Fightin' Over The Carrot Stick

Fighting over a carrot stick probably isn't too uncommon amongst guinea pigs, but in this instance we thought it was a pretty big deal. 

Julia the sometimes-bully acting innocent

As described in earlier posts, out of these two guineas, Julia (the white one) tends to be the dominant of the two - probably because she's a bit older and arrived first into our household.  Sometimes Charlotte lives a dog life being bullied and getting her ears nipped by Julia like she does, but the two work through their issues and often snuggle pretty close to one another for their afternoon naps. 

With this relationship the way it is, sometimes you see Charlotte go up to the food area when new kale or spinach is thrown in and waits for Julia to start eating before she does.  Sometimes she does this, but not always.  Her favorite are the mini carrot sticks, though, so when she sees those, it's not uncommon for her to sit really still for about ten seconds eyeballing the carrot stick she wants.  Guineas seem to think they can't be seen if they stay really, really still, but funny enough Julia knows the same tricks and never falls for it.  Once Charlotte thinks she is completely invisible, though, she grabs her carrot stick and hauls that little guinea pig butt to her hut and starts chowing down. 

Charlotte being innocent

In the video we see Charlotte in her hut, but Julia is in there, too - she followed Charlotte in this time and tried to commandeer the carrot stick.  Julia is sitting there with that stick in front of her, but this time Charlotte isn't going to take it and as my daughter said - she stands up for herself this time.  A little struggle ensues. 

Click the video link below to check it out.

'Brexit' Guinea Pigs

There was a whole lot of drama over the past couple of weeks with the 'Brexit' vote going through across the pond where the Brits voted to leave the European Union.  Having been born over there, Charlotte and Julia took a particular attention to the event and had themselves quite the day when they went to vote.  Click the video below to see what these two got up to in England for the day.

The Guineas' New Home In The USA

After the trip that brought Charlotte and Julia to the USA, the guineas were quick to set up shop.  With a whole upper loft to themselves (spoiled), the guineas roam, explore and take naps in their huts.  They've also commandeered a spot under the printer table as theirs.  Of course all wires are out of reach (instead of baby-proofing, we had to guinea-proof) and there's no dangerous obstacles that messes with their safety. 

Most of the time the guineas each like their own privacy, but when Julia (the white one) behaves herself and doesn't bully Charlotte, they hang out well together, even taking some cute naps together.

If you click on the link below, you'll get a nice introductory video to the guineas living the good guinea life - eating, running playing and hiding.  No videos of them eating their own poop, a guinea pig quality you've gotta over quick.  Must be nice walking through life thinking you have a bread oven attached to your rear end.

Check back for more, as we'll keep an eye on the spoiled life of Charlotte and Julia.  This'll be for the kids, too, a modern day 'scrapbook' to lives of their guineas.

Guineas As Pets - Who Would Have Thought

There's no point in our lives where we thought we'd have guinea pigs as pets, but when our son asked for them a couple of Christmases ago, how could we say no? 

Julia and Charlotte joined our family that Christmas, but got left behind when we made the cross-Atlantic move from England to the United States.  They followed on a couple of months later when they flew United Cargo to the USA in fine style.  They were a little bit cold when they arrived, even though that had a six hour layover at JFK, but were happy to be reunited with the family. 

This trip made them about the most expensive guinea pigs ever, but the smile they put on the kids' faces when they came home was well worth it.  Now they're living the spoiled life, with a whole loft to themselves and a solid diet of kale, spinach, basil, peppers and their favorite - coriander.  Of course with hay and nuggets always available.

The personalities in these guineas was quite surprising.  Who would have thought that these little rodents could demonstrate so much personality.  Julia is the trouble-making dominant guinea of the twosome and doesn't like to cuddle much - always wanting to be on the go, but Charlotte like to curl up in my daughter's lap and get stroked on the head.

As my daughter says, guinea pigs are very under-rated pets.  Pretty low maintenance and highly entertaining.  These guineas have travelled the world, so we'll follow some of their spoiled life.

This is the cage (left) the guineas lived in in the United Kingdom, with the travel box located to the side of it - ready to transport these two to the United States.



The picture on the right is the travel box ready to make that transatlantic trip and bring the guineas to their new home.


The trip was a long one, about 18 hours in total, followed by a two hour car ride, but these guineas have lived nothing but the good life since.

More adventures to follow. 

Below: A happy daughter with the guineas.