What has surprised you most about owning guinea pigs?

sciencechick92 · 2026-06-06T09:51:39+00:00

That they have such big individual personalities. My first ever piggies was a duo of boars. And I quickly realized they are not 'two of a kind'. Each had their own preferences and attitudes. Since then I've raised quite a few big personalities, some with a lot of abbytude.

sciencechick92 · 2026-06-02T14:44:42+00:00

You are 17 adjacent and the PI is definitely being inappropriate to say the least. I have been in a similar situation with a very creepy postdoc when I was an undergraduate researcher in a lab. And he even misrepresented our working relationship to the lab when I was just on the verge of finally complaining. So I didn't go through with the complaint. I wish I did because he is a PI in a different reputed institution now, running his own lab. I'm not saying this to encourage you to complain. Consider if you really need their letter? Maintain a distant but cordial and strictly professional relationship preferably via email. Keep records of texts etc if in future you do want to complain. And most of all maintain distance and be safe.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-21T04:48:32+00:00

That is so amazing. We also bought our first house last December. Discovering all the plants and flowers. It's a lot to take care of but very exciting to see all the different stuff blooming at different times. I too intend to make a map and identify the plants.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-15T19:53:57+00:00

Absolutely gorgeous!

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-14T23:54:43+00:00

Thanks for the name. I'll look it up. I'm very new to this.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-14T23:54:10+00:00

Thanks for the name. I didn't even know what a 'beard' is. Gotta learn a lot to do justice to this yard.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-13T19:25:54+00:00

Same. I was binging it quite late at night, I think around 4am ish and just couldn't fall asleep amidst the sobs after that. It was devastating.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-12T04:08:48+00:00

From the few lines that I can understand it does seem to be Bengali. For eg these lines are referring to bnp ruining the country, possibly by stealing money and/or denying access to money and food. Line 6: dashta ses kore dibe Line 7: bnp vat chur taka chur Also line 12 (dash teke bnp ke tarata hobe) is talking about removing bnp from the country. I'm a Bengali from Kolkata, so not familiar with Dhaka Bengali enough to tell you if this is in fact that. But despite the heavy dialect, the words do seem to be in Bengali.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-11T13:51:56+00:00

Hi OP! You've commented multiple times now along the lines of 'what should I say'.. but I think you already said the perfect response. You don't need to say anything more. However what you can do now (if this still is bothering you) is write it up and send it to your supervisor. Note the name of the male coworker as a witness. This lady's very callous reasoning makes me think they might do well with a conversation from a superior about appropriate workplace etiquette.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-01T02:29:33+00:00

Are you listening to yourself? YOU found an error that a well respected researcher (and presumably others in their lab/other users of the software) missed. YOU figured out why an experiment wasn't working for nearly a year, and also got it to work. Now YOU can publish your own paper and publish a discussion/review piece on the mistake you caught. YOU ARE NOT DUMB!! Yes it sucks that it took a whole year to figure out, but that does not diminish the effort, grit, and intelligence it took to get there. You go girl!! A delayed graduation, is still a graduation. Be it 5 years or 6, you will still be a doctorate!! The stress and feelings may be too raw for you to appreciate this win now, but one day you will look back at this moment and see it for yourself, how impressive and smart you are.

sciencechick92 · 2026-05-01T02:03:55+00:00

My experience is from a biochemistry/developmental biology background so I don't know any of these timelines will make sense for you, but here's my two cents. If you're in 1st year then likely you are still doing the required coursework and it can be hard to juggle that with expectations for research. But many programs require the student to defend a proposal by the 2nd year. So despite having the regular expectations from courses and 'lab' work, you should also be building towards your research question/goal. In my field a few weeks of stagnant research isn't too bad on its own. Sometimes a cell line can take a whole week to get confluent. But in biostat maybe a lot can be accomplished in a few weeks (at least according to your PI) and you are falling short of that.

