Day 3: Fretting

Today I'm fretting a bit. I know that animals are very good at 'getting on' with things and particularly in regards to pregnancy and giving birth but I still can't help worrying about little Mouse. I say 'little' because she really is. In my worried state I compared her with one of my own guinea pigs, Hera. Granted she is a 4 year old chubster and has had many litters herself (before I rescued her) and thus suffers from a flabby 'I've had lots of babies stomach' but still look at the size difference!

Hera looks utterly terrified in this first picture so here's a second to show she's really a very happy, chilled out lady. She lives with her 2 daughters and neutered boyfriend (oh and me but I'm not important).

It's not been a very eventful day except for my worrying. Mouse is eating very well now, favourites include spinach, broccoli, hay and an alfalfa block (nice and rich for pregnant/lactating piggies). She has took an extreme disliking to pepper and cucumber - she shoved them to one side and refused to take a bite. Thankfully my own gang aren't so fussy.

The most interesting thing about guinea pigs is their interactions with eachother. I always keep piggies in groups or at the very least pairs (my favourite set up being a neutered male with lots of girls as this is the most natural set up for them). I currently have 3 girls and 1 neutered male together (Hera's gang) and a pair of 2 girls (mother and daughter) called Honey & Moneypenny aka Gingerbread Nose & Badger. Why the stupid names? Well check out their picture...

I also have Rodney the young neutered male. He was only 'done' 3 weeks ago so has a few more weeks before I plan to introduce him to the terrible twosome above. Male guinea pigs can remain fertile for weeks after neutering so I always play it safe and keep them apart for 6 weeks post op. Rodney was bought for a child but they got bored so I took him in. I imagine Rodney was pretty bored too alone outside with no company.

But anyway, back to Mouse. The sad thing with her is that she's alone with no piggy company. Well that's what I thought. However, I've come to realise that just by other pigs being around this provides some reassurance to her. When my lot wheek for food or get excited and 'popcorn' she always comes out and has a look around. It's lovely to see her getting comfort from the others even when they don't live together.

I hope that she'll give birth to at least one girl so they can make a nice pairing. So if you have a single piggy at the moment why not consider adopting a friend for them? It's the best thing you can do for their overall welfare, but I can't be held responsible for the extra noise at dinner time. Wheeeeeek!