Giant Guinea Pig

[Guest Scott]

Three years ago, we got a baby guinea pig (named Trooper) and she grew up to be huge (as in gigantic by guinea pig standards). She grew up to be much larger than any other guinea pig we have or have ever had.

Here she is sitting on my wife's lap.

Even though she's really big, she's still sweet to the other guinea pigs and is not the dominant one.  The other two guinea pigs are more dominant although they are much smaller.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Scott

[Carborendum]

Took me a while to figure out the geometry of that photo.  I thought it was someone lying on their stomach and face down with a wig that looked like a guinea pig.

[Guest Scott]

1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

Took me a while to figure out the geometry of that photo.  I thought it was someone lying on their stomach and face down with a wig that looked like a guinea pig.

Unless you want to get guinea pig hair all over you, Trooper jas to be sitting on a towel or blanket.  She sheds!

That's why my wife is sitting on the couch with a blanket and guinea pig

[dprh]

Wow!  I had no idea guinea pigs could get to that size.  Looks like it might attack Buttercup and Wesley. 

[anatess2]

16 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Took me a while to figure out the geometry of that photo.  I thought it was someone lying on their stomach and face down with a wig that looked like a guinea pig.

I thought the ears were the eyes and the eyes were tumors growing on its nose...

[Fether]

1 hour ago, anatess2 said:

I thought the ears were the eyes and the eyes were tumors growing on its nose...

I had the exact same thought

[Jamie123]

I often wonder whether animals like rabbits and guinea pigs like being stroked. We tend to stroke them the same way we stroke cats, because their fur is similar.

Cats do like being stroked, but that's because they are social groomers. Cats lick each other (and themselves) to keep clean. How do guinea pigs keep clean? Do they socially groom?

All I can find online about "how do guinea pigs keep clean?" is instructions how to clean your guinea pig. Guinea pigs in the wild don't have people to clean them. So how do they do it? 

[Vort]

1 hour ago, Jamie123 said:

I often wonder whether animals like rabbits and guinea pigs like being stroked. We tend to stroke them the same way we stroke cats, because their fur is similar.

Cats do like being stroked, but that's because they are social groomers. Cats lick each other (and themselves) to keep clean. How do guinea pigs keep clean? Do they socially groom?

All I can find online about "how do guinea pigs keep clean?" is instructions how to clean your guinea pig. Guinea pigs in the wild don't have people to clean them. So how do they do it? 

All larger mammals, from cats to dogs to elephants to chimpanzees, demonstrate very human-seeming emotional traits such as courage, cowardice, jealousy, and affection. These traits seem to be built into the mammalian brain. It is my considered opinion that touch sensitivity associated with affection, often taking the form of mutual grooming, is one of these psychological/emotional traits baked into mammals. Guinea pigs don't strike me as one of the "larger" mammals—present example excepted 😊—but my guess would be that they share this born-in-the-brain-structure appreciation of being stroked.

[Guest MormonGator]

On 6/1/2020 at 12:06 PM, dprh said:

I had no idea guinea pigs could get to that size.

Neither did I.  A few weeks ago I found out that there is a type of rabbit that grows to 20 pounds! 

[Guest Scott]

3 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

I often wonder whether animals like rabbits and guinea pigs like being stroked.

 

Yes, they do (at least when they are tame) and they purr too.

Quote

How do guinea pigs keep clean? Do they socially groom?

Yes they do.   They groom themselves with their paws and also lick each other.

[Carborendum]

1 hour ago, Scott said:

Yes, they do (at least when they are tame) and they purr too.

Yes they do.   They groom themselves with their paws and also lick each other.

@Jamie123, this is not a suggestion for you to lick your guinea pig.  Please don't do that.

[Vort]

36 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

@Jamie123, this is not a suggestion for you to lick your guinea pig.  Please don't do that.

Maybe they secrete a hallucinogenic poison.

[Guest MormonGator]

2 hours ago, Scott said:

Yes, they do (at least when they are tame) and they purr too.

They can purr?  

[Carborendum]

25 minutes ago, Vort said:

Maybe they secrete a hallucinogenic poison.

@Jamie123, go ahead and lick your guinea pig.

[Jamie123]

16 hours ago, Carborendum said:

@Jamie123, go ahead and lick your guinea pig.

"I climbed on the back of a giant anchovy
And flew off through a gap in the clouds
To a land where music was playing
Incredibly loudly
And everyone was really happy
And having a really good time...

...except me"