First Pets:
The Guinea Pig
Written By Lynne Bertrand
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Fun Facts
Snoozing: Guinea pigs are not nocturnal or truly diurnal, but sort of alert nappers. They tend to settle down at night instead of running incessantly in a squeaky wheel or hatching some elaborate escape plan ("Let's try all night to dig through steel!").
Duplication: Guinea pig young are usually born in litters of two to four, and are fully furred, unbelievably cute miniatures of their parents. They act like broncos, leaping and bucking around for no reason. Some call it "popcorning."
Misnomers: Guinea pigs are not actually pigs, nor did they come from Guinea. They may have acquired the name because of their piglike squeals and the fact that they came to Europe as pets, by way of Guiana in South Africa or Guyana in South America. Another theory is that they cost one guinea in the marketplace. As with real pigs, the females are "sows" and the males are "boars." A group is a "herd."
Origins: Guinea pigs came from South America, where most of their history with humans can be summed up as "tastes like chicken." The Incas hunted them for meat and used them in traditional healing rituals. Over time, pigs were domesticated, again, sort of like chickens.
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