Meet My New Pig: Tove!

[Tinka]

If you know me, you know my little baby Tuulikki has been searching for a friend, and now she finally has one! I adopted itty bitty Tove just this morning. She's the runt of her litter and all black, and so so sweet. It's a shame that she was overlooked by so many people. It's hard to get black animals adopted, I know cause I used to volunteer at a shelter. Maybe that's why I had such a soft spot for her. She's a little nervous right now but that's to be expected. I can't tell if Tuulikki is mad or excited though, lol. She's looking at Tove's cage and squeaking.

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

Aww that's brilliant news, gorgeous!

 

[ayemee]

Awww she's gorgeous!

 

[katie-elizabeth]

Cutie!

 

[nicky]

She's lovely

 

[Jerrybelly]

Beautiful. My Frankie is all black, and he was also the runt of the litter and unwanted by everyone else. He's my special boy

 

[Deleted member 114675]

She's adorable.

 

[Wiebke]

What a gorgeous little girl and a lovely name! Sadly, black piggies (like all black animals) usually get overlooked.

Here are tips on how to best stage the introduction. Your baby will be desperate for company. Tuulikki may be quite heavy-handed with her dominance, as that is how weaned babies are normally pushed to the bottom of the hierarchy once they lose their protected baby status. The dominance phase will hopefully be pretty short.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/

All the best for the intros!

 

[theoretikos]

Beautiful girl x

 

[Tinka]

Beautiful. My Frankie is all black, and he was also the runt of the litter and unwanted by everyone else. He's my special boy

The itty bitties are so special!

 

[Tinka]

What a gorgeous little girl and a lovely name! Sadly, black piggies (like all black animals) usually get overlooked.

Here are tips on how to best stage the introduction. Your baby will be desperate for company. Tuulikki may be quite heavy-handed with her dominance, as that is how weaned babies are normally pushed to the bottom of the hierarchy once they lose their protected baby status. The dominance phase will hopefully be pretty short.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/introducing-and-re-introducing-guinea-pigs.38562/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/

All the best for the intros!

Thanks so much! I have Tove on her own right now just to make sure she's not ill. I've been told I should keep her isolated for two weeks, do you think that's enough time or maybe too much time?

And isn't it awful how people overlook black animals? ): Just cause it's a common coat color doesn't make them any less beautiful. That makes me the owner of a black dog, a black guinea pig, and the roommate of a black cat lol.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks so much! I have Tove on her own right now just to make sure she's not ill. I've been told I should keep her isolated for two weeks, do you think that's enough time or maybe too much time?

And isn't it awful how people overlook black animals? ): Just cause it's a common coat color doesn't make them any less beautiful. That makes me the owner of a black dog, a black guinea pig, and the roommate of a black cat lol.

Quarantining a guinea pig that is from a background where there hasn't been any quarantine is very much recommended. Things like ringworm have an incubation period of 10-14 days, hence the 2-3 weks recommendation.

Sometimes you have to balance the health risks against the needs of an acutely pining bereaved piggy or that of a very young baby that is struggling to cope with being on its own; little ones can take it really badly being suddenly isolated from any support in unknown territory, too, and stop eating/are just hunkering down in a hidey/corner of the cage. I am sure that that is not the case with Tinka, isn't it?

 

[sport_billy]

Congratulations! She is really beautiful, cannot wait to hear and see more about her on the forum. Looking forward to lots of updates in the future.

 

[biscandmatt]

gorgeous little piggy no idea why black animals get overlooked. they're absolutely gorgeous!

 

[Tinka]

Quarantining a guinea pig that is from a background where there hasn't been any quarantine is very much recommended. Things like ringworm have an incubation period of 10-14 days, hence the 2-3 weks recommendation.

Sometimes you have to balance the health risks against the needs of an acutely pining bereaved piggy or that of a very young baby that is struggling to cope with being on its own; little ones can take it really badly being suddenly isolated from any support in unknown territory, too, and stop eating/are just hunkering down in a hidey/corner of the cage. I am sure that that is not the case with Tinka, isn't it?

So far she's been coming out occasionally to eat and drink, but sticks to her hut like Tuulikki did the first night. Tuulikki has lost interest since first seeing her, and is going about her usual biz of eating and grooming running laps around her cage. I got her a woven hay mat for Easter and she is going to town on that.