{"id":2091,"date":"2016-03-02T06:10:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T06:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aercmn.com\/?p=2091"},"modified":"2016-03-02T06:10:43","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T06:10:43","slug":"4-reasons-to-adopt-a-guinea-pig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aercmn.com\/blog\/4-reasons-to-adopt-a-guinea-pig\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Reasons to Adopt a Guinea Pig"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My wife and I have owned guinea pigs since childhood. We\u2019re in our mid 40\u2019s now and currently have three pigs: two \u201cSkinny Pigs\u201d (Hairless) and one furred. All of our pigs have had different personalities and all have been extremely pleasing to have as pets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guinea pigs are inexpensive to buy and to keep.<\/strong>\u00a0We even purchased one a while ago from a reptile-oriented pet shop from the \u201cFeeder Bin,\u201d for $9.00. We got a pig cheap, as well as a good feeling to know we saved him from the jaws of a boa constrictor!\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2092 alignright\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/pinky-4-Copy-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guinea pigs have a lot to say.<\/strong>\u00a0They have many different vocalizations and with experience you\u2019ll learn their language. They are by far the most vocal of the rodents. Their calls range from the contented cooing that\u2019s extremely soothing to the human ear like a lullaby, to the \u201cI\u2019m hungry,\u201d whistling that\u2019s sharp and attention-grabbing. If they see you going into the kitchen or hear the refrigerator door opening, especially the sliding of the vegetable drawer, they go nuts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guinea pigs can be trained like a dog.<\/strong>\u00a0They will perform behaviors for treats like blueberries or celery tops. They learn more quickly than you might think. Type \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/results?search_query=trained+guinea+pig\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trained Guinea Pig<\/a>\u201d into a YouTube search bar to see the many tricks pigs have learned.\u00a0All of ours have learned several tricks. \u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2093 alignright\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/pinky-and-mom-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Guinea pigs are affectionate.<\/strong>\u00a0Though their affection differs from the overt kind you get from a dog, you\u2019ll know it when you feel it from them.\u00a0Like any animal, it\u2019s all about trust. When you are unfailingly kind and gentle with them, they will trust you completely. They will greet you with excited whistles when you come home. They will come to your hand or sit still as you lift them from the cage. They will snuggle down on you and relax. But the most telling sign from this prey animal that you have earned their complete trust is when they curl up on their side, exposing their plump, little belly and fall into a deep, dream-filled sleep. Our pig, Pinky, does this nightly on my wife\u2019s lap.<\/p>\n<p>If a guinea pig sounds like the perfect pet for you, adopt one at your local\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhumanesociety.org\/adoption?species=SmallFurry&amp;sex=All&amp;date_filter_op=not+empty&amp;date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Byear%5D=2015&amp;date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Bmonth%5D=3&amp;date_filter%5Bvalue%5D%5Bday%5D=29&amp;date_filter%5Bmin%5D%5Byear%5D=2015&amp;date_filter%5Bmin%5D%5Bmonth%5D=3&amp;date_filter%5Bmin%5D%5Bday%5D=29&amp;date_filter%5Bmax%5D%5Byear%5D=&amp;date_filter%5Bmax%5D%5Bmonth%5D=&amp;date_filter%5Bmax%5D%5Bday%5D=&amp;location=All&amp;field_pp_animalname_value=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">animal humane society<\/a>\u00a0or pet rescue!<\/p>\n<p><em>Written by Bob &amp; Chrysann Kelly, clients at Animal Emergency &amp; Referral Center of Minnesota.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My wife and I have owned guinea pigs since childhood. We\u2019re in our mid 40\u2019s now and currently have three pigs: two \u201cSkinny Pigs\u201d (Hairless) and one furred. All of our pigs have had different personalities and all have been extremely pleasing to have as pets. Guinea pigs are inexpensive to buy and to keep.\u00a0We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>4 Reasons to Adopt a Guinea Pig | Animal Emergency &amp; Referal Center of Minnesota<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aercmn.com\/blog\/4-reasons-to-adopt-a-guinea-pig\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Reasons to Adopt a Guinea Pig | Animal Emergency &amp; Referal Center of Minnesota\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My wife and I have owned guinea pigs since childhood. 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