Very sweet and friendly! They...don't really do much; the potatoes-with-legs description is accurate. Part potato, part easygoing cow? They like to ambleskitter around and sniff things, and nibble on them experimentally, and to sit on you and be petted. (Caveat: AFAIK guinea pigs pee freely, so we always held them with a towel over our laps or with the pig wrapped up like a loose burrito.) But they're always happy to see you, and recognize their "person," and they're very keen on their environment. When you were going through the fridge in the next room, my pig Sofie could always tell by sound when you were opening the crisper-drawer-with-the-tasty-carrots and not the meat drawer, and she'd meepmeep a racket for the former and ignore the latter. And she got very interested in the TV in the room, and would meepmeep reproachfully at us when we'd turn off the Summer Olympic broadcasts at night.
Continuing a la dogs, piggies use their mouths to gnaw investigate things, not their paws. They'll dig a little or prop their forefeet against the wall to stand or climb a bit (I've seen some cool multilevel cages with ramps), but they don't sit up on their hindlegs or really do the grabby-hand-paws like mice and rats. So they're not as trustworthy with uneven surfaces; they love to sit on your shoulder or the sofa but they can't cling tight if they start to fall off.
I'd highly suggest getting guinea pigs from a breeder or other private entity--mine came from family members whose sow had babies--so they're accustomed to humans from a young age and not overcrowded. Nearly all pet shop piggies I've seen have been wild-eyed nippers driven mad by people poking at them all day in those open-top cages.
(no subject)
Mon, Jan. 17th, 2011 06:03 am (UTC)Continuing a la dogs, piggies use their mouths to
gnawinvestigate things, not their paws. They'll dig a little or prop their forefeet against the wall to stand or climb a bit (I've seen some cool multilevel cages with ramps), but they don't sit up on their hindlegs or really do the grabby-hand-paws like mice and rats. So they're not as trustworthy with uneven surfaces; they love to sit on your shoulder or the sofa but they can't cling tight if they start to fall off.I'd highly suggest getting guinea pigs from a breeder or other private entity--mine came from family members whose sow had babies--so they're accustomed to humans from a young age and not overcrowded. Nearly all pet shop piggies I've seen have been wild-eyed nippers driven mad by people poking at them all day in those open-top cages.