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New Born Pup
Hi there! I'm new to the forums and really need to find people that understand my anger right now.
Recently, within the last month or so, I've adopted a guinea pig from a new friend. I won't go too into detail to remain anonymous. He's around a year and a half out and a very sweet, but very skittish boy.
I understood his demeanor based on his situation; it was too loud, he didn't have enough space, and he lived with larger, more aggressive boars that were in separate cages and still managed to display aggression towards him from across the room. His food bowl was left on a platform that he had no way of reaching unless he jumped up to get it, and despite taking care of the other guinea pigs in the house, the person I adopted him from mentioned that he was their sibling's pig and was often neglected and left unfed.
Now, it gets worse, to the part where I am infuriated. I knew they weren't the best guinea pig caretakers based on what he was being fed and the state of his cage. However, apparently they found the sound of this boy's water bottle annoying and would remove it or flip it around to deny him access as a sort of punishment. I thought it was just ignorance that made them neglect their pigs, but this is just... so awful. Thinking about it makes me so upset and I can't even look at this person the same way now, knowing they participated in this. I can understand now why he gets so nervous when I take his bottle to fill it up, and why he rejects any new bottle I offer him.
All this is in his past, but I still feel like I'm dealing with the consequences. He's very nervous around other pigs. I've tried to watch a video featuring some piggies in the same room as him and he bolted to his hide, chattering his teeth.
I don't want to put him through the stress of living with a pig he doesn't get along with, but I also don't want him to have no companions. Going with a larger boar would be impossible, and he seems (understandably) a bit food aggressive, so I also worry about adding a smaller male to his cage. I've considered neutering him to live with a female, but that'd still be a long time for him to go without a friend, especially because I work long hours some days. He'd have to wait 6 weeks, at the very least, from the time of the surgery. I've thought about bringing him into a pet store and asking to let him meet with other males to get a feel for them, but I'm not sure if this would be harmful or stressful for him.
I've now invested in plenty of space for a pair, but I just have no idea how to go about it. Should I put him through the operation and recovery, or should I try to carefully find him a male friend? Any advice is really appreciated. I just want this little guy to live his best life going forward.
Recently, within the last month or so, I've adopted a guinea pig from a new friend. I won't go too into detail to remain anonymous. He's around a year and a half out and a very sweet, but very skittish boy.
I understood his demeanor based on his situation; it was too loud, he didn't have enough space, and he lived with larger, more aggressive boars that were in separate cages and still managed to display aggression towards him from across the room. His food bowl was left on a platform that he had no way of reaching unless he jumped up to get it, and despite taking care of the other guinea pigs in the house, the person I adopted him from mentioned that he was their sibling's pig and was often neglected and left unfed.
Now, it gets worse, to the part where I am infuriated. I knew they weren't the best guinea pig caretakers based on what he was being fed and the state of his cage. However, apparently they found the sound of this boy's water bottle annoying and would remove it or flip it around to deny him access as a sort of punishment. I thought it was just ignorance that made them neglect their pigs, but this is just... so awful. Thinking about it makes me so upset and I can't even look at this person the same way now, knowing they participated in this. I can understand now why he gets so nervous when I take his bottle to fill it up, and why he rejects any new bottle I offer him.
All this is in his past, but I still feel like I'm dealing with the consequences. He's very nervous around other pigs. I've tried to watch a video featuring some piggies in the same room as him and he bolted to his hide, chattering his teeth.
I don't want to put him through the stress of living with a pig he doesn't get along with, but I also don't want him to have no companions. Going with a larger boar would be impossible, and he seems (understandably) a bit food aggressive, so I also worry about adding a smaller male to his cage. I've considered neutering him to live with a female, but that'd still be a long time for him to go without a friend, especially because I work long hours some days. He'd have to wait 6 weeks, at the very least, from the time of the surgery. I've thought about bringing him into a pet store and asking to let him meet with other males to get a feel for them, but I'm not sure if this would be harmful or stressful for him.
I've now invested in plenty of space for a pair, but I just have no idea how to go about it. Should I put him through the operation and recovery, or should I try to carefully find him a male friend? Any advice is really appreciated. I just want this little guy to live his best life going forward.
No words really.
He's to the point now where he'll eat out of and sniff my hands (although he does normally snatch things right out of mine and my partner's fingers, lol.) He'll let us pet him as long as it's not on his back, and he likes to give my partner kisses. He'll run to the cage and greet us very briefly and I'm glad he's gained the confidence to do so.
