Good evening, readers
Several days ago I took a pleasant bike ride through construction-ridden downtown St. Catharines to a local pet sore. Flora needed more hay, and I also enjoying seeing the guinea pigs they have there (even though I HIGHLY recommend adopting an adult pig from a humane society).
The babies there were just tiny!
Obviously, I understand that every creature, even elephants, are once very small beings. But I feel these little gals may be misrepresenting the guinea pig species. Guinea pigs are not what I would call "pocket pets" (unless you have extraordinarily large pockets). Although some of the young pigs were only marginally bigger than a large hamster, they definitely won't stay that size for long.
Although it's hard to tell with the images I have, Flora is quite a significant size (especially when you factor in all her wild fur). For a relative example, I would say she's just a bit shy of being as wide as a widescreen laptop computer; definitely not something you can squish into a small cage. And according to a former-pig-owning friend of mine, she is on the small side of the species.
I have found many pet store employees to be very helpful in the past, and I sincerely hope they are informing people of the size these pets will become. For instance, many sources I've found recommend affording two guinea pigs atleast eight feet of living space.
Readers, if any of you or a friend are considering a pet guinea pig, please consider carefully. Although they are wonderful, pleasant animals, they won't fit in a shoebox. Realizing this sooner than later will keep more pigs out of animal shelters.
Yours truly
Sarah
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The size of a widescreen laptop? That is big! I only have two adult guinea pigs as a reference. I encountered one of them in the third grade. His name was Arthur and he was a classroom pet. The other guinea pig was a Parisian guinea pig. I do not remember what its name was.
ReplyDeleteI do not remember them being as large as you say Flora is, but I do not doubt that you know of which you speak. No wonder some people eat guinea pigs for dinner.
Sarah, I love your blogs. I appreciate them very much, as I am doing my internship at the SPCA and wouldn't want to see any in shelters of course. I think people need to research their pets more, most definitely. I was the proud owner of a hedgehog at one time, who got sick and unfortunately ended up back at the pet store, but also of a ferret. People (such as myself) just don't realize the time, energy and space some of these small animals need. I like the pics too!
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