# I got a new guinea pig! (and I need a name)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 21, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268 "2006-03-21T12:21:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/1 "2006-03-21T12:21:32Z")
To cut to the chase: [photos](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/csharpmajor/pigs.jpg)! Unfortunately, my digital camera is crap and my SLR currently has $7.50-a-roll slide film in, so no good photos for a while. For now, you’ll just have make yourself content with this extremely un-cute montage. Little Guy is actually in a very photogenic stage right now because he just sits there… stock still… staring at me. I bet I could hold him upside-down by the hind legs like the trivia books say will make his eyes fall out and he’d still just dangle quietly. I think it’s because he’s scared of me 😛
Anyway, I got him to keep Darcy (that’s the fat white one) company. I got him off a lady who accidentally bred her two pigs. The father is neutered now but stable doors and bolting horses and all that. He’s a [cute little bugger](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/csharpmajor/pig.jpg) though. Lively, too, just not around me :o
But the real reason I’m posting is because… I need to name him, before I start thinking of him as “Little Guy”. Any suggestions?
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/2 "2006-03-21T12:58:29Z")
Well, if the first one is Darcy, this could be your Bingley.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/3 "2006-03-21T13:26:31Z")
Name him Samarai. It’s a city in “New Guinea.”
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/4 "2006-03-21T14:27:49Z")
Kinda looks like some concoction involving chocolate and caramel. Maybe Snickers, MilkyWay, Samoa (the GS cookie)?
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### Author:  [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/5 "2006-03-21T14:48:27Z")
My parents had a guinea pig named Reeter. All he did was go “reet reet reet” whenever they were in the room.
So, all guinea pigs should be named Reeter. 😃
I say you name him after a favorite character in a book or movie.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/6 "2006-03-21T15:54:22Z")
“Steve”.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/7 "2006-03-21T17:16:57Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#):
>
> So, all guinea pigs should be named Reeter. 😃
I thought the official guinea pig sound was spelled “fweep”.
Here’s a couple of lists that might help:
[http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/Cavy%20Names.htm](http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/Cavy%20Names.htm)
> **[What Should You Name Your Guinea Pig?](https://www.thesprucepets.com/guinea-pig-names-1236944)**
>
> Guinea pigs are pint-sized, scampering pets that you can name based on their looks, behavior, or a clever pun. Take a look at 100 unique names.
Here’s our guinea pig (named Sheila, by the way):
[http://userweb.suscom.net/~sokosfamily/webpics.htm](http://userweb.suscom.net/~sokosfamily/webpics.htm)
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### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/8 "2006-03-22T09:20:36Z")
It’s decided! His name is P.D.Q. 😃 And I just took a bunch of photos of him for an assignment. They are on slides though. I will post them if I figure out a way to scan them.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/9 "2006-03-22T13:50:03Z")
Call him **Inca Chow**.
[HERE’S WHY, From Wikipedia.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig#History)
> [@](#):
>
> The common guinea pig was first domesticated in about 2000 BC for food by the Inca, in the Andean region of South America, in what is now Peru and Bolivia. They continue to be a food source in the region, subsisting off a family’s vegetable scraps as a half pet/half future meal.
He’d be nice, deep-fried. 😉😃😛
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/10 "2006-03-22T15:04:00Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> Call him **Inca Chow**.
>
> [HERE’S WHY, From Wikipedia.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_pig#History)
>
> He’d be nice, deep-fried. 😉😃😛
We gave one of my Cavy’s offspring to a fanatical-animal-lover coworker of my mom. The day they brought it home, their elderly St Benard came over to take a sniff as the little cavy sat on the palm of a hand. Satisfied by the sniff, the dog then vacuumed the little guy right off the hand in one gulp. Everyone freaked and tried to pry the dogs jaws apart, but it was way too late.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/11 "2006-03-22T15:23:38Z")
In a tribute to Alan Moore, you could name him _A for Alfalfa_.
Sailboat
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### Author:  [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/12 "2006-03-22T15:28:53Z")
Looking at him, I think he’s got a tough side.
Has to be named Ogre.
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### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/13 "2006-03-24T17:43:47Z")
I took some more photos of him. They look really great. Unfortunately they’re on slides and I haven’t got a couple hundred dollars lying around to drop on a negative scanner. So this is [the best I can manage](http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/7595/slides29gy.jpg).
