Post by renonvsparky on Feb 3, 2021 20:28:44 GMT -6
I thought it was about time I started a thread to share these very sweet boys with you; my fellow Guinea Pig lovers. Their story has just begun, but it has been very interesting thus far. I was not planning on having more than the 4 guinea pigs I already had, but COVID changed that. The humane society was so desperate to find homes for all of the animals they had because they had to cut down on staff significantly in order to comply with contact protocols. To accomplish this, they had waived all fees and got very lax with the vetting process. We are all aware of how bad "free to a good home" is for any pet, but especially little ones like guinea pigs.
When I adopted Sammy, Dean and BJ, I had to list every pet in the home as well as every child and their ages. I've even been there when they denied adoptions because of other pets or small children. This wasn't the case when I adopted Gilligan, Skipper and Oreo (I'm starting Oreo's thread after this one). They couldn't get them out the door fast enough. Anyway, now sit right back and hear the tale of their trip through life.
They started out as girls named Ginger and Wasabe. No, it wasn't gender reassignment. It was a simple case of being missexed. I was never planning on adopting female guinea pigs because I had 4 boys and I didn't want to tempt fate, but they are so precious that I didn't want them to fall victim to the "free to a good home" curse. I had a good plan to keep them separate from the boys and a good backup plan; if it proved to be too difficult to keep them apart. I would give them to my sister; who loves guinea pigs and is very good with them like I am.
So I brought them home along with Oreo and renamed Wasabi to Maryanne to give them a Gilligan's Island theme. On their initial checkup with the vet, it was discovered that they were missexed. Luck would have it that they were both boys and not one of each, which happens often when guinea pigs are missexed. Another rename was in order and since Gilligan's Island is the theme, they became Gilligan and Skipper.
They were listed as being a year old, but Gilligan was probably younger than that. He had that look like a pup whose neck had not filled out yet and he was pretty small for that age. I guessed about 8-9 months and the vet agreed. Gillian is pretty lively. He has this little squeak when I hold him that just melts my heart. It has a real calming effect. That's in direct contrast to his wheak. He's the smallest of the bunch, but he's got the loudest wheak. It carries through the whole house; even though closed doors. And he's so soft and loveable.
Skipper is a little bigger, but still smaller than the others. He's a mix of long and short hair. He has long hair on one spot at the the back of his head and his long hair hangs from his hind end. He doesn't like to be picked up, but once I get him, he doesn't mind being held. I'm working with him on that and he's made improvement. He's yet another unique guinea pig in my herd.
Gillian and Skipper love to play. They chase each other around, popcorn a lot and play together in the tunnel. It's very cute to watch. Skipper goes into the tunnel and Gilligan goes back and forth between the two ends to find him. When Gilligan finds him, he goes to the other end. Back and forth they go until they get bored with it and move on to other play activities. They always lay together too. They love being next to Oreo. The three of them interact through their cages a lot.
There is a string of apple sticks in between the cages that all three of them can get to. They play tug of war with them all the time and all three of them get in on it. I gave Gilligan and Skipper each one of those timothy hay lollipops a few days ago. They chewed them down pretty good. I was concerned when I found the top of one of the lollipops in their hay pile and no stick. That was until I did Oreo's bedding change and found the stick in his. It seems that one of them chewed the stick off and decided that Oreo needed it. I still laugh every time I think about that. It's a little crowded in the guinea pig room, but it's a happy place, filled with guinea pig love and happiness, made better by these two precious clowns.
When I adopted Sammy, Dean and BJ, I had to list every pet in the home as well as every child and their ages. I've even been there when they denied adoptions because of other pets or small children. This wasn't the case when I adopted Gilligan, Skipper and Oreo (I'm starting Oreo's thread after this one). They couldn't get them out the door fast enough. Anyway, now sit right back and hear the tale of their trip through life.
They started out as girls named Ginger and Wasabe. No, it wasn't gender reassignment. It was a simple case of being missexed. I was never planning on adopting female guinea pigs because I had 4 boys and I didn't want to tempt fate, but they are so precious that I didn't want them to fall victim to the "free to a good home" curse. I had a good plan to keep them separate from the boys and a good backup plan; if it proved to be too difficult to keep them apart. I would give them to my sister; who loves guinea pigs and is very good with them like I am.
So I brought them home along with Oreo and renamed Wasabi to Maryanne to give them a Gilligan's Island theme. On their initial checkup with the vet, it was discovered that they were missexed. Luck would have it that they were both boys and not one of each, which happens often when guinea pigs are missexed. Another rename was in order and since Gilligan's Island is the theme, they became Gilligan and Skipper.
They were listed as being a year old, but Gilligan was probably younger than that. He had that look like a pup whose neck had not filled out yet and he was pretty small for that age. I guessed about 8-9 months and the vet agreed. Gillian is pretty lively. He has this little squeak when I hold him that just melts my heart. It has a real calming effect. That's in direct contrast to his wheak. He's the smallest of the bunch, but he's got the loudest wheak. It carries through the whole house; even though closed doors. And he's so soft and loveable.
Skipper is a little bigger, but still smaller than the others. He's a mix of long and short hair. He has long hair on one spot at the the back of his head and his long hair hangs from his hind end. He doesn't like to be picked up, but once I get him, he doesn't mind being held. I'm working with him on that and he's made improvement. He's yet another unique guinea pig in my herd.
Gillian and Skipper love to play. They chase each other around, popcorn a lot and play together in the tunnel. It's very cute to watch. Skipper goes into the tunnel and Gilligan goes back and forth between the two ends to find him. When Gilligan finds him, he goes to the other end. Back and forth they go until they get bored with it and move on to other play activities. They always lay together too. They love being next to Oreo. The three of them interact through their cages a lot.
There is a string of apple sticks in between the cages that all three of them can get to. They play tug of war with them all the time and all three of them get in on it. I gave Gilligan and Skipper each one of those timothy hay lollipops a few days ago. They chewed them down pretty good. I was concerned when I found the top of one of the lollipops in their hay pile and no stick. That was until I did Oreo's bedding change and found the stick in his. It seems that one of them chewed the stick off and decided that Oreo needed it. I still laugh every time I think about that. It's a little crowded in the guinea pig room, but it's a happy place, filled with guinea pig love and happiness, made better by these two precious clowns.
They look like cuddly teddy bears! 
