The Black And White One

Her real name is Latte

Born towards the end of October 2014, official birthday 31st Oct

Here she is when only little...





And now rather bigger and cheekier!...


















Latte is a very independent guinea pig, an intrepid explorer, inquisitive and intelligent (for a guinea pig).

She gives guidance to the newbie...

And courage to the scared (Fudge)...

And is accepted by the two Top Guinea Pigs:















She is probably the second bravest guinea pig - second only to Cappuccino, who in this picture is claiming all the food (all the food belongs to Cappaccino), leaving the leader's place to Latte:






Next time - Fudge (Fluffy). Arrived at the same time as Latte, but could not be more different.

Bonny

This is actually a photo of Cappaccino, Espresso and The Black and White One (Latte) - Bonny, as usual, is nowhere to be seen as everything is still quite scary. However I had just given them some salad as a treat (their favourite) and put some soft hay on top of the nasty wet paving slabs so their little feet don't get cold and wet, so that is quite a cute photo I thought.

Bonny was born in October this year, her official birthday is on 14th October 2015 - just 2 months old! Here she is on her Buying Day:

Initially Bonny spent a lot of time under the hutch - so I started putting a food bowl under there specially for her. She also spent a lot of time behind the shed as it is too narrow there for nasty cats and squirrels (and humans) to fit in. However as the weather turned colder I really wanted her to go in the hutch with the other nice warm ladies; so I put her food bowl back in there, and lo and behold, after a couple of days of starvation, Bonny was eating the food in the hutch! She still seemed to be sleeping behind the shed but after another day or two I discovered her snuggled up in the hutch with the others so all is well. She still spends a lot of time behind the shed and in the bushes with The Black And White One and Fluffy (Fudge):



 but is happy to join the others on the grass from time to time.

Caught unawares:

Spot the guinea pigs! All five are here, tucking into some bamboo leaves and some silver leaves from a tree which I don't know the name of.

Oh yes, did you know the fastest land mammal is not the cheetah, it is actually Bonny? I opened the french windows onto the grass the other day, and I have never seen anything move so fast! She ran blindly across the grass, T-boned Cappaccino (who of course carried on munching the grass unconcerned) and disappeared into the bushes. 

Next time: Espresso, fudge or the black and white one

Cappaccino

Introducing...     Cappaccino

Cappaccino was born in August 2010, her official birthday is on 16th August, which means she is 5 and a half - oldest of the group. (The collective noun for guinea pigs is, rather boringly, "group").

She is always the first to rush out to greet me when I open the front door or the garden gate - she will come and sniff my shoes, although I think this is mainly because her eyesight is not great and she is making absolutely certain whether there is any food on offer or not.

Cappaccino is the most chilled of the guinea pigs and really does not care if there are any people, squirrels, noise or other threats in general - eating food is far more important to her than any concerns for her personal safety.

She does not seem to have any health problems in spite of her advancing age, except dodgy eyesight which seems to have been the case for a long time and possibly most of her life. Also instead of going "WEEP! WEEP!" like the others, she goes "WHEEZE! WHEEZE!" which sounds quite dramatic at the time but doesn't seem to cause her any functional problems.

Cappaccino is the undisputed leader of the guinea pigs, so therefore any food belongs to her, especially this box of grass. Once she has eaten, the others are allowed their turn. 

Next time - Bonny

Hello to everyone reading this now and in the future.  I am writing this blog (soon to be followed by "guinea pig diary") in order to commit the stories of my guinea pigs to the annals of history, mainly for my own benefit, but also for the benefit of those friends who enjoy looking at their photos from time to time on social networks - and of course for the friends who enjoy seeing them zipping around and going "WEEEP! WEEEP!" in real life. Now you can get to know their characters as well as I do, which will hopefully brighten your day.

Please excuse the unpolished design of this blog as I am not very internet-literate (I am quite old) - I would rather be outside watching my guinea pigs :) 

So - these beauties in the photo are my five guinea pigs (from left to right): Cappaccino, Espresso, Latte, Bonny and Fudge - all ladies. 

I will introduce them one at a time over the next five days or so and then hope to post a short diary entry every day (with photo) regarding their various adventures and antics. 

Till next time

Guinea pig girl