Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Rice University
Rodentia
Our Drove of Guinea Pigs
Madame Callas and Piglet
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- Abyssinian
- both female
- both ~900 g (~2 lbs)
Our first pair of guinea pigs, we adopted Madame Callas and Piglet as juveniles. I was drawn
particularly to Madame Callas because of her propensity to frequently and joyfully burst into
songs of squeaks and "quees." Indeed, she was named after the legendary soprano for her voice
and diva attitude, though she is also very sweet. Piglet is less personable, preferring to park
herself next to or in food and lay down while she eats and eats, hence her name.
Xylem and Phloem
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- Satin
- both female
- both ~500 kg (~1 lbs)
Xylem and Phloem are very close to one another, so when we adopted them as juveniles we wanted to give them
paired names. Xylem always seemed to be drinking water, and Phloem always seemed to be at the food bowl, so
being biologists we decided to name them after the paired tissues of vascular plants responsible for water and
nutrient transport. They are quickly learning to sing from Madame Callas and love to renovate their enclosure.
Our Chinchilla
Siegfried
Siegfried is strong, agile, cunning, highly mischevious, and very outgoing for a chinchilla. As such, he
was named after the hero of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle. When out of his enclosure, he
likes to hop around our study and investigate everything. If you are writing, he may tug on or take
the interesting branch you're holding or nibble the corners off your papers. He's also fond up typing,
as he likes to jump on or walk across the keyboard. If in a more mellow mood, he'll likely lay on top
of the monitor and watch you work.
Guinea pig photos copyright Karen Stuber 1995
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