Romeo and Moana are two American guinea pigs who live with Narmataa Muthu and her family.

Romeo is the older of the two by just a month, and the pair are as different from each other as day and night – personality-wise, at least.

Romeo is the ultimate extrovert, forever with his nose to the ground, frenetically exploring his surroundings.

“He is very cheeky and talkative, and likes to make ‘wheeking’ noises. He is also quite the glutton,” Narmataa says.

Moana, who Narmataa calls “Chonky” on account of her size, is an introvert in every sense of the word.

“She’ll stay cooped up in her tunnel or under her carpet all day long and will only emerge to quickly grab a bite or drink some water before scooting back into hiding.”

At times she even carries her food under the carpet to eat in the privacy of the darkness and away from prying eyes.

Narmataa says Moana is a “poop machine”, adding, “The amount of poop she makes doesn’t correspond with her size.”

Despite how introverted she is, Narmataa says Moana is a rather confident guinea pig who’s comfortable with who she is. No need to impress anyone by making funny sounds (like Romeo) or scurrying around here and there like a busybody (like Romeo).

If there’s one thing the both of them love doing is cuddling. But even in this regard, they are different from each other. While Romeo loves cuddling with his pig mum and pig dad, Moana likes the odd cuddle with anyone except Narmataa.

“I think she hates me. She’s quite a princess as well, everything has to be brought to her on a silver platter and she doesn’t take no for an answer.”

Mealtimes are special for both Romeo and Moana, who enjoy their gourmet feed and Timothy Hay. However, nothing comes close to their fresh vegetables, who both love to munch on.

“Romeo’s favourite is carrot and mix-coloured spinach while Chonky pretty much eats everything without a fuss, except green peas. She positively hates green peas,” Narmataa says.

There are two things the rebel detests – shower time and kisses from his “mummy”. “He’s in his teenager phase now and kisses from mummy are absolutely embarrassing for him,” says Narmataa.

“Chonky however, is pretty much laid back and very queen-like in her demeanour.”

Narmataa says that while Romeo and Moana cannot be taught tricks like you would a dog, the two somehow seem to know when its mealtime.

“They somehow know when it’s mum-mum time and they will make this extremely loud ‘wheeking’ noise.

“Also, Romeo is a fridge detector. Whichever space you let him roam in, he will gravitate towards the fridge. It’s happened once too often to be a coincidence.

Both Romeo and Moana are very much part of Narmataa’s family and “chill” with them most of the time. “But they’re not allowed on the bed.”

“When we first got our guinea pigs, trust me, we never knew how timid and sweet they could be. We thought it would pretty much be just us feeding and cleaning them – that’s all,” Narmataa says, adding that both Romeo and Moana are sensitive and delicate creatures.

She says the two were extremely timid at first, and would tremble at the slightest noise. “It took time for them to trust us and now we only want to do the best for our furkids.”

Narmataa says that with the help of their veterinarian and online forums, they learned a lot about guinea pigs – their behaviours, their eating habits and how to provide an enriching life for them.

“We constructed a large open playground so that they can roam around and not feel restricted,” Narmataa says.

“At the end of the day both Romeo and Moana are our family and we will go to any lengths to make them happy and comfortable because having them with us has made our lives happier and more colourful.”

Narmataa says they are planning on expanding their guinea pig family soon. But in the meantime, you can enjoy Romeo and Moana’s exploits at their Instagram page here.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PET: FMT Lifestyle readers are invited to send in pictures (landscape format) and a short video (if any) of their furry, scaly or feathery friends to [email protected]. Don’t forget to include details like your pet’s name, age, breed and a short story about them.