Sabalon
New Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2009
- Messages
- 2
Hi from south of Atlanta.
I have two daughters (9 and 7). For Christmas the oldest got a Petz Hamters game for her nintendo DS. The goal is you take care of virtual hamsters. The youngest started playing it and wanted a hamster. I'm not to keen on them, and researching we found Guinea Pigs to be a much better sounding pet. My wife was against my choice of rat
So, this last Saturday we became the proud owner of Jumanji - a shorthaired cavy. I think Harvey Dent is a better name since one half of the face is brown, the other white. But oh well. We did all the typical things - bought a cage at a pet store, didn't know what we were doing, etc... But happy kids.
My only experience in the past has been with some rather mal-adjusted piggies. Jumanji was quite calm and sweet. So I spent most of Saturday night reading about piggies online. I'm a terrible one for personification, and since Jumanji just sat there (tramatized by the change in environment no doubt), I did something that I would have never thought I'd do, but that made the girls very happy. On Sunday we went out and got some additional needed items for a happy piggy - some Timothy hay (WOW!), a bigger cage for now until I can make from for a C&C, and most importantly a second piggie. The second is more of a traditional bad-hair one. It was originally named Rita (aka Reet-a), then Isabella, then Christine, then Furball or Fuzball. The 7 year old finally settled on Christine (after Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera).
We are still getting use to this whole thing - I'll say that my wife and I are quite taken by them. Thankfully since they don't come in a can and smell bad, our cats could care less about them and not consider them a food source.
I think they are still getting used to everything. It is fun to watch them. We have been blocking off a large part of the kitchen for floor time. So far, Jumanji's favorite items are a paper bag and an empty pop-tart box. It's hilarious to hear the girls say "Oh no Jumanji - not in the bag again." Christine is still in shock over the move I think. Though as long as there is hay around, she doesn't seem to care.
We are still geting used to the sounds they make and what they mean. Jumanji love to make noise right after going to the bathroom to let us know. Also, last night each girl was sitting on a couch with a piggie laying on them. Both the girls and the piggies looked pretty happy, with them both purring, which was nice to see.
It's amazing what a motivational tool they can be as well. I think they set a record cleaning their rooms yesterday so they could play.
Anyway, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them as not only will my wife and I probably end up in the long run taking care of them once the cuteness wears off, but also because I have found myself quite smitten by them. I'm just having a hard time getting used to their skittish nature. I'm more of a cat person myself. I've had a history of cats that hold their ground no matter what so this is quite different
I have two daughters (9 and 7). For Christmas the oldest got a Petz Hamters game for her nintendo DS. The goal is you take care of virtual hamsters. The youngest started playing it and wanted a hamster. I'm not to keen on them, and researching we found Guinea Pigs to be a much better sounding pet. My wife was against my choice of rat
So, this last Saturday we became the proud owner of Jumanji - a shorthaired cavy. I think Harvey Dent is a better name since one half of the face is brown, the other white. But oh well. We did all the typical things - bought a cage at a pet store, didn't know what we were doing, etc... But happy kids.
My only experience in the past has been with some rather mal-adjusted piggies. Jumanji was quite calm and sweet. So I spent most of Saturday night reading about piggies online. I'm a terrible one for personification, and since Jumanji just sat there (tramatized by the change in environment no doubt), I did something that I would have never thought I'd do, but that made the girls very happy. On Sunday we went out and got some additional needed items for a happy piggy - some Timothy hay (WOW!), a bigger cage for now until I can make from for a C&C, and most importantly a second piggie. The second is more of a traditional bad-hair one. It was originally named Rita (aka Reet-a), then Isabella, then Christine, then Furball or Fuzball. The 7 year old finally settled on Christine (after Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera).
We are still getting use to this whole thing - I'll say that my wife and I are quite taken by them. Thankfully since they don't come in a can and smell bad, our cats could care less about them and not consider them a food source.
I think they are still getting used to everything. It is fun to watch them. We have been blocking off a large part of the kitchen for floor time. So far, Jumanji's favorite items are a paper bag and an empty pop-tart box. It's hilarious to hear the girls say "Oh no Jumanji - not in the bag again." Christine is still in shock over the move I think. Though as long as there is hay around, she doesn't seem to care.
We are still geting used to the sounds they make and what they mean. Jumanji love to make noise right after going to the bathroom to let us know. Also, last night each girl was sitting on a couch with a piggie laying on them. Both the girls and the piggies looked pretty happy, with them both purring, which was nice to see.
It's amazing what a motivational tool they can be as well. I think they set a record cleaning their rooms yesterday so they could play.
Anyway, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them as not only will my wife and I probably end up in the long run taking care of them once the cuteness wears off, but also because I have found myself quite smitten by them. I'm just having a hard time getting used to their skittish nature. I'm more of a cat person myself. I've had a history of cats that hold their ground no matter what so this is quite different
