Incorrect information?

[Gemma1286]

I've just watched Scotty's Animals new video about play dates. In this, it sounds like he's saying it's perfectly ok for a single guinea pig to have play dates with another piggy or a bonded pair. The comments are all thanking him. I'm concerned this is misinformation as I know doing play dates aren't a good idea for a number of reasons. I'm letting you all know so that (if you want to) you can give the facts? I feel like this one needs to be addressed and not something I can just forget about.

 

[DMS260820]

I have learnt on here that play dates are not good to do because it can cause stress to the guinea pig. But i have only learnt that from this forum.To me this all makes sense about the stress and that its cruel to let two pigs almost bond and then rip them apart again.

I cant say myself as i have no proof and I'm not a guinea pig. But il stick with what i have learnt on here, because most other things have been spot on.

I wouldnt go on youtube and put any comments, challenging him. You will get a tonne of abuse back.

 

[piggieminder]

You are right, guinea pigs should not have play dates. Every meeting is a bonding and its too confusing for them to be put together and split up again.

 

[DMS260820]

I will admit and in my opinion, a few of the american guinea pig vloggers are a bit old skool in their pet keeping ways still.

 

[Gemma1286]

I have learnt on here that play dates are not good to do because it can cause stress to the guinea pig. But i have only learnt that from this forum.To me this all makes sense about the stress and that its cruel to let two pigs almost bond and then rip them apart again.

I cant say myself as i have no proof and I'm not a guinea pig. But il stick with what i have learnt on here, because most other things have been spot on.

I wouldnt go on youtube and put any comments, challenging him. You will get a tonne of abuse back.

I already commented on the video, not afraid to inform people and if they choose to ignore then that's their ignorance and lack of research showing through. What I wouldn't do though is argue with them because that's what gets you nowhere. I did put "in my opinion" though so people would hopefully see it as advice and not an attack. It's just so sad that big influencers can get it wrong (they are human too) and people just listen and take it as pure fact.

 

[PigglePuggle]

I think playdates need interpreting from a guinea pig evolutionary perspective, ie. a tasty prey sausage creature with very short legs.
If you are a piggy and you meet someone then they go away completely and you dont even find a few of their pees and poos while you're out foraging next time, what would you think happened to them? Bird of prey, coyote... you wouldnt think they got in the car and went home!
My piggies were quite distressed even when Tallulah (who they didnt accept into the herd) "went away" and they were delighted to find her living in the next door room with a different boar, that really made them relax because that's normal, if somepig leaves your territory they go about 50 feet away and join a neighbouring herd... and you see them around and smell them and know they haven't been eaten by a scary thing!
I think this concept of "influencers/vloggers" having much real world influence is a bit daft too, I've never heard of this bloke and I doubt he's heard of me either though I'm the one with the qualifications... tis but a bubble in the froth of popular online culture

 

[Gemma1286]

You are right, guinea pigs should not have play dates. Every meeting is a bonding and its too confusing for them to be put together and split up again.

Absolutely. It can stress them out and make them ill. We all know how fragile piggies are, so a sick and stressed piggy can be fatal. So it can actually be a dangerous video to put out there.