Mother with 52 GUINEA PIGS spends eight hours a day tending to the furry creatures who nibble through £250 of fruit and veg a month
- Sophie Mason, 29, from Waddington, Lincoln, has over 52 guinea pigs pets
- Said husband Mark, 44, always ‘promised’ that they could have ‘a really big herd’
- Revealed pets are ‘full time job’ and take up eight hours each day to look after
- Admitted the hobby is ‘a bit odd’ but says she has ‘fallen in love’ with the rodents
A mother-of-one with fifty-two pet guinea pigs has revealed that she spends up to eight hours a day looking after the animals – after ‘falling in love’ with the rodents.
Sophie Mason, 29, and husband Mark, 44, from Lincoln, spend a whopping £250 a month feeding the creatures, and give up eight hours of their day to look after the pets.
That includes tending to them, cutting up fresh vegetables and fruit for their meals, and washing the towels they sleep on rather than sawdust.
While Sophie admitted the hobby is ‘a bit odd’, she said her animals bring her ‘so much joy’.
Sophie Mason, 29, from Lincoln, has over 52 guinea pigs which she keeps as pets. She says she can spend up to eight hours a day looking after the animals
The mother-of-one admitted the hobby was ‘a bit odd’ but says she couldn’t help but fall in love with the creatures
Sophie says the couple can spend up to £250 per month feeding her furry friends, and says they bring her ‘so much joy’
Sophie and Mark didn’t plan to have so many of the cute creatures, after only buying six to start with two years ago.
But after wrongly thinking they had all females, they returned from their honeymoon to find one was a male and had mated with the others.
She and RAF serviceman Mark, 44, now have 46 adult guinea pigs and six babies that currently reside at Mason’s Cavies, their guinea pig enclosure.
Sophie said: ‘I have always loved guinea pigs and been fascinated by them. They’re lovely little creatures and they make me laugh and smile every day.’
Sophie and Mark, who started off with only six guinea pigs two years ago, returned from their honeymoon to discover that their four of their pets were pregnant
The couple have over 52 guinea pigs, and dedicate whole rooms in their house to allow the animals to have space
She added: ‘It’s a bit unusual but if you enjoy it and it doesn’t hurt anyone, then why not?’
The mother of one admitted she has always been a fan of the furry creatures.
She revealed: ‘I had always wanted a really big herd and it was something Mark promised me. So we had these six and we went away on our honeymoon.’
‘When we returned, we noticed that the four of the girls had started to get really fat. We took all of them to the vet and realised that he’d got them all pregnant!’
Sophie revealed she has always loved guinea pigs, and that as well as breeding the animals she adopts rescue pigs from across the country
The couple have a huge hatch in their garden where many of the fifty two guinea pigs spend time
She went on: ‘So suddenly, we had 10 babies on our hands but we just decided to go with it.’
Since then the herd has expanded to include rescue pigs from across the country, some of which were previously abused.
Now Sophie says the pigs have changed her life at their family home.
She said: ‘It’s my full-time job. Absolutely. I’ve constantly got the washing machine on the go because we keep them on bath towels rather than sawdust.’
Sophie admitted it is a ‘team effort’ with her husband Mark to look after all of the guinea pigs at their home
Sophie revealed she has always loved guinea pigs and her husband Mark ‘promised’ they could have a ‘really big’ herd before they got married
Sophie said the animals can take up eight hours of her day – but that she loves caring for the adorable pets
‘I spend about eight hours every afternoon cutting veggies, hoovering the shed, washing towels, changing their water bottles.
‘It’s a full-time job. Mark refills the shed with hay every day. It’s a real team effort.’
Alongside pellet food and hay, the piggies love eating fresh vegetables and fruit such as kale, carrots, swede, parsnips, tomatoes and bananas.
Every other night, the creatures also eat dried pea pellets, which is one of their favourite treats.
Sophie spends up to eight hours every day cutting veggies, hoovering the shed, washing towels, changing their water bottles
Sophie admitted that the family can go through £60 worth of vegetables very easily as they feed their pets
Sophie said: ‘We buy a lot of the ‘wonky veg’ boxes from Morrisons and get through around £60 of vegetables easily.
‘The looks you get from the supermarket when you’re queueing up are hilarious.’
Sophie also runs a Facebook page called Mason’s Cavies, which is followed by over 54,000 avid fans, where she regularly shares cute snaps and videos.
And she says the creatures – which are a mix of breeds – help keep her calm on tough days after battling with stress.
Sophie credits the animals with helping to keep her calm as she battles stress, and says the pets bring her ‘so much joy’
The passionate pet lover said she adores the animals – who ‘all have their own quirks’ and doesn’t see them as a chore
It comes as a study in April found that people who suffered traumatic head injuries recovered quicker by stroking guinea pigs.
Scientists found allowing patients to stroke the cute critters during rehabilitation sessions doubled how chatty and positive they were.
Sophie, who has a son with additional needs, says owning the guinea pigs has helped remove stress from her life.
She said: ‘I have a stressful life and they just bring me so much joy. They all have their own quirks and you can’t help but fall in love with them.’
Sophie said she loves watching her dog Isla play with the guinea pigs in the garden of her home
‘For me, looking after that many is not a chore, it’s something I adore doing.
She added: ‘They really are fascinating animals, I love watching them in the garden playing with the dog.’
The sanctuary puts some of the guinea pigs up for adoption and the couple are keen to educate others on how to look after the adorable creatures.
Now they even offer a few slots each month for people to come and visit the sanctuary in order to learn more about the guinea pigs.
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