to Checkers' Cool Guinea Pig Page

Checkers
You have entered the part of my page dedicated totally and completly to my favorite rodents, guinea pigs. First of all, a little background on my favorite 'pig, The Check-Man:

Checkers was born on April 4, 1996 at about 7:30 p.m.
He is a red agouti and white crested guinea pig
He became a father on March 17, 1997 (yes, St. Patrick's Day)
He is the son of Oreo and Simon and the grandson of Penny and G.P.

My Guinea Pigs
I'm sure Checkers wishes he could be an "only pig" and have all of my attention to himself, but the fact is, he must share me and my family with three other guinea pigs.
A Bit of Background on the Others
JOHNNY is our star pig. Only a few misplaced markings prevent him from entering the show ring and winning. As a tortiseshell and white, each marking must be as square as possible and evenly distirbuted throughout the body. Well, he may not be prize-worthy, but he's still gorgeous. (If you can beleive it, Johnny is the son of Emma, whose picture is below.)

A very pregnant Emma
EMMA is a very unique pig. We traded an albino baby of ours to a pet store so we could have this beautiful pig with the beige/white/chocolate colors. However, I'm now considering the intelligence of this move. Emma turned out be nasty and intolerant of people and other guinea pigs, even her own children. But, she's cute and we love her, so we'll keep her.
NIKE is our newest addition to the family. Since Emma is our only female, and since breeding her has resulted in crabby, obnoxious babies just like herself, I decided I wanted a well-adjusted female so I could breed some decent pigs. So far, that's just what Nike is. She's still a baby, so she's a little high-strung, but most babies grow out of that, and I'm sure she will. Nike is so new, I don't have any pictures of her yet, but I will do my best to explain her: She is smooth, short-haired, and solid brown, except for her hind feet, which are both white (which explains the name).
The Dictionary
Now, I know that if you're a beginner in the feild of guinea pigs, not all of the terminoligy used above is going to make much sense to you. I've been raising g'pigs for almost seven years, and there's still more for me to learn. So here's a guide to some of the terms and phrases used for guinea pigs to make appreciating them a little easier.

SELF- the term used to describe a guinea pig that is solid in color; pure black, white, red, etc.
ABYSSINIAN- a coat bearing many whorls, or rosettes, causing the fur to grow in many different directions.
CRESTED- a smooth coat with a singular rosette placed on the forehead between the eyes. May or may not be a different color than body color.
TORTISESHELL AND WHITE- a coat bearing these three colors: firey red, jet black, and pure white
AGOUTI- fur with hairs of a background color ticked with black to create a darker, richer color.

Check out these great g'pig sites
The Guinea Pig Compendium
Guinea Pigs Everywhere
Cavyland

This gorgeous guinea pig was adopted my me on July 30, 1997,
as a tribute to the greatest g'pig God ever created,
G.P.
1991-1995

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