Teddy & Swirl are guinea pigs. I am fostering them for a friend who is having financial difficulties. I could not bear to see her have to give them to strangers and worry about their welfare we they are going to stay with us until she is back on her feet. Teddy is a Teddy Guinea Pig and as you can see by her photo she is a big fluff ball. Swirl is a male Abyssinian who's colors are swirled hence the name. The interesting thing about Swirl is that he is blind. He has cataracts that caused him to loose most of his sight. From what I understand from his mom he can see movement and shadows. Teddy is his seeing eye pig, she keeps him on track and makes sure he gets to his food and hay. She also uses his blindness to steal his cucumber when he is not looking. They are adorable and the sweetest two piggies. My girls love Teddy but since Swirl is a boy they prefer he stay in his cage.
Dharma is a little black and white mouse. Who is the smartest mouse on the planet. I got her and a hamster from a woman who rescued them from a breeder. I have never had a mouse before and this should be interesting.
The newest hamster is still unnamed. Sometimes it takes me a while to get a name for them other times I know their name the minute I see them. This little girl was a breeder hamster that was used to have litters for pet stores. Much like puppy mills they do not have a good life. They are bred time after time until they either die or someone rescues them. She was lucky and was rescued. Much like Tunie, this little girl is so sweet and trusting. She allows you to hold her and cuddle her and never tries to bite. Her first experience with a hamster cage scared the day lights out of her. Again, like Tunie she does not know she is a hamster. So to help her out and allow her to be comfortable I put her in a large plastic bin with lots of hamster hiding places so that she can learn how to nest and climb and just enjoy being a hamster.
This girl may already have a home, but I had to let the adoptive family know that she is older and therefore may not have a long time left. It will be up to them to decide if they want to adopt her or wait for a younger one to come along. Either way she will be a happy hammie from now on.