Bubbles arrived into our lives in the usual way: from the pet shop. When there’s a cage full of small, furry critters scampering around in a blur of colour and cuteness it is initially over-whelming. Then it happens, one grabs your attention, it stops when the rest keep scurrying and looks straight at you with big, “pick me” eyes. Those eyes douse the fire of doubt that rose when you first saw the price for these “special” guinea pigs and, just like that: there’s another pet in the house.
Bubbles’ babies didn’t arrive in the usual way. Through divine intervention, or a lack of human intervention, Bubbles’ arrived at our home carrying two bonus guinea pigs. We didn’t know about this buy one get two free deal for a few weeks. Bubbles’ belly was growing at a rate that a few extra carrot peels before bed couldn’t account for. We already had Strawberry, our big, brawny, boar, and had intended to introduce him to Bubbles once she a little older. We intended to intervene/interfere, in the way responsible pet owners do. But nature had already played its strongest survival card and now we have a classic modern family.
Unplanned teen pregnancy, a step-dad who hasn’t stayed over at the house, and two babies that look just like him? That’s right. We checked the timeline, checked with everyone who’d been near them to swear the two destined-to-be-lovers hadn’t already-been-lovers. We did an extensive, deep wiki-dive, cross-referenced with what the pet store guy told us and grilled all guinea pig handlers again about any potential pre-marital courting. The results were conclusive: Bubbles’ babies came with her from the store.
Our research had led us to believe we still had a week before the babies would be born. We had been keeping Strawberry and Bubbles in different cages anyway but had decided that we would put Bubbles in our overnight cage and pick grass for her as the date came nearer. The routine is to put them in a safe house over night and then transport them each morning to a day-release pen so they can graze grass all day. Bella was carrying Bubbles when she let out an unusual yelp. That is, Bella let out the yelp. “I felt something wriggling! It was wonderful and weird at the same time. Oooh, it did it again!” Back to the safe house. That afternoon Bubbles didn’t call back when she was called to. Usually she squeals very loudly for food, but not this time. She was busy with two tiny, gangly, piglets.
Let’s clear up the name guinea pig. Piglet is such a cute word for a baby pig, but in the case of a guinea pig it is not the correct word. A baby guinea pig is called a pup, just like a dog. And guinea pigs are more closely related to a rabbit than a pig. But their behaviour in the wild is similar to animals such as cows. They graze on grass as their main food source and can be seen moving around in small herds. They are native to South America, which is nowhere near Guinea, a country in West Africa. One theory is that the cute little guys were introduced to Europe through the trading ports of Guinea. Why they speak French is a complete mystery.
Bubbles is less than half the size of Strawberry, she has scruffy but very soft hair that is caramel and white, almost black eyes and dark ears. Strawberry is also scruffy, but is pure white with bright pink eyes and dark ears. Our two little piglets, I mean pups, named Peaches and Peanut, are a combination of the two. Scruffy, soft, white all over, dark blue eyes and dark ears. Bubbles and Strawberry will never have to tell Peaches and Peanut the truth about who their real dad is.