Folk Tales of the Saffron Pig

[Magician]

...Aladdin being of course the saffron pig; his true colour is actually red (2 copies of recessive extension - ee - for anyone else with a hobby interest in genetics*), but whatever.
Basically I want a thread where I can gush over this gorgeous guinea.

Aladdin is not coping great with the loss of his friend but it's not been long, he has a teddy now which he adores and has been chatting to. If I move it, he runs after it and checks it over when I put it down, and he has been sleeping pressed up against it. It's sad to watch, but also undeniably adorable.

He is eating well: he refused critical care this morning, but began devouring his hay as soon as I put him back into the cage, and has had some carrot and critical care this morning as well as lots of greens and pellets last night. Poos are good as well and although he is less active, he's still been moving about - there were even some popcorns last night - as he's been throwing his critical care bowl around. I scatter feed greens and pellets and all these have gone so he must have been moving at least a bit. I had a nice cuddle with morning and he had lots to say for himself which is nice as he seems quieter now, I assume it's as he now has nobody to talk to. His coat is shiny and his eyes are bright, and - best of all - I haven't heard any sneezing since yesterday morning, which is all good.

Love this little lad anyway...



* Not as in breeding, I don't breed and 110% support rescue, but just find genetics interesting .

[Magician]

[Lynx]

Your guinea pig is adorable!

[GrannyJu1]

I agree with Lynx, he is a cutie! I see he has a little bit of a gray mustache between his lip and his nose. Better keep a close eye on him...

[Magician]

GrannyJu1 why? (worried enough as it is, don't make me fret more...xD)

[GrannyJu1]

You just can never tell with some guinea pigs ~ they can grow two extra feet or something. ;o)

[bpatters]

She's warning you to keep an eye on him because he's cute enough to be pignappable.

[Catie Cavy]

Aww, he looks like he is smiling.

[daisymay]

Love the first picture where his tongue is showing. He is adorable! love to see a picture of him and his teddy. Can't wait to hear more about him.

[Magician]

He's just realised not everyone likes rodents. Think his face says it all.
:(

[Magician]

But it's OK, I gave him pellet mush and now he's super happy :-) (and got fibre gunk all over his nose, and his paws, and his chest, and the fleece, and me...)






he keeps trying to give hay to the teddy though which is a bit heartbreaking to watch: he picks up stray strands and then drops them at the toy, then does it again when the toy doesn't respond. Sad :(

[Lynx]

Sad indeed! It sounds like he needs a pal!

[Magician]

I agree, Lynx!
As he's a lone pig (temporarily...I have exams coming up soon so am wanting to adopt him a friend after those are finished; getting another pig would be a nice reward for myself as well!) is there anything else I can do to entertain him besides lots of attention, scatter feeding, food toys (kebabs, treat balls etc.), radio on when I'm not there, soft toy, and possibly making the cage bigger? If I do make the cage* larger, it will have to be either an upstairs or downstairs extension as, due to space restrictions, increasing his space widthways isn't an option. Which would be best, up or down? Ramps aren't ideal but it's more enrichment at least.


Sorry for all the questions, but I've never had a single guinea pig before and don't want him to be unhappy.

As a side note, I've might actually get 2 younger ones if I achieve a certain grades in the subjects I'm not so good at: it means when Aladdin passes his friend won't be by itself and is also motivation for me.

*It's a C&C made without grids, just the plastic, and is just marginally larger than a 2*5.


ETA: This may be of interest to anyone facing a similar dilemma: Brenda M.Elliott, Neil E.Grunberg (Dec 2005). Effects of social and physical enrichment on open field activity differ in male and female Sprague–Dawley rats. Behavioural Brain Research, Volume 165(2) pages 187 - 196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2005.06.025
It states....
....The major findings from the current study were: (1) social enrichment has the greatest effect to improve performance (i.e., increased habituation) for both males and females and (2) the effects of enrichment overall generally appear to be greater for males than for females.

So basically, the best kind of enrichment is a buddy, and males are more likely to suffer more alone. Interesting!

[Magician]

(Admittedly it's in rats, but still...)

[Lynx]

It sounds like you are trying to enrich his life a great deal. How much floor time does he have? Have you tried hiding treats (bits of fresh greens) so he has to do a lot of exploring to find them?

A companion also means better health because they will move around more. I hope you are able to get companions!

[Magician]

I struggle a bit with floor time as I have house rabbits; I have tried locking them away, but they escaped. Thankfully no harm was done - mainly because my doe rabbit was terrified of the guineas (which was actually quite funny...).
I do hide greens and things and have done for a while....can piggies benefit from having digging boxes with soil in to rummage about in ?

[Lynx]

I don't think guinea pigs are diggers.

Sounds like you have a menagerie at your house!

[Magician]

Yeah, it's a bit of a zoo really; 19 animals currently - sounds mad, I know, but wouldn't have it any other way - 16 of which are proudly rescues/adoptions, including little Aladdin. Oh, and four people! Though I suppose if you do 19/4 it's only 4.75 pets each(!)

[bpatters]

Just a word of warning -- a trio of males almost NEVER works. You can usually pair them up, and a big herd in a HUGE cage will sometimes work, but trios fail about 99% of the time. So I wouldn't recommend getting two more -- you may wind up with three solo pigs, none of which will live with either of the other two.

[Magician]

OK thanks for the heads up bpatters; to be honest, I'll be going through a knowledgeable rescue so will just talk to them about what they think best. It won't be yet anyway. I'd like Aladdin to have a full health check before even thinking about getting friend(s) for him anyway.