It is Egg — the winner of "most mischievous pet" at the Otago Cavy Club’s Autumn Guinea Pig Show in Green Island yesterday.
Egg’s owner Marcus Ferguson was not surprised his furry little friend was deemed the most mischievous pet.
"He climbs over you all the time and he just doesn’t stay still."
The prizes for first place included a ribbon, certificate, stickers, key ring — and of course a giant carrot.
Guinea pigs were easy to handle and were good companions, he said.
He even attended the event dressed in a costume he designed, and his mother had made, based on the literary guinea pig Olga da Polga.
Marcus said he had taken Egg to three guinea pig shows in the past and kept coming back because they were "just awesome".
It also gave them an opportunity to be a "little bit braggy".
"It’s just good to see pigs [and] other people like us."
Otago Cavy Club president Josh Wilson-Jones, 16, said the most mischievous pet category had been a pretty tight competition.
But Egg had shown a lot of character and personality.
"He just wouldn’t sit still.
"He always wanted to go back to Marcus, he just didn’t want to sit there; he sort of wanted to cuddle into his owner."
Josh said he was "blown away" by yesterday’s turnout and had expected to judge about 100 guinea pigs throughout the day.
The autumn show was one of five events for the year, which had included both a purebred show and the club’s first "mega pet show", he said.
Most mischievous pet was among 10 novelty categories that also included "funky hair", "cutest face" and "biggest butt".
Josh said people did not really understand the general care of guinea pigs, which needed a certain diet and other guinea pigs to keep them company.
But the club had seen "major improvement" with every show after giving out tips to Dunedin guinea pig owners, he said.
Josh said guinea pigs had amazing personalities and made really good pets, but they were hard to care for and he recommended people do their research before getting one.