I would have taken pictures of the other guy, but he’s much too hyper to be a good model 😃
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/14 "2006-03-24T17:51:15Z")
> [@](#):
>
> My parents had a guinea pig named Reeter. All he did was go “reet reet reet” whenever they were in the room.
> [@](#):
>
> I thought the official guinea pig sound was spelled “fweep”.
Ours all say “wheeek” and are called “the wheekers.”
(I’m not sure why we have them, since we are apparently not going to eat them. They have less personality than any critter in the house (including our uromastyx and our Dumeril boa). They do not appear to enjoy being held. They are about as affectionate as dust bunnies. They make lots of noise.)
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### Author:  [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/15 "2006-03-24T18:27:21Z")
> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Ours all say “wheeek” and are called “the wheekers.”
>
> (I’m not sure why we have them, since we are apparently not going to eat them. They have less personality than any critter in the house (including our uromastyx and our Dumeril boa). They do not appear to enjoy being held. They are about as affectionate as dust bunnies. They make lots of noise.)
Not all pigs are like that. I have two, Magdalena and Penelope (aka Maggie and Penny or Mags and Pen) and they both have very distinct (and opposite!) personalities. They kind of remind me of the old dog/young dog in the Warner Bros cartoons: the older one (Maggie) is cranky and grumpy and ‘that’s mine!’ to everything and the younger one (Penny) is oh boy oh boy lookit that neat stuff can I see that hi how ya doin stuff is AWESOME!
In general pigs don’t mind being held, but they hate being picked up. Wouldn’t you if you were a prey animal and had a giant possible predator looming over you?
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### Author:  [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/16 "2006-03-24T18:43:48Z")
> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Ours all say “wheeek” and are called “the wheekers.”
>
> (I’m not sure why we have them, since we are apparently not going to eat them. They have less personality than any critter in the house (including our uromastyx and our Dumeril boa). They do not appear to enjoy being held. They are about as affectionate as dust bunnies. They make lots of noise.)
!!
Guinea pigs are prey animals, so they will almost invariably run away when you try to pick them up. It’s just instinct. Once you pick them up hold them close to your body and in your arms, not on your hands. PDQ doesn’t like being held. He goes all quiet and still and gives me this evil stare and if I pet him for too long he grumbles at me. Reminds me of my friend’s brother, really 😃 And the noise is just their way of communicating with you (or each other). They have a very wide vocabulary of sounds and if you learn them you’ll know exactly what they’re after.
As for having no personality, they have tons! Give them a little attention and it’ll come right through. If they’re not doing much it could be because they’re bored or stressed. How many do you have and how big is your cage? Each pig is an individual, honest! And even if they’re not, they’re, uh, cute? 😛
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/17 "2006-03-24T19:00:35Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#):
>
> Well, if the first one is Darcy, this could be your Bingley.
You got it in one. And Bingley is a cute name in its own right.
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### Author:  [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/18 "2006-03-24T19:13:27Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#):
>
> He goes all quiet and still and gives me this evil stare and if I pet him for too long he grumbles at me. Reminds me of my friend’s brother, really 😃
Your brother’s friend grumbles if you pet him for too long? :eek:
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### Author:  [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/19 "2006-03-24T19:20:36Z")
You asked (not really, but you know you want it) and my sister provided.
[Maria](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/aa858d0f.jpg) with an injured foot. This was right before Christmas, so the vet gave her a festive Christmas Stocking.
[Demeter](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/cc6b6ba0.jpg) The Cutest Cat in the World ™ “observing” Maria and her little friends Mouse and Molly…from the top of their cage, with a cute green Christmas bow.
And Demeter, TCCITW™, [trying to catch a Mouse](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/ad010da7.jpg) once she got the courage to enter their cage. Notice the use of a hay rack as both a hiding spot and a lure.
And just for the fun of it…[Cat](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/82908158.jpg) [in a](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/8b35f6c3.jpg) [box](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/057804be.jpg)
I think PDQ is a cute name for a little piggie.
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### Author:  [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-got-a-new-guinea-pig-and-i-need-a-name/349268/20 "2006-03-24T20:36:58Z")
> [@xbuckeye](#):
>
> You asked (not really, but you know you want it) and my sister provided.
> [Maria](http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y251/xbuckeye/aa858d0f.jpg) with an injured foot. This was right before Christmas, so the vet gave her a festive Christmas Stocking.
> I think PDQ is a cute name for a little piggie.
I like the little stocking.
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