Pet Guinea Pigs & Doggie Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Farewell to the Guinea Pigs

2006-09-03T17:42:00.000+08:00

Finally a kind English family has adopted "Fluffy" and "Baby". I believe the two guinea pigs will have a happy new beginning again while still being together with each other. We got them weeks supply of their favorite staple food so that they & the family can make an easy transition without too much stress :-)

They will be missed but this blog and photos will continue to bring back happy memories of "Fluffy" & "Baby".

Pet Adoption (Guinea Pigs Adoption)

2006-08-15T08:00:00.000+08:00

Our 2 guinea pigs are ready for adoption (whenever we can find a good family who wants to have them as pets). There is no hurry - we hope that who ever adopts them meet our criteria:

No cats & dogs in the household (dogs can be dangerous to rodents - Idon't even trust my own doggie to be around them -- she tends to be over enthusiastic!).
Very small kids who may mishandle them (falls can be fatal for the GP, and when tripped on or sat upon, these GPs will have little chance of 'making it alive'.
Time for the GPs -- they need to be played with, stroke, fed, bathed, and their areas kept clean.
A safe place - open garden may be good when there is supervision but certainly not advisable when left out without shelter (they can escape and become prey to birds).
Both Fluffy and Baby must be adopted together and not be separated because they are a bonded pair.

If you happen to read this blog and live in Hong Kong or know of someone who is looking to have guinea pigs as pets, please contact us (also view the ads here). Our last resort would be to leave them with the SPCA (HK) for adoption when the time comes but of course we prefer to screen the adoptees personally.

The Last Few Months

2006-08-14T16:47:00.000+08:00

It had been a very hectic 3 months with lots of changes. Fluffy and Baby are now 16 & 15 months old respectively and still growing from strength to strength. They both are growing especially well now because they are "no longer scratching themselves".

2 months ago I noticed Fluffy scratching quite a bit and decided to send both to the SPCA vet. They were both given injections for mites infestations (only suspected) and they had gone for 2 visits in all (costing $400 +) for their medical treatments. I now bathe them in tea tree oil formulation (supposed to be good for anti-bacterial / anti-fungal protection). I believe these 2 GPs are now very happy because they are pop-corning more than before (I thought only the little ones do that).

Fluffy has his haircut twice -- it was "Floor-length" and very glossy, but it was hard to keep him clean when he's having such long hair! But his hair grows so fast that it will be long again in no time. We are getting them as much goodies as we can now -- it might be the last few months we can indulge them with the best. As we will be leaving HK in a few months time and will be travelling extensively, taking care of them will no longer be feasible and we will be putting them up for adoption to a good home. It is so sad but I believe they will bring much joy to another family just as they had brought to us the past year.

"Charlie" the puppy is jealous of "Baby" the younger Guinea Pig

2006-05-13T19:48:00.000+08:00

Learn more about Charlie in her own personal doggie BLOG. Charlie is an interesting character and very intelligent. We are still learning more about her as she is learning more about us :-). She is fast becoming a "trilingual doggie". Since she comes from Australia, we thought it would be good to start off speaking English with her -- but now we speak Mandarin and Cantonese with her too!

Charlie understands what is being said and can communicate with us through eye expressions and different barks. Charlie's pet peeves are ear cleaning and 'Baby' being carried by Mui. Charlie gets jealous easily. She does not play with Baby - she likes Fluffy very much. We have never carried Fluffy because he is an extremely fidgety GP and tries to escape from us whenever we carry him. Baby is always calm, less furry and very tame - thus he gets carried more often.

Fluffy has a new Friend

2006-05-12T21:19:00.000+08:00

It seems like ages since I have written about Fluffy and Baby. Work, endless studying, family, and a new puppy ... has taken so much of my time that taking care of these 2 pet GPs is now a family affair. Mui is supposed to change their water everyday and Mark feeds them. Mui plays with 'Baby' many times a day - and that makes Charlie very jealous!

Charlie is our new puppy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She has taken great interest in the guinea pigs and seemed to want to play with them -- but we were not taking any chances. The GPs are very well protected in a cage. Only either Charlie can be out of the cage or the GPs, never both together. Charlie pounces and grabs things that move and shakes them vigorously. We do not trust her with our precious GPs.

