I got into piggies quite by accident you might say. One of my grand-daughters and I were at the pet shop buying dog and fish supplies just before Christmas 2 years ago. We noticed they had a heap of guinea pigs which was a surprise to us so we admired them all and went away not thinking anything about it. When we returned the following January for more pet supplies we went to check the guinea pigs and found only 1 male left. Obviously there had been some sort of Christmas pressie rush. A staff member came over uninvited and immediately launched into a sales pitch of how she could give him to us for half price because he was 11 weeks old and would have to be "got rid of soon" (those were her exact words). I don't know why, but for some reason both my grand-daughter and I assumed "death" and looked at each other in horror! Next thing you know we had spent $300AUD buying the pig, the cage and all the supplies they told us piggies needed (since we didn't know any better).
Originally Hazelnut went to my son's house but in a matter of days my daughter-in-law who suffers severely from various allergies was very ill from piggie fur and hay. So Hazelnut came to live with me as I only live up the road and both grand-daughters could come and interact with piggie often.
It soon became apparent to me that he was nothing like any pet I had ever had before so a troll through the Internet to get info on piggies soon told me two things that were shocking news to me - the shop cage he was in was far too small and he needed a friend! Immediate purchase of a bigger cage and the hunt on for friend. When Hazelnut was 7 months old we finally managed to get two month old Peanut Butter and a bigger cage yet again.
I never anticipated getting piggies and really had no idea about their care or behaviour, but now I cannot imagine life without them! I just love them to bits!
