The Tale of Two Pigs

This lovely photo was gifted to me for Christmas from my dear sister Jenna.

This is the story of how I became the owner of the best piggies in the world.

I hope you enjoy!

I am going to start here by writing my history with guinea pigs.

When I was between the age of 8-10, I had a guinea pig named Slick. I can’t remember what the other pigs' names were. My step dad built a huge hutch for them so they could stay outside. They had heating lamps and everything, It was awesome.

I loved those little piggies. The original ones we had ended up having babies. They were so cute!

When Slick eventually passed away, I remember thinking he froze to death but it might have been rigor mortis, but honestly who knows.

We ended up getting rid of the others before we moved to Warrensburg.

So you can say I have a soft spot in my heart for those adorable little creatures.

Fast forward 19 years later to a Petsmart in St. Louis City with my best friend Emma. Miley Cyrus was playing over the speakers as we saw the sweetest little pig. All the other guinea pigs were playing and there he was, just hiding. I couldn’t help but think that he needed to be with someone who would let him be who he was, shy. That person was me. I knew I could provide this sweet piggy with so much love.

              Wiley Cyrus-September 9th 2017 First photo of him

Let me fill you in where I was at mentally.

My roommate/best friend of 7 years was becoming more and more distant. She got a boyfriend and that was pretty much done-zo for our friendship. The last few months she and I lived together, I rarely ever saw her. We went from best friends to strangers almost instantly when she met her boyfriend. So mentally I had a lot going on.

This was the perfect opportunity to get a pet. Something to liven the energy in my home and that is exactly what Wiley did.

He was something positive for me to focus my energy on. I got him a new cage, new toys, and all the treats his little heart desired.

For the longest time he was very standoffish. He would come out for treats and once I gave them to him he would scurry back to hiding. It took awhile but eventually he let me hold him and my heart was so full.

I gave him all the attention I could but there was something missing.

It had been only Wiley for the past two years.

I went back and forth with the idea of getting a second guinea pig but ultimately decided that I wanted to try and find one to adopt that was around the same age as Wiley.

When I was at work, I happened to bring up the fact I was on the lookout for a second guinea pig.

A few weeks went by with no luck.

Then BAM! My dear friend Maureen ended up knowing a lady that was in need of rehoming her grandkids 3-year old guinea pig due to being allergic to the lil guy.

I got the lady’s name and messaged her on facebook. She said I could come by that night or that weekend to see/take him. I asked her if I could bring my best friend Emma to which she agreed. Seeing as Emma was with me when I got Wiley I thought it was only appropriate she come with me to meet Wiley’s potential brother piggy.

The photo I received from Billie Rae's previous owner before I went to meet him.

We arrived at the lady’s apartment. She had a few other animals and it was apparent that she wasn’t putting much time into this sweet little piggies quality of life.

All he had was a food bowl with some pellets. She had said that he knocked his water bottle onto the floor and it had broken. She had the water bottle tied to the cage with yarn so my guess is that he chewed through it. He had no hut, no chew toys, not even hay which is essential to their diets.

I knew once I saw the conditions he was living in I had to take him. The lady was nice enough to give him to me, cage included. So i grabbed the cage and Emma and I put him in the backseat of my car and headed to PetSmart.

I picked up everything he was missing. I got him a new water bottle, toys, a new hut to hide in and of course a new bin for his hay.

When I got him his poor nails were so badly curled under from years of neglect. I tried to trim them but he hated it and would try to bite me so I just left him be. They didn’t seem to be bothering him.

I got him home and was so excited/ nervous about this new journey. What if they don’t like each other and I have to keep them in separate cages forever. What if this new piggy is mean to my sweet little Wiley?!?! All of these thoughts kept running through my brain but I knew I had to at least try.

Now you are probably wondering “can you just put them together right away?”. The answer is “no”. There is a process. The following is my process with Wiley and Billie Rae:

I kept them in separate cages in separate rooms for 2 weeks.

After those two weeks I kept them in separate cages but now put them in the same room with their cages next to each other.

When those two weeks were through I called Emma to come over to help with their first play date together.

We arranged a “neutral zone”, where we blocked off an area in my living room for them to get to know one another.

It took awhile to wrangle Billie Rae, he did NOT want to be picked up.

Finally we got them together and it wasn’t the blood bath I had imagined in my head. They really weren’t too concerned with each other. Billie Rae was too busy exploring his new surroundings as Wiley hid in his hut.

There was an occasional humping to establish dominance, but other than that they were instant best buds.

Their first play date

After that play date they had two more play dates before they moved in together.

Emma and I put together their new fancy cage and they love it. There is plenty of room for them to hop around and chase each other around.

Billie Rae is so curious.I think it is due to the last three years at his previous home he was left out in the open and never had anything to hide in.

It is so interesting how they have adapted so well together. Wiley is so much more outgoing now that he has a friend and Billie Rae is getting to experience the good life after so many years of the bare minimum.

They are doing so well together and I can successfully wrangle them both with hardly any issues.

Billie Rae, who used to try and bite me for trying to trim his nails, fast forward to 7 months later and I finally got them cut! He even lets me hold him.

I didn’t plan on having guinea pigs in my adult life but honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way.

They bring me so much joy and I love their sweet little faces. They both have their own individual personalities and I am lucky to be their owner.

On the left: Wiley On the right: Billie Rae

I wrote this posts a few years back and sadly both of my sweet piggies have passed on. I will say they were loved spoiled until their final days