Fluffy and Charlie seems to like each other very much. Fluffy comes to the side of the cage and popcorned when he sees Charlie and Charlie likes to "sniff" Fluffy's nose through the cage while doing a puppy bow (meaning she wants to play). It's quite a sight. But yes, Fluffy also pounces on the cage (trying to startle the pigs and make them run).

Sleepy Pigs

2006-01-18T07:38:00.000+08:00

Guinea pigs sleep with their eyes open most of the time. Last evening, I caught this rare sight of Fluffy and Baby sleeping next to each other with eyes wide open! Baby also twitches his ears when he's asleep. Usually, one would be eating while the other sleeps.

Most of the time, they would sleep on different ends of the cage - but I guess they might be feeling a little cold - so they huddle for warmth. When the room temperature is above 17 degrees, we turn off the heater, otherwise, the heater is on 24 hours of the day for their sake.

Guinea Pig's Food

2006-01-09T22:38:00.000+08:00

What do Baby and Fluffy eat everyday? Timothy Hay is their staple food and we feed them with several other varieties of healthy titbits. It is interesting to see that each of the guinea pigs has its own preference - Baby likes to eat the flower part of the hay while Fluffy enjoys the softer blades.

As for the other titbits, each picks and chooses its own favorite! I enjoy shopping for their food and catering to their needs. I tried feeding them a variety of goodies so that they get the best nutrient. But despite all the good food (plus all the fresh fruits and veggies that they get during floortime), both piggies still tear and eat up newspaper which I laid out on the floor during their playtime. Baby will go on to create tunnels below the newspaper - and occassionally peeps out to survey its surrounding.

Fluffy isn't interested in this kind of game - he would rather sit in the wet corner - his toilet area.

Haircutting Tools I used for my long-haired Guinea Pig

2006-01-08T22:37:00.000+08:00

These are two different views of the haircutting tool which I paid quite a lot for. It consists of a changeable "foot" which could be affixed to have hair cut to a certain length. In the picture here, I've chosen to trim Fluffy's hair shortest,
9 mm. This shaver can be recharged, so that it's wireless and flexible.

Fluffy's Haircut again

2006-01-08T19:03:00.000+08:00

This is how Fluffy looks like after another haircut - in fact, fur shave. I only shaved his head and his back, leaving his sides intact. We think he looks more like a kitten now.

Guinea Pig hairdressing is very fun but messy. Those very fine hair sticks every where and is quite hard to get rid of. The first time I gave him a haircut, I started having a bad runny nose and tearful itchy eyes for a couple of hours after that.

Now I use surgical masks so that his fur and dust would not get into my nose.

Fluffy's Fur-trimming

2006-01-02T16:14:00.000+08:00

Fluffy has the most beautiful, thick and luxurious golden fur any GP could have and I wondered if Baby was ever jealous of that. Baby loves to pluck out Fluffy's fur and that causes Fluffy some distress. He ate Fluffy's fur like hay and Fluffy's long fur was present in Baby's droppings!

Finally, we think perhaps it's better to give Fluffy a good hair trim - in fact we trimmed it often, at least twice a month or else we could hardly see his eyes. But his fur grew so quickly and became long again in no time.

Two weeks ago, I purchased a professional electrical hair-trimmer (cost HK$450) so that I can give Fluffy a good trim. It was an excellent decision. Now I no longer hear Fluffy "squeak" in distress because Baby wasn't pulling out his hair anymore. This picture shows Fluffy with is new "hair-style". Funnily too, they do not fight anymore after Fluffy's haircut.

Baby is everybody's favorite guinea pig

2006-01-02T10:14:00.000+08:00

Not that the animal is exceptionally good looking or terrifically adorable, but "Baby" is an amazingly intelligent guinea pig who wants attention all the time. He eats hay, veggies and lots of nutitional titbits but never ceases to be satisfied - he's getting chubbier.

When we are vacuuming the house, his "wheeks" for food and attention usually gets louder than usual and is piercing. It was like Chinese flute whose sound could be heard far away. To reach that sort of decibel, Baby uses his whole body as a sound box -- a lot of effort.

Now he even recognises our footsteps and "wheeks". When he hears Mom walking, he will beg for food. We love him so much!

Finally, some time to write about my 2 GPs again

2005-12-09T07:22:00.000+08:00

Incessant training, work, studying and other commitments had taken away so much time and energy from my writing. But Baby and Fluffy had continued to grow from strength to strength. While Fluffy used to be the dominant male and was about twice the size of Baby, they are now the same size and display even more interesting personalities.

