Renaming rehomed guinea pigs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 4992
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Deleted member 4992

Hi everyone,

During my (many!) thoughts abouts guinea pigs I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were about renaming piggies who come to live with you.

I've seen loads of piggies with some lovely names but what do you do if they're not your cup of tea? Is it right to change a piggie's name when its been used to that for what could have been years?

Donna. x
 
I tend to let my 9yo daughter choose the names, apart from Pea and Pod whose names I loved so much they kept them. (Thankyou Jane (Nutmeg) :)))
 
I don't think it matters if you change their name when they come to you. When I adopted Connie (r.i.p) that was her name and I decided to keep it. When I adopted Eleanor, she didn't have a 'proper' name and was known as Lilac girl so I named her Eleanor to go with Eliza xx
 
I changed the names of all my guinea pigs when they came to us, but when I sadly had to rehome them, the two boys kept "my" names, and the two girls names were changed.
 
My last adoptee was named "Lucky" on his papers due to surviving a bad case of mites, his cage mate didnt make it. I wasn't a fan of that so he is now named Splodge due to his markings!
 
Claire W said:
I don't think it matters if you change their name when they come to you. When I adopted Connie (r.i.p) that was her name and I decided to keep it. When I adopted Eleanor, she didn't have a 'proper' name and was known as Lilac girl so I named her Eleanor to go with Eliza xx
Click to expand...

Ha ha - that was my name for her - I think Eleanor is much nicer Claire xx
 
Hels said:
Ha ha - that was my name for her - I think Eleanor is much nicer Claire xx
Click to expand...

Hee hee, aww Lilac girl kind of stuck and was cute. I remember telling everyone that was her name until I had her. I kind of liked the E and E factor though :)
 
I would have changed their names as Cottonbud and Furby but they knew their names so well i thought it best to keep them so as not to confuse them!
 
I do change my piggies names - provided they have one in the first place! But I try to find a similar sounding name if they are older and/or preloved pets.

Llewelyn kept the name given by his rescue (he didn't have one previously, but was rescued in Wales). It suited him (and my Welsh hubby!), even though it took me some time to learn to pronounce his name properly! mallethead

He was chosen as a new companion by Dizzy, who was much loved Daisy in her first home, but had far too much of a personality for a demure little lawn flower - within days, I was calling her "dizzy Daisy", and Dizzy stuck.

Then I decided to go "Welsh" with any new girls for Llewelyn.
Sisters Nerys ("lady" ) and Nia ("bright" ) were unloved, unhandled and unwanted children's pets Dotty and Lottie, so no guilty feelings there!

Allotment rescue Taffy didn't have a name, and as part of a large intake of fifty piggies, many of them pregnant, wasn't going to get one in rescue. I had Taffy reserved before she had her last litter in rescue. Telyn was the only daughter from that; I changed her name slightly once she developed more of a personality (from Tegan "little pretty" to Telyn "harp" ).

Cariad and Ceri were breeder's sows Peggy and Maggie; their new names were chosen from my shortlist by the rescue ladies. (They mean "darling" and "love" ).

Four year old Fflur was preloved Fflower, so I tried to change it as little as possible (Fflur means "flowers" in Welsh). She didn't have a problem with having a new name in her new home and I was encouraged by the rescue lady who rehomed her to me!

For both Nerys/Nia and Taffy/Tegan I ran a poll on here with a shortlist of my most favourite suitable Welsh names.
 
Last edited:
Keep some, change some. If you keep something silly then you alwasy end up feeling a bit of a fool at the vet - Angelcakes and Pinknose spring to mind! Mind you then there was the gerbils we called Beer and Pizza ourselves - taking Beer to the vets always got a funny look!

Paula
 
chesney was called ginger when we adopted him... chesney suits him much better... and he knows his name.

maisie was in rescue for ages and never given a name :( she knows her name aswell.

i think it is fine to change the names. new name and a new start. :)
 
My Fred kept his name... suited him so well.

Pebbles used to be called cornflakes and Wilma was called Nibbles previously. They got new names and answer to them when they want too :))!
 
I changed the names of mine. Bo was Calzone. I just couldn't cope with the idea of having a pizza pig! Martha was Älva, meaning "fairy", and though she is cute I've never met a wheezing and wheeking fairy! Mette-Marit was "Vilda", meaning "the wild one", which wasn't totally off because she is certainly the least tame. I called her Chicken, though and recently changed the name again to Mette-Marit, like the princess in Norway :)
 
I kept Beryl and Gubbins' names but only because I thought Gubbins was quite a cute name and Mum kept on and on at me about how 'awful' the name Beryl was for a piggie. I decided she looked like a Beryl and she IS an old lady - it suits her :)).
 
The only pigs names I have kept are Elijah and Errol, simply because they had their names from birth and were known to all, including me, for a long time as Elijah and Errol. I love the names and still can't believe I have these gorgeous boys!

Delilah and Sophia were affectionately known as Girl 2 and Girl 4 as I adopted them pretty soon after they were rescued. :))

I have changed all the other pigs names, although I do like to run it by the rescue first. If I didn't change their names, those piggies would be:

Daisy, Pistachio, Rodney, Peanut, Pops, Rosco and - not forgetting - Baggy :)

You'll never guess who "Rodney" is though!
 
Do pigs actually recognise their names? How can you tell if they do? I can't imagine my two ever coming when I call them, not unless I have food and then it doesn't matter what names I call :))
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I just wanted to put my mind at rest for *when* I get my piggies, its looking like May, giving me enough time to get housing etc sorted.

I have been looking on one of my local piggie rescue sites and I do like some of the names, I just didn't want to feel guilty about changing names if I didn't like them.

x
 
What I do is make a shortlist of names that will suit the piggies I am going to rehome and then decide after I have got them. Sometimes, a name I liked very much would just not fit the personality once I had the piggy with me!
 
Wiebke said:
OH, PLEASE, let us know! :))

Taffy was sow 4a at the rescue...
Click to expand...

Rodney!

Willa12Feb.jpg


Gwenivere was Daisy.
Jasmine was Pistachio.
Franklyn was Peanut.
Meghan was Pops.
Harrison was Rosco.
Pandora was Baggy.
 
I had to have a quick name change of one of mine I took them in as two sisters, then on closer inspecton found they were sister and brother!

So Rosie and Tara became Roise and Tinka! :)) because he was a 'Tinka' getting his sister pregnant rolleyes
 
Laura-CCC4 said:
Rodney!

Willa12Feb.jpg


Gwenivere was Daisy.
Jasmine was Pistachio.
Franklyn was Peanut.
Meghan was Pops.
Harrison was Rosco.
Pandora was Baggy.
Click to expand...

I should have guessed that my favourite Willa was it... rolleyes:))

Thanks for the enlightenment!
 
none of mine had names! Lily came from a breeder, Heidi and Audrina came from a rescue and no no names really...and neither did Rose or Orella.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top