The Ruby Sue Review

[Lynx]

Will you be trying new foods? A new area? Something to keep them off balance?

I will be eating a dragon fruit today for the first time! (it was in the markdown bin). Had another interesting tropical fruit yesterday that was yellow, bumpy, and tasted similar to a kiwi.

I hope they become fast friends!!

[ItsaZoo]

Pretty much the same story tonight. I have a 3x3 grid on the floor with hides and fleece forests. Millie is terrified and Ruby Sue just keeps pestering her. I’m sure it’s just curiosity, but Millie jumps, squeaks and runs. The longer they’re together, the more frantic Millie gets.

When they get back in their divided cage, Millie heads for her corner, fluffs up her bedding, and hunkers down keeping an eye on Ruby Sue.

I did have a laugh today, though. I gave them both some lettuce. Millie gulped hers down, Ruby Sue had some hanging from the side of her mouth. Millie reached through the partition, grabbed the lettuce out of Ruby Sue’s mouth, and it was gone in no time. Ruby Sue was looking around like, “What just happened?”

[Lynx]

Mille got her just deserts! ("lettuce" ;-)

[ItsaZoo]

Well, after trying several times for several hours, Ruby Sue and Millie are not making progress. When Ruby Sue would stand up at the divider, Millie would do a sneak attack and nip her nose or toes. That sets Ruby Sue off wheeking, digging and pulling Millie’s bedding into her cage. She just couldn’t leave Millie alone.

So I bought two of the 13” cubbie shelves from Target, and yesterday assembled both, put one in front of the other, and built a new 2x3 grid cage for Millie.

Honestly, both pigs were so happy with their new spaces. They each have room for hideys and Ruby Sue just loved all that space to explore. Today there’s a lot less bar chewing and wheeking. Both had veggies and they’re taking an afternoon nap.

It’s not what I planned, but they both really needed more space and they seem so much happier.

[Lynx]

Happier is so good to hear!

I know we have often remarked that even if a pair of guinea pigs might not get along, the knowledge that one is not the only guinea pig in the house has a positive effect.

[ItsaZoo]

That’s good to know. Both are definitely more at ease with each of them having more space and hidey spots.

[ItsaZoo]

Ruby Sue has a new hay box and a cleaner cage. She’s a messy little girl. She drinks a lot of water and her bedding is always wet. I’m constantly cleaning and doing laundry. So I bought a kitten size litter box and I'm using that for a hay box. I had to put tiles in the bottom for weight because she was dumping it over. She sits in the box munching on her hay and the rest of the cage is cleaner. It’s so much easier to clean the hay box a couple times a day and it cuts down on the laundry.

I’d try it for Millie, but she’s such a pudge I don’t know if she could get in or out. She’d probably get stuck.

[Lynx]

Pictures!

Happy to hear you have a solution for Ruby Sue that makes her cage easier to keep clean. Perhaps a brick on the inside near an edge and a brick on the outside near that one would allow Millie to get in and out easier so that solution could be an option?

[ItsaZoo]

Yes, I was thinking of something like that so she could climb up. I might see what’s available in food storage containers. Some of those are more shallow and there might be one large enough.

[bpatters]

I always just cut a door in the end of the litter box so they could go in and out without hopping.