Take Two

After the debacle that was Christmas of 2010, we decided to let the girls decide how they wanted to handle replacing their Guinea Pigs. (May the little souls RIP)

The Princess was so traumatized by the whole thing that she decided never again....and that's how we wound up with Shamrock the wonder cat.

My Pixie, on the other hand.....

She was clear from the get-go that she wanted to try a Guinea Pig again.

Before the girls came home this weekend, I went to a local pet store (no more big box stores and potentially contaminated breeding sources for us!) - which gets their G Pigs from local pet owners who randomly have babies - and I brought home Piggie and supplies for the Pixie.

She was ecstatic!

So far his name has been Henry, Humphrey and Fireball. We're still not sure which she's going to settle on...but any way you go he's pretty sweet!

Already (fill in name here) is better socialized than the Christmas Pigs ever were. The manager's kids were in the store the day I picked him out, and they helped me pick the friendliest of the two little males they had on hand. The manager told me single pigs tend to be better pets as they bond better with their owners. This goes against everything I've ever been told about Guinea Pigs because they are herd animals....but already seems to be proving true. (Nameless) doesn't hide when you walk in the room, he doesn't run when you open the cage and pet him, and already the Pixie can pick him up and play with him on her own. None of that ever happened with the Christmas bunch - and they were in the house for well over a month.

We did have two conditions for getting the new G Pig. One, Pixie had to clean her room and then keep it clean for at least a week - a tough, tough chore for my little tornado. Two, we had to wait until the heat broke because transporting a small rodent in such horrendous weather could have been disastrous. I'm glad both of those things happened before school started. My Pixie is more than a bit anxious about starting kindergarten, and it is my hope that her new friend will help ease the transition.

And my oh my...I am such a sucker. I do love having a Guinea Pig in the house!