Approx. DoB:
May 4th, 2005

Date of Adoption:
July 30th, 2005

Sex:
Female

Color & Breed:
Tri-Colour English (American)

Personality:
Jasmine has come out of her shell recently; having been dominated by three very strong characters through her life thus far, while very happy they did apparently suppress her character a little, she was never given a chance to come into her own and find her true place. She now lives a happy life within a group of six (four other girls, one neutered boy).

Special Mention:
Jasmine is the "Pigscot" of Cavy-Care.Com.

 ~

Name:
Franklyn-Edward

Approx. DoB:
October 18th, 2005

Date of Arrival:
October 29th, 2008

Sex:
Male (neutered)

Color & Breed:
Ginger American Crested

Personality:
Frankie is full of character, very vocal and active, skipping, jumping and chattering his days away.

~

Name:
Meghan Lottie-Rose

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Name:
Willamina-Tuppyrose

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Name:
Dexter-Pippin

Approx. DoB:
February 23rd, 2007

Date of Adoption:
April 7th, 2007

Sex:
Male (neutered)

Color & Breed:
Harlequin (cream and black) Crested.

Personality:
Dexie is my people pig, and my chunky pig. Weighing in at 3lb 8oz he's a handful and a delight to cuddle. He just loves being with people though is very partial to his five Mrs Dexter's. He likes to think he's the boss of his girls but they all have other ideas!

~

Approx. DoB:
November 16th, 2005

Date of Adoption:
November 25th, 2007

Sex:
Female

Color & Breed:
Pink-Eyed White, mixed breed (mid-length hair)

Personality:
Gwenny is a sweetie, a happy and mellow little girl. We suspect she is deaf, and so is more flighty than the others, but she does love her new life with us and is the chunkiest lady (in size not weight).

 ~

Name:
Saffron Willowrose

DoB:
March 11th, 2008

Date of Adoption:
April 1st, 2008

Sex:
Female

Color & Breed:
Tri-colour Abyssinian

Personality:
Saffron is very outgoing, loud and brave. She has had skin problems since we got her, at 3 weeks old, but is a real darling who loves to snuggle and relax. Popcorning is another enjoyable pastime, and now at her adult size (2lb 10oz) you know when it is her running around!

~

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I will make no secret of my opinions on guinea pigs before I got my first one. Aged 11, I heard a girl at my school say that her guinea pig has bitten her. Not knowing anything more about cavies I thought they were nasty, vicious little creatures. I didn't think them cute, intelligent or interesting at all. Feel free to admonish me for my thoughts but I was young and I know how foolishly wrong I was back then.

So, how did I come to get my first guinea pig after having such views on them? It's a long story, and I mainly bought Charlie for theraputic reasons.

In school when I was 14, my trust in teachers was abused when I was mistreated by a teacher who misunderstood that I felt ill and that I had been given special permission to leave the class if necessary, after gentle persuasion to stay in class. Without going into detail, I ended up severely phobic of school after having a major painic attack brought on by the incident. I tried going in again countless times for short visits, but it was hopeless - my trust and happiness in schools was forever gone.

I became agoraphobic and even lost a lot of weight because I was too scared to eat anything much  in case I felt sick - after all, feeling sick was what caused the incident in school in the first place. It was a vicious psychological cycle which was very difficult to get out of, and I was pretty much house-ridden for over 6 months. I managed to get out very occasionally in that time for very short trips, but it was very tough and it almost always ended in me saying, "I can't do it."

One day during these 6 months - around 2 months before I started getting over it - my mum suggested getting a guinea pig. We had two dogs - Sheba and Bosun - but my mum felt it would be a good idea for me to have my own pet so I had the responsibility of looking after an animal to encourage me to pull myself together. So we went to the local pet store and looked at the guinea pigs, and I chose the one I wanted. I picked him because he looked so strange - his hair was very scruffy and he just looked so cheeky. I had never seen a guinea pig like him! I was told he was around 8 weeks old.
We bought a hutch, some food, a toy, some bedding and a few treats and took him home. I called him Charlie right after I got him, as he looked so cheeky, and it's quite a usual notion to think of someone as "Cheeky Charlie".
It was a spontaneous decision, and something which is never recommended.
The date I got Charlie was 16th July 2003.

There was another guinea pig who had been in the pet store with Charlie, a gorgeous smooth haired piggie in a lovely chocolate brown colour. We brought him home and called him Choccie.
A few months after we brought Choccie home, the boys began fighting (ball-of-fur fights, constant pestering and bullying, severe teeth chattering). We read on the internet that if you neuter them they will stop fighting. So we went ahead and got them neutered when they were four months old, yet they still fought. Little did we know back then that neutering made no difference to behaviour - it only takes away their fertility. So we decided to split them up and rehome Choccie. I cried a lot for a day afterwards, but I knew it was only fair on Charlie that I keep him (since he was the first piggie here and he was the weaker one).

A few months after Choccie was rehomed, my family and I were put in touch with an education centre known as the Integrated Support Service. They sent out the "head" of the centre to interview me and ask questions about what subjects I wanted to study, and I was accepted. I was tutored for an hour a week to begin with, and gradually that increased to five hours per week - two hours on one day, an hour on three days, and a day off. I also began to go to a children's nursery to get Work Experience for my Child Development GCSE and to attain my target of completeing a full, detailed Child Study.
To this day I am still in contact with my tutors, all of whom I now consider to be friends rather than my previous teachers.

Charlie lived "happily" during this time. I say "happily" because now I know he would have been a lot happier with the life he is living now than his lonely life in a small hutch with no toys or ideal food. He was given lots of attention due to me being at home so much and ghe was very loved right from the start.
I knew from the beginning, when I first got Charlie, that my previous thoughts about piggies being nasty and horrid creatures were so very wrong. There is no way I would even think of calling a piggie anything other than a positive name these days. My worry about being bitten was short-lived and irrational.

It was August 2004 before I really began to pick up new things and begin to improve Charlie's life. I bought him a female guinea pig on 12 August '04 - remember Charlie is neutered - and they bonded instantly. I originally called her Camilla, but my grandmother came up with the name Tuppence, and that name stuck. It's so unusual and quaint and it suits her so very much. Few other names could have fitted her so well.

Around 4 months after I got Tuppence, I began thinking that they could do with a bigger cage. I began searching the internet and came across this website called Guinea Pig Cages. I was amazed at the cages, yet disappointed because I hadn't seen the materials necessary to build one in UK. I also doubted that my mum would agree to let me have one.
Eventually I joined the site in March 2005, and asked where I could find materials. We were given details on companies which sold the cubes, and advised on the type of shop to buy the coroplast - correx - from. This was only the beginning of their new life.

Right now, in April 2009:-

* I have 8 piggies - seven of these are adopted (former rescue pigs);
*  They share a divided 3x7 C&C cage;
* They are all bedded on fleece with designated "hay-loos";
* They get fed a variety of veggies every day, and the types of veggies has changed dramatically - they are now fed on a diet correct to the guinea pigs' Calcium:Phosphorus ratio;
* They are fed Burgess Supa Guinea Excel and Science Selective Guinea Pig pellets - two of the best plain pellet feeds in UK;
* They have fresh filtered water (due to living in a hard water area) daily;
* They get unlimited amounts of fresh meadow hay daily, and Oat, Wheat & Barley every night;
* They get the chance of up to 2 hours floor time every day.

I have come a very long way from my first (mis)conceptions about piggies. It has been a long journey, but it's been one well worth travelling.
I am now pursuing a number of dreams and ambitions all centering on educating and helping others on guinea pig care - so watch this space!