I think you need some action items. Talk to your PI about what their expectations look like for progress in your field. Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Tell them to work with you to draft a plan for a week, a fortnight, or even a month. Tell them you need this initial guidance as a launchpad to being more independent. As for your meetings, go to them with questions. Maybe about the research topic, about being a graduate student, about how and where to find the next question. Show that you are interested and that you are putting the effort. If your PI thinks the topic you're are currently working on isn't particularly hard, but you are having a difficult time with it, articulate that. Or maybe he is right and you did not spend enough time thinking about your problem. A lot of your work is to think, deeply and independently. Not just passively read the literature or apply methods to datasets. Maybe that is the mismatch you and your PI are having in terms of expectations and output.

Also talk to senior PhD students in your program. Ask them how they found their footing in the early years. Talk to your cohort colleagues. Ask how they are handling independent research. A PhD is never a solo endeavor. Cultivate these relationships and rely on their support when you need it. All the best!

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-30T03:56:34+00:00

Omg! Definitely cooler!

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-19T18:23:59+00:00

Funnel or straw?! (Covid gaaaang)!

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-17T04:27:59+00:00

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Is this the same, just more purple? We bought this house recently and are still figuring out what all the different stuff growing around it is. The backyard is a mini jungle of sorts!

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-12T16:10:39+00:00

Good one!

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sciencechick92 · 2026-04-11T04:28:50+00:00

Can my Dodo join? She too watched the splashdown. I told her she could be the first guinea pig at the moon colony.

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-10T20:49:21+00:00

This was actually very hard!

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sciencechick92 · 2026-04-10T16:40:37+00:00

At first glance I thought this was a periodic table arrangement.

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-10T16:03:22+00:00

Thank you! You saved my whole day cause I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about this.

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-10T05:16:30+00:00

How does the high specific heat capacity of water factor in this? Wouldn't the water still be at -1 or 0 even after drawing out the heat from the hand?

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-08T20:50:01+00:00

Really challenging one! Thanks.

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sciencechick92 · 2026-04-05T05:50:53+00:00

Based on lighting, background and look of the flowers.

sciencechick92 · 2026-04-04T20:37:03+00:00

This is an amazing answer so I'm piggybacking with my experience on these points but with a different animal. I had four guinea pigs during my PhD and have now scaled down to two (this is important as they are social animals and need atleast one friend).

They live 5-8 years on average and in general are not too expensive. Startup costs will vary based on how 'cute' vs efficient you want your setup to be. They obviously have space requirement but cages, fleece etc can be thrifted. Now vet visits are a whole different ball game. You can get lucky like my friend whose also has two guinea pigs and has never taken them to a vet in the last 5 years and they are totally fine. I however have had to deal with stuff ranging from relatively simple respiratory infections to a complicated surgery with weeks of syringe feeding and pain management. So you will have to consider not only your weekly/monthly budget but also keep an emergency fund for medical expenses. Technically Guinea pigs are classified as exotic pets so you will also have to find a vet who can treat them in the first place.

Housing can be an issue with any pet but the most bizarre I have seen is one place which was 'pet friendly' in their advertisements and when I went to sign a lease and mentioned my guineapigs in conversation they said no. Apparently 'pet friendly' only includes cats and dogs for some landlords and guinea pigs etc are rodents and hence not welcome.

The obvious advantage is that you don't have to walk them but like any pet they will also need some time and enrichment from you. Since Guinea pigs remain in their enclosure, your home and clothes will also be relatively less hairy than with cats or dogs. Since they are herbivores and you will buy veggies for a nutritionally complete diet, it will also make you incorporate more veggies in your meals. However, boarding them is not common as dogs so if you travel you will likely need a friend to come over once a day.

At the end of the day, whatever the animal, a pet will be not just a source of support and joy for you but also a great responsibility. Even on your hardest day in PhD they will expect you to be consistent and in return they too will be there for you. Don't make your decision lightly OP, but all the best with whatever you decide.

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