Big Paws & Little Claws

Squeak, squeak

Meet Scrappy (left) and Rocky (right). Both delightfully fluffy abyssinian breeds of guinea pig, and arguably the cutest! As I mentioned I have always had pet guinea pigs, so when Oxo died at the grand old age of seven, we knew immediately that the house was empty without the smell of sawdust and cheeky squeaks whenever the fridge opened!

Advertised in The Chronicle was http://www.northeastguineapigrescue.co.uk/contact/, which is an entirely self-run shelter by a lady named Layla. Luckily she lives just round the corner from us, so organised an appointment to go pick some new babies! Naturally once there I found it impossible to choose, each little piggy had its own heartbreaking story. Scrappy and his brother Bumblebee were tiny babies when given to Layla so luckily didn't do too badly, but poor Rocky on the other hand is a different story.

Rocky's age is unknown, but he was rescued with a large number of both male and female guinea pigs who were foolishly placed all in the same cage, and so while the female was fought over, Rocky wasn't so tough. His tiny ears have been bitten beyond recognition by the other male guineapigs, fighting for dominance and has left Rocky deaf.

It's been over two years since we adopted them, and while Scrappy has thrived in this loving environment, he is still very timid compared to every other guineapig I have owned. Rocky however is extremely cautious and timid. We bought a big igloo to fit inside their cage - which I'd highly recommend - and he peeks his nose out at dinner times, but other than that you rarely see him outside of it. 

My mum has been very creative and made them an outside play area (as you can see in the photo). Since we don't have a garden she buys a small patch of grass for less than a fiver from B&Q, surrounded it with a tiny picket fence and bought an outside cage which the boys can hop in and out whenever they please. We bring the cage inside for winter and secure the back room so they still get plenty of exercise. 

Scrappy and Rocky's likes: lettuce and cucumber! Sunny days to play out, their mum growing vegetables so they can climb in the plant pots and help themselves, Wagg dry food (they won't touch anything else!!)

Scrappy and Rocky's dislikes: loud noises, people putting their hands into their igloo, Ollie trying to paw them (we're working on trying to get Ollie to accept the guineapigs, Miffy has never had a problem with them)