So Chocolate is blessed amongst females.... what to to?

[HouseOfMayhem]

Guys, I'm in an awful dilemma here and trying to figure out what would be less cruel on our GPs...

A couple of you might remember that one of the female GP's I bought from a pet store was pregnant and had 2 little babies, Chocolate and Cappuccino, 2 weeks ago. Well, it's quite clear to us that Cappuccino is a girl and chocolate is a boy, so now we have 3 girlies and 1 boy.

My dilemma is what would be less cruel on Chocolate: keeping him ourselves having him separated from the other 3 for about 5 months while we go through the process of neutering etc. or giving him for adoption....

Obviously for the adoption we'd have to find a good house. Hubbie wants to bring him to the pet shop, I refuse, i'd rather keep him. If we keep him we're probably going to have to get either another cage just for him or get the C&C materials shipped in from somewhere as I can't find the cubes in Ireland... but i haven't told hubbie about that expense yet, he thinks we can just block the ramp between the floors and keep him downstairs and the rest of them upstairs. I don't think upstairs is big enough for 3 GPs.... I'm thinking of selling him the idea of the C & C cage saying that in the summer we can use to bring them outside for fresh air for a while (while supervised, obviously....)

Any thoughts/suggestions from all of you GP lovers and experts?

[blackarrow]

Please don't think of these options as "cruel" and "less cruel!" If you find him a really good home with another piggie, that's a great option. If he has to be on his own for a few months, that's fine too. Really. It's not going to be torment for him, I'm sure you'll be giving him extra cuddles and playtime.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[kathlaaron]

I completely agree with blackarrow, I think both ideas are decent options, and certainly not cruel. As long as taking him back to the petstupid store isn't one of them, of course !

[pinky]

If you really like him, I'd get him neutered. He's already used to living with you so it would be the easiest solution on him. If you found him a home where he's really wanted, that's an option, too, of course, but it a special thing to have a guinea pig you've bonded with.

[HouseOfMayhem]

Thanks a million for your replies, yes, we've certainly bonded with him, he's such a cutie and has such a lovely character.... I really want to keep him so I'm going to see whether I can source those cubes anywhere near us on the internet. In the meantime I'll probably have to opt for hubbie's solution for a few days as he needs to get separated from next Wednesday (he'll be 3 weeks old then)

[kathlaaron]

But..hubbie's solution was to take them back to the pet store ! Please don't DO that. You said you refused.....to do that, right ? Hopefully-- you mean something else ?

[ellisa]

@kathlaaron , I think she means to take the ramp out so the girls are on the top level and the male is on the bottom level. At least I hope that's what she means!

[ArabianMagicat]

Aw I'd get him neutered! I think it's so sweet and awesome to have guinea pigs that you've known since the day they were born! . Five months isn't so bad for him to wait, as he is guaranteed a whole lifetime of awesomeness once he is neutered!

[HouseOfMayhem]

Well, I had left it clear that pet store was not an option so his idea was to close the ramp alright.... but it's all sorted now!!! I've managed to source the cubes and we've built an extension onto our existing cage where we will keep him till he's neutered and good to go!!



ArabianMagicat, you're spot on, those babies were born in our house and it's so nice to have been given the opportunity to witness it and to have the chance to give them a good home, especially since all went well and they're very healthy.... they are usually adorable creatures, but in their first 2 weeks of life they're even more so, it was a case of love at first sight the day they were born!!

Edited to say: bear in mind the extension is not finished, we still have to sorce the flooring and a few bits and bob, but we'll do that at the weekend. He won't be 3 weeks till Wednesday so we can afford to have the four of them together a few days longer.

[kathlaaron]

Oh okay ! Sorry about my own misunderstanding !

Things are sure loOOOooookin' good !

[ArabianMagicat]

ArabianMagicat, you're spot on, those babies were born in our house and it's so nice to have been given the opportunity to witness it and to have the chance to give them a good home, especially since all went well and they're very healthy.... they are usually adorable creatures, but in their first 2 weeks of life they're even more so, it was a case of love at first sight the day they were born!!

At least there's one good outcome (or two!) to ending up with a pregnant guinea pig! .
I watched as my kitten was born too, and her 5 siblings - my aunt & grandmother took her mom in when she was a stray outside the house, once we found out she was pregnant and didn't want feral kittens running around. We ended up keeping all six kittens in the family! It's nice since I can see all of them whenever I want to! =)

[grace&piggies]

HouseOfMayhem, I've seen that cage with the two plastic levels and the ramp in between. How do you find it? I was a bit curious when I saw it at Pet Barn here in Aus