I think I have said, "I will never have a rodent in the house", a few times. Ha! Famous last words! Meet Cinnamon, our new guinea pig. It all started with Eileen's need to have a speciman for her Natural Science class this year. This is an awesome course offered through Mother of Divine Grace (MODG), our homeschool curriculum provider, that requires some experiments with little critters. In the past, Moira had used Beta fish. Eileen wasn't too interested in that. I asked around about rodents and found that guinea pigs are much less likely to bite than hampsters or gerbils. So....here we are. The kids actually love this little critter, and she is very gentle. And, as a bonus, she doesn't stink! The non-cedar shavings they make for the bottom of the cages now are very nice, absorbant, and clean very easily.
Now, maybe you're wondering about the experiments that Eileen will be doing. She will be determining if music, rock or classical, can effect Cinnamon's behavior. For the first three weeks, she will take data on Cinnamon's "normal" behavior in her environment (sleeping, eating, exercise, general behavior and intelligence). Intelligence will be measured by timing her going thru a maze. The following week she will play rock music, 24/7, and test for the same behaviors. The following two weeks Cinnamon will be returned to normal environment. The last week, classical music will be played, 24/7, and she will again be tested for changes in behavior or intelligence.
Any music suggestions for Cinnamon? I'll be sure to let you all know if she starts rocking out or break- dancing to some music :)
