.If they need to attend this duty,they will shake their butts or show some kind of restlessness.I leave them for a little while to do their business and then again pick them.They watch movies,read books with me quietly with avid curiosity.They look cutest when they yawn.They are very sensitive to your feelings.Like dogs they too are fine-tuned to your moods and emotions.If they see me doing some work,they week only once or twice and then sit quietly till they are served their food.
They have the most obedient children.I have seen my piggies little ones blindly follow whatever their adults do and eat and they do it so religiously,it makes you laugh.Any new fruit,edible must be first tested by the adult guinea pig before the little ones attempt to eat it.They always wait for their elder clan to inagurate the item before they can use.These lovely species,though they are foodies,they are never careless eaters.They know whats good for them and they eat only that.If you offer something else,they will only sniff it and go away and not even touch or go near that item as long as it lays there.Such careful,health conscious piggies they are.Theres so much to learn from them.The most well-behaved cultured pet species i have ever come across.I know i will have them for a lifetime.They are no trouble at all.They will never bit you,even if they do it,its only because they are scared,blisfully unaware of aggression towards us.Sweet tempered,lovey-dovey,authentic cuteness.
Because they have very tiny hands and super cute fingers,they cannot get violent with hands,they fight trying to hit each others mouth if the other piggie does something to piss him/her off like wake them up from sleep or accidently scratch or stamp them.Even when they fight,which is very very rare and lasts only for a couple of seconds;You just have to put a towel on fighting piggies,its enough to confuse them and silence them.They usually dont do it in front of human beings also they feel shy to drink water in front of anyone.They do it stealthly when no one is looking or in the night when its dark.I dont know why but its weird and a funny trait they have.
They do enjoy good music,esp when they get used to it,they can listen for hours without feeling scared or uncomfortable by increase in volume or change of tunes.You can easily figure out the female guinea pig just by her behaviour.Initially I thought they were both males.But only one of them started chasing the other.However the female piggie that I have has a very feminie body language,they way she sits or shows genuine interest and observes me when i’m doing house chores or watching tele.The male piggie i have is indifferent to all these things,will never bother to watch tele to take interest in the surroundings.Most of his interests are directed only towards food and female species.This is so typical,didnt expect it in guinea pigs too.Looks like all male genders are alike in all species.
They are neatness freaks of sorts.They will clean their mouth and keep cleaning themselves esp after they’re done eating or scratching or any activity.They will never share food.They are like Joey tribiani when it comes to food.The funniest part is their jumping time.When they are happy they jump on all their 4 feet ,it looks like they are having seizure but they are actually happy.They roll their heads,jump and run keep making continuous chatty noise like they are talking.When the male wants to attract his female,he rumble struts, i.e,he literally dances around her to get her attention.
They are neither smelly,nor messy or noisey.Occassionally I give them baths which they seem to enjoy and cooperate without trying to run or jump.They do get jealous when they see me petting the other one,they start grinding their teeth,you can hear it,its amusing.They make such ideal pets even if you are busy whole day.I leave them in lot of grass and some carrots and cucumber they can keep eating whole day.Its cheap,low maintainance.If you talk to them they will look at your face and pay attention to what you are saying as if trying to figure out.I can go on and all.They are so well-behaved,you dont have to train them for anything.I decided to call them Chumbi and Dumbi and their little ones itti,bitti,titti committee.Naming pets is something i didnt like doing coz i keep calling them with various names.’Tinglie’ is esp a common variety of name that i call all small creatures.They are sensitive and you have to take good care of them.All you have to do is handle them sweetly and gently and they will give you lots of love and attention.I never liked anything cute and sweet before but these sweetpeas are my exceptions,their cuteness and innocence is 100% genuine and heartfelt.They my special darlings and always will be.
Here’s my first video of my Chumbi and Dumbi that I shot for youtube, when i bought them home,enjoy!
Cracker-barrel philosophy - Vaishali Adwant 