Folk Tales of the Saffron Pig

Magician

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:38 am


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

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 7:53 am


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

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:36 am


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

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:48 am


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 ?

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:41 am


I don't think guinea pigs are diggers.

Sounds like you have a menagerie at your house!

Magician

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 10:36 am


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
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 1:13 pm


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

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:03 pm


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.

Magician

Post   » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:10 pm


Aladdin's day has mostly been spent eating, sleeping, sulking, eating...did I mention eating?
RIP half the hay in the county, victim of this pig's appetite.
He actually seems pretty perky: more anxious than depressed though he is definitely quieter than normal. Having his cage cleaned out and new fleece put in produced some bouncy chirpy popcorns, so I may do that more often.
Had a long cuddle that ended up with me on the floor (how?), and him on the* chair, using my elbow as a pillow.
* for 'the', read meant to be mine.
But, see, how on earth does anyone say 'no' to this little face!?
Image

allylovespigs

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:18 am


Oh how I love pigs! What beautiful critters.

Magician

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:53 am


Greetings guinea friends <3
He is mad this morning.
Does anyone else remember the game you used to play as children, where you couldn't touch the cracks in the paving stones?
This is what Aladdin is now doing in his cage, pretty much.

Boing boing boing boing.
Pause.
Think for a moment.
BOING BOING BOING BOING
pause.
Think for a moment.
BOING BOING BOING ....

I'm sure you get the idea.

Image

Magician

Post   » Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:55 am


And if I try and touch him?
It's as if I've fed him rocket fuel, when I do that.
Crazy creature.
Image

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