Introducing Sir Sampson McSqueakerbox

3 weeks ago we added Sir Sampson to our family.  Phinni has been an amazing Guinea Pig but I knew he was lonely.  Every website and book made it clear that guinea pigs should always have a friend but it was convincing my husband that I was worried about.  I brought it up one night and surprisingly Hubby said he had already been looking!  I immediately set to work calling some places and checking ads online and the next day we came home with Sammi!

Of course Phinni had to show Sammi he was the boss so there was some rumble-strutting and mounting but overall it went fairly well.  I introduced them in a neutral spot and gave them each a bath so they would smell the same.  I cleaned out their cage, washed all plastic toys and took out anything I couldn't wash so when I placed them in there Phinni wouldn't feel like Sammi was in his territory.  Phinni was also a little bossy with the food at first so I put a second small litterbox at the opposite end of the cage with an extra water and food dish and hay.  We knew it would all work out though, whenever I took Sammi out of the cage, Phinni would start wheeking for him!

And now they're best buds!  Sammi follows Phinni everywhere he goes.  You will hear them making their little noises in the cage or calling to one another if the other finds something exciting!  Sammi is pretty quiet still but coming out of his shell, he wheeked for veggies for the first time the other day!  We're pretty excited, especially that Phinni seems very happy now that he has a little friend.

Introducing Sir Phinneus Fluffytocks

Hubby and I talked about getting another hamster.  I think they are adorable and cute and initially we thought when we found the right one we would bring it home.  But then I stumbled upon this adorable little guinea pig.  Hubby and I had a talk about the pros and cons of getting a guinea pig instead.  It ended up the pros were a lot more than the cons.  Of course a guinea pig needs more attention and more space but when it came down to it I liked the idea of having an animal that wasn't nocturnal (there were many nights I wouldn't see one of our hamsters at all because they wouldn't be up before we went to bed), one that had a longer lifespan (as I felt I would just be getting to know my hammy and they were taken away from us) and also an animal I had researched, watched countless adorable videos on but had never owned myself.

A few days later I brought home Mr. Fluffytocks.  He was this giant ball of adorable floofiness that I couldn't ignore!  At first he was very squeamish which immediately had me thinking 'Oh no I'm going to have to go through socializing and taming all over again' but within minutes he had stopped frantically squealing and was sitting in my lap while I rubbed his back making soft wheeking noises.  My husband laughed and made a comment about me really having a difficult time with this one.  I'm known as Dr. Dolittle or the Animal Lady around here.  Animals seem to gravitate to me wherever I go and know I'm not a threat.

Now it's been a week and what a turn in this little cutie!  He still gets nervous around me, but he happily lets me cuddle him (once I've caught him that is!).  I haven't gotten him to eat out of my hands but he gets pretty excited about the fresh greens I've been giving him.

The most exciting was when I set up a pen for him to play in, in the rabbit room.  He likes the rabbits, especially Ollie, who stares at him through his cage bars.  Phinni frequently calls to him which brings Ollie running.  Although Phinni is a lone guinea pig he has the bunnies to keep him company, although I don't want to put them in the same pen.

Anyways at first Phinni was a little nervous and hid behind his litterbox (which he is very good at using) until he saw the basket of hay I had put out for him.  Before I knew it he was wheeking and burrowing his way through the hay basket, munching and squeaking all at once in excitement.  About a half hour later he started exploring and then suddenly, a popcorn!  His first after being brought home!  I guess he realized how much space he had because then he was popcorning and bouncing around like a crazypants, chattering away.  And then he had made himself a little piggy run and began running laps!  So as you can see we are quite smitten with the little cutie!

Here is a video of him being silly in his pen!  Make sure you listen to it with the sound up, it's hilarious!