Meet Noel and Honey, the beloved guinea pigs of Sutherland SALT Counsel Open Weaver Banks.

Noel, the white guinea pig, is roughly three years old, and Honey is about a year old.

Open has had a constant stream of guinea pigs since she was a teenager, except for a few years when her children were little. Though it was really Open who needed the guinea pigs, she convinced her husband that it was their kids who needed them, and he built a deluxe double-decker guinea pig cage for the new arrivals.

Guinea pigs become accustomed to your day–to-day routine. As soon as Honey and Noel hear Open’s voice in the morning, they start calling “weep, weep, weep!” in their loud, squeaky voices.  When they hear Open chopping vegetables in the kitchen, they “weep, weep, weep” incessantly because they know they’ll get the end of a carrot or the top of a strawberry. Noel and Honey’s diet consists of lots of carrots, red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, brussel sprouts and watermelon rinds. During the summer, they enjoy lettuce and kale from Open’s garden.

A favorite activity for Noel and Honey is “maze running.” When Open hasn’t dropped off the family’s recycling for a while, her son will set up a maze for the guinea pigs on the kitchen floor using all of the boxes and whatever else he can find. He’ll hide little treats for the guinea pigs throughout the maze and then let them run around. Honey and Noel scuttle all over the place and seem to enjoy the exercise and change in routine.

Noel and Honey are incredibly honored to be the first guinea pigs featured as Pets of the Month!