Shout About Pets

As pets, guinea pigs are… okay. They’re not going to do a lot, but if guinea pigs are your thing, go ahead, knock yourself out.

If guinea pigs are REALLY your thing, how about getting a capybara? It’s basically a guinea pig built to the wrong scale.

They have slightly webbed feet, no tail and just sort of skulk around. They’re big though. They can be eight or nine stones in weight. Fat buggers.

It’s hard to look at a capybara without thinking that it looks like some other animal, only rounded in some way – shorter legs, rounder body, stubby snout.

I know many people will disagree with me, but I think that guinea pigs are the most friendly, lovable and easy to maintain pets you can choose. My family and I have had a number of guinea pigs in the past, and here’s why we love them:

• Cuteness – Guinea pigs have a perpetually smiling mouth, round bottoms and just the right amount of cuddly fatness, not to mention the adorable chirrup/squeak they make when excited

• Looking after them – Apart from cleaning out old bedding once or twice a week like you would with other pets, guinea pigs are really easy to look after. They do pee a lot, but this can easily be managed by carrying them in a dedicated blanket or box. They will also eat all of your food scraps, including peelings you would normally chuck in the bin.

• Entertainment – The fact that guinea pigs aren’t as active or intelligent as often exhausting pets such as dogs actually works in their favour. Unlike hamsters, they will comfort you by sitting still, but the ‘tippy-toes’ way they run about is adorable every time.

There’s so much more to say about how great guinea pigs are, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

If you’re looking for a guinea pig then begin your search at a rescue centre rather than a pet store.  There are many litters of guinea pigs abandoned each year although you may not instantly associate rescue centres with this type of pet.  Your local centre will have plenty of guineas for you to view and as with most creatures no doubt you’ll be charmed by the little babies in the litter.  But take time to consider an older guinea pig before automatically choosing a baby.  There are advantages.

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