Jim-Jim is a guinea pig. Jim-Jim belongs to a friend of Chloe’s from school, and we are guinea pig-sitting him for the next week.
Chloe, of course, is thrilled. Sophie thinks Jim-Jim is a mouse, but no matter. A rodent is a rodent, no?

Actually, Jim-Jim (short for Jiminy Cricket) is kind of cute. He’s pretty low maintenance. Only requires hay, pellets, water, lettuce, carrots and orange slices to be happy. He also likes grapes. He lives in a fairly spacious green house cage, with a wooden box inside that serves as his bedroom.

We’re all a little nervous – this is quite a bit of responsibility for us. Raising kids is one thing. Raising a guinea pig is another matter altogether. I was tempted to ask the friend’s dad for the name of their vet. But I restrained myself. Didn’t want to unnecessarily worry them. Besides, they probably don’t have a vet.

Anyway, one day down, eight to go. So far, so good.