Casa Isonzo: NEW Piggies

It has been a very long 10 months since our beloved "Mac" passed away, and the kids have been anticipating getting new guinea pigs. There was no point in getting new piggies, when we would then have to find someone to care for them during the summer and we would miss out on the fun and bonding time with them while they were little. So you better believe that acquiring guinea pigs were at the top of our priority list when we got home, right after stocking the fridge with food.

Learning from our past experience with Mac, the kids immediately declared that we needed two piggies because they would live longer and be happier. Who couldn't resist the double dose of cuteness?! Two piggies, therefore mean having adequate space for them to live in, and so we ordered the perfect piggy palace that also met our tight space restrictions. Jonathan spent a good 3.5 hours building this piggy dream home.

Our tri-level Piggy Palace sits perfectly in our kitchen corner

After school on Tuesday, September 11, we went to a pet store in Torino. We called around to several stores prior and this was the one with the most selection available of guinea pigs. It was love at first sight when we saw the copper-colored guinea pig. He was the smallest of the brood and a must have for us all. Desiring to take home two guinea pigs, our choices were to choose two females or a male-female combo. According to the research done by our kids, they said that male guinea pigs are more interactive and bond better with humans. Therefore, two females were not an option for them. So even though this choice poses a certain intervention in the coming months so we don't start a guinea pig farm, it will be worth the cost. The other straight haired guinea pig that captured our eye was the one with the white and beige body and grey eyemask. She was a little bit bigger than the other and so pretty.

Double-cuteness and Double-trouble

The choosing was super easy but the naming was much more painful! Surprise, surprise that everyone is much more opinionated than they were seven years ago. Eventually, everyone realized that there are some hills not worth dying upon and names were finally suggested that everyone could live with. So without further ado meet...Rambler and Cocco. Rambler is the little brown one and Cocco is the white one.

It has been nearly two weeks since we brought them home and their personalities are now becoming more evident. Rambler is living up to his name and loves to talk! He squeaks for his food, talks back to me when I am in the kitchen and is the voice for Cocco. His noises are adorable and rumbles with delight when he gets some petting and loving. Cocco, on the other hand, has not muttered a word as far as we can tell. She likes her quiet and dark spaces and is much timider. She is intelligent and speedy fast and was the first to discover how to use the ramps in the cage. Rambler was not happy at first when she would disappear and he couldn't find her. But now he has it figured out too and they make for a crazy wild pair in the mornings when they play and run up and down the ramps.

We thought to weigh them after their first week home and Cocco was 10.2 oz and Rambler was 8 oz. They are tiny for sure and are estimated to be about 60 days old.

We are in love with our new furry little friends!