Cavymama78
Junior Guinea Pig
So today I did not what was best for me, but best for my piggies. Let me tell you, it was hard. Hard for several reasons, but first and foremost because I'm the one that put myself in this position in the first place.
My daughter had a hamster. It died. So I bought her a Guinea pig at the pet store. I thought they were just big hamsters. I had no idea about anything. We named him Barnabus and we had him about a week. One day I wondering what the sounds he was making meant. So I played happy guinea pig sounds. The change that overcame him was incredible. He was looking everywhere for the other pigs! A quick Facebook check later and everyone told me he needed a buddy. In fact, there was someone I would be helping if I took their male cavy off their hands. So we brought home Ambrocious. I started dabbling in some research. The first week seemed okay. Then I started watching videos on male guinea pig bonding. I started watching my boys more and saw that my sweet Barnabus was a bully. He wouldn't let Ambrocious eat and chased him all around the cage. By this time I had built them a 2x4 c&c cage so they had plenty of room. My poor Ambrocious seemed to be losing weight. So I put the divider between them. Ambrocious blossomed. He was so much happier. Barnabus stalked the barrier, rumbling and still trying to pick a fight. But I also knew he wanted a buddy because of his reaction from before.
With this divider up, the joys only had a space of 2x2. Not enough room. What was into do? We tried over and over to reintroduce, but sadly they just never bonded.
Today I surrendered Barnabus to a wonderful rescue. While we were there we had a bonding date for Ambrocious. Happily, we found Sir Didymus and now Ambrocious has a friend he can share the entire cage with. Immediate bromance! Giving up Barnabus was so hard, but it was best for the cavies. They will be able to take the time to bind Barnabus with a buddy and find him an excellent home. It's bittersweet. But I know I did the right thing. I'll never get an animal withiut doing ALL the research first again!
Welcome to the family, Sir Didymus!
My daughter had a hamster. It died. So I bought her a Guinea pig at the pet store. I thought they were just big hamsters. I had no idea about anything. We named him Barnabus and we had him about a week. One day I wondering what the sounds he was making meant. So I played happy guinea pig sounds. The change that overcame him was incredible. He was looking everywhere for the other pigs! A quick Facebook check later and everyone told me he needed a buddy. In fact, there was someone I would be helping if I took their male cavy off their hands. So we brought home Ambrocious. I started dabbling in some research. The first week seemed okay. Then I started watching videos on male guinea pig bonding. I started watching my boys more and saw that my sweet Barnabus was a bully. He wouldn't let Ambrocious eat and chased him all around the cage. By this time I had built them a 2x4 c&c cage so they had plenty of room. My poor Ambrocious seemed to be losing weight. So I put the divider between them. Ambrocious blossomed. He was so much happier. Barnabus stalked the barrier, rumbling and still trying to pick a fight. But I also knew he wanted a buddy because of his reaction from before.
With this divider up, the joys only had a space of 2x2. Not enough room. What was into do? We tried over and over to reintroduce, but sadly they just never bonded.
Today I surrendered Barnabus to a wonderful rescue. While we were there we had a bonding date for Ambrocious. Happily, we found Sir Didymus and now Ambrocious has a friend he can share the entire cage with. Immediate bromance! Giving up Barnabus was so hard, but it was best for the cavies. They will be able to take the time to bind Barnabus with a buddy and find him an excellent home. It's bittersweet. But I know I did the right thing. I'll never get an animal withiut doing ALL the research first again!
Welcome to the family, Sir Didymus!
