New trick!

We have seen baby guinea pigs lying on their backs when they sleep but we have never seen it happen to ours.

One day, I was carrying Baby when I decided to see how he would react if I let him rest on his back. It was such an endearing sight ... he just lay on his back without moving! He seemed to enjoy the position.

He loved it even more when we rested him on this silk cushion. How cute! When he wanted to rest no longer, he simply did a "sit-up" and then rolled over.

Our Guinea Pigs Love Fresh Veggies

Fluffy and Baby love fresh veggies very much. They eat a tray of these different veggies every morning during floortime. Their favorites are water spinach, baby corn, followed by long beans and cucumber. Despite having so much food, we sometimes see them fight over a leaf or a morsel! They always finish everything on the tray.

Our piggies usually wait in anticipation in the cage and squeak out loudly while we were preparing their "buffet". They will squeak when they want food. Baby squeaks the loudest and they both popcorn when delighted. We like giving them treats!

Baby Is Not A Confident Swimmer

It was Baby's second swimming session. Baby was not confident in water, unlike Fluffy. Baby still panicked in water although he could float in water very well. He would swim to the sides and try to get out no matter how I tried to help him by supporting him. The moment he left my hands, he would quickly swim to the sides and try to get out.

I wonder how he would react if he sees Fluffy in water. I wonder if that would give him more confidence.

Good Swimmer!

This is Fluffy's second swimming session and how he loved it! This time, the bathtub was filled to 3/4 full. Fluffy relaxingly glided around the tub to and fro, seemingly enjoying his swim. He wasn't at all bothered when I was photographing him and kept on going around the tub. After about 5 minutes, Fluffy's fur, including his mane, became soaked and he seemed heavier and that was when he swam to the sides. I allowed him to rest on my arms while supporting him above water - but since he did not choose to go in the water again, I thought it was time to take him out. He might be able to swim longer with more practice I think.

Our guinea pigs CAN swim!

Baby can swim and so can Fluffy!

The picture on the right shows Fluffy negotiating a bend around our bathtub. After finding out that he could actually float in water without support, we filled up our bathtub with about 8 inches of water and lowered Fluffy in. He was a very calm and natural swimmer even though that was his first time to swim without any help. He seemed to love the experience. See how he kept his head and nose above water level.

Baby could also swim but he was a bit panicky and tend to always head for the sides. So his swimming session today was very brief.

Baby, the "destructive" guinea pig!

Well, I thought the design of the hay rack was a success until today. This afternoon, I heard some unusual noise coming from the cage. It sounded like something was ripped apart. When I saw the cage, I was quite speechless. Baby had, for the 3rd time, proved that my hay rack design was not perfect! He managed to pluck the hay rack out of its support, pushed it out, and mage a "tent" out of it. Now I have to think of how to secure the hay rack in such a way so that Baby would not be able to remove it. Our Baby is truly an intelligent guinea pig - he even nearly escaped from his enclosure during floor-time in the kitchen!

Designed a new Hay Rack

Commercially available hay racks are not suitable for our pet's cage. They aesthetically poor and functionally not as good. So I designed one that will serve both purposes well. In fact, this is the third try.

My first design was faulty and Baby was stuck in the rack trying to get in. My second design was worse and Baby found a way to get in and again was stuck! This one seems to work well since it has been there for two days and no incident yet.

This hay rack was constructed out of chloroplast and from the door of their old cage. If it continues to work well, it'll be the prototype for a more permanent one I'm thinking of customizing with more durable materials.

Haircut, Bathtime and Swimming

Both Fluffy and Baby had a wet bath this morning. I read that guinea pigs could swim but not sure if they really could. So during bathtime, I filled the basin full to the brim with lukewarm water and lowered Fluffy while still supporting him with my arms. Hey presto! Fluffy paddled with all fours! I tried it with Baby, he floated, kept his head above water level and swam!! Next time, I should try letting both Fluffy and Baby swim together in our bathtub.

Fluffy's mane and hair was getting too long again, so I did some minor trimming for him today. He was good and stayed quite still but some times shook himself to get rid of the hair like he did to dry himself after a wet bath.

Grooming guinea pigs

Fluffy and Baby have their grooming sessions daily, usually after floor-time. We trim their nails once a week, taking great care not to cut the "quick" which contains the blood vessels. Baby is short-haired and requires little maintenance but the first time I combed his fur, a lot of loose hair came off! Guinea pigs also groom themselves regularly but at times they messed up and only a bath will take away the smell.

Fluffy and Baby take a wet bath (water and shampoo) once a week and more often when they "smell". They also take a dry bath (with a powdered shampoo) about twice a week. Both Baby and Fluffy are very co-operative during bathtime. They have allowed me to shampoo them thoroughly and then dry them briskly with a towel without any fuss. Wet shampoo makes them smell good but I'm afraid to use it on them too often because bathing them too often dries up the natural oils on their skin and causing them to itch and scratch. The dry bath is good but also acts as a bleach! Baby seems whiter and brighter after the dry bath. Fluffy's brown fur looks much lighter too after the dry shampoo!

Keeping the guinea pigs clean is important for their health, our health and comfort. That is also one main reason why I find it so hard to let them burrow into the beddings and would never consider an arrangement where the guinea pigs would have the chance to roll on, run and sleep with their droppings!!