Do guinea pig's personality change? I believe so. I play them classical music everyday - and yes, they listen attentively when music is being played. They seemed to enjoy Mozart's music and would appear most relaxed and happy.

Would stimulation make guinea pigs become more intelligent? Perhaps. I think both Fluffy and Baby are more like dogs than GPs. They each know their names and would come when called. When I called "Fluffy", Fluffy would stop doing whatever he's doing and come to the side of the cage. It's the same with Baby -- they are incredibly intelligent for a guinea pig!

Now, whenever I got home, both the piggies would come to the side of the cage and greet me with standing ovation and loud 'wheeks'. They behave just like doggies!

It's winter now and the climate seemed a bit too cold the past week - but our house heater is on 24 hours just because of Fluffy and Baby.

Mui Mui with Baby

2005-10-13T06:04:00.000+08:00

Mui Mui loves to carry Baby and play with it out of the cage. Baby loves to be carried. It seems that the more we carry him, the tamer he gets and the more he interacts with us.

When we have little time to play with the two guinea pigs, they get very bored and will start shifting their bowls all around the cage. They will arrange their feeding bowls around the center of the cage and play catch with each other.

Fluffy and Baby loves new things, especially paperbags where they can burrow in and hide. They can play with those for hours.

My Guinea Pigs are becoming more intelligent ...or perhaps bored!

2005-10-07T22:12:00.000+08:00

It had been a rather long time since I can find the time to write. Working a 14 hour day in a new and demanding job is just too much but Fluffy and Baby keep me sane. I loved them so much and missed them at work.

Baby has become more intelligent at begging for treats. I cleaned the cage out every evening and filled a hay rack with grass, 3 bowls with pellets and treats, and a drinking station up with water. But Baby squeaks every time we open the refrigerator door and every time we eat fruits. He also moved the heavy ceramic bowls out of the corner around the cage and arranged them in a shape of a room where he would rest in. I wonder how he did that - but once he was able to do it, he remembered it all the time. He arranges the "furniture" in his cage ...sigh. I kept thinking that he's more like a rat or dog than a guinea pig.

New trick!

2005-08-18T21:51:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-18T21:38:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-13T16:34:00.000+08:00

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!

2005-08-13T16:16:00.000+08:00

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!

2005-08-09T09:59:00.000+08:00

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!

2005-08-08T20:44:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-07T09:24:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-06T15:45:00.000+08:00

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

2005-08-05T22:15:00.000+08:00

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!!

Meal time for Fluffy and Baby

2005-07-30T22:52:00.000+08:00

Fluffy and Baby eat various kinds of plant food. We are very surprised to find out how much these two creatures can eat! We provide the piggies with lots of Timothy grass and Alfafa twice a day but all would be eaten by evening and morning.

During floor-time, they get a tray of greens (water spinach, long beans, broccolli, and cucumber). They also love baby corns, carrots, lettuce, apple, grapes, kale, caulifower and bread! Besides grass and fresh food, they also enjoy Forti-Diet Guinea Pigs' pellet. We also feed them some commercially mixed feed for guinea pigs but some items were usually left uneaten. They would not eat sunflower seeds, for example.

Unlike some people who tend to keep the best until the end, Fluffy and Baby choose their favorites and eat those first. For example, they would finish the green leafy vegetables first (but would not eat the stalk), then the long beans ...etc. Both Baby and Fluffy have very good sense of hearing and smell. They could even "predict" when their meals are on the way when they hear a certain chain of events happening (creaking of door -> opening of refrigerator -> closing of refrigerator -> sound of water). Both the animals would get excited and "popcorn" around the cage. They would also stand on their hind legs and squeak loudly until we deliver their foods! What an endearing sight.

Sleeping with eyes open!

2005-07-28T21:12:00.000+08:00

Most of the time, guinea pigs sleep with eyes wide open. The picture here shows Baby sound asleep with eyes open. One of his ears twitches occasionally and sometimes he munches in his sleep. We are not sure if he was dreaming. Do guinea pigs dream anyway?

Ever since our guinea pigs became rounder and heavier, they sleep less and less on all fours. When Baby sleeps, he looks like a white and long sausage. He usually nods his head until he rolls on his side.