"The Big Fat"

 Out of all of the guinea pigs the one that required the least amount of attention from the Heinisch family was Rizzo.  He always seemed content just to hang out by himself.  He tolerated attention from Meg and Cam but never asked for it.  He did not initiate interaction with his brother, Atmo, but didn't discourage it either.  All in all Rizzo seemed content to stay in his cage and eat, so much so that Cameron nicknamed his pet, "The Big Fat."

After Atmo died this past summer, Rizzo's behavior didn't change much.  He did seem to be lonelier, but didn't beg us for more attention.  We noticed that he did become louder about requesting his favorite treat, carrots.  That made sense to us as Atmo had always been the one squeaking at the side of the cage for attention and food.  Since Rizzo ate the majority of their food back then, it was no wonder that Atmo had begged more than his brother.  

Whether he has liked it or not, Rizzo has garnished more attention these past few months than he did in the past.  Although he still doesn't enjoy taking rides on the pig bed/sled like the other three did and tries to get back in his cage as soon as he is taken out, he has tolerated the newfound attention pretty well.  He does squeak for carrots every time he hears my voice and Cameron has blamed me multiple times for contributing to his obesity, but overall he has benefitted from the single life.  

With only him in the cage, Meg and I had noticed recently that Rizzo seemed to be making a pillow for himself when he slept.  At first he would fluff up a mound of his bedding in the corner of the cage and lay his head on that, then he started using the side of the bowl.  After seeing him do so several times, we decided to try putting a towel in his cage with him and lo and behold he crawled right over to it and put his head on it.  Now it has become a staple of his nightly routine.  There is still some debate between Cam, Meg and I on whether he likes the ball in his cage, but we all agreed that the towel seems to be a hit for now.  Whether he is getting older and likes propping his head up or is using it as a substitute for Atmo, we will never know.  Tonight Meg took this picture of him getting "ready for bed" and as cute as it was, all I kept thinking about was that we have to have the most pampered guinea pig in the world.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me too much.