Greetings from Slovenia

[Skydancer]

Hello!
I'm an animal & Nature lover from Slovenia. A recent addition to my animal family is piggy Sethy (the name comes from the Ancient Egypt and it means "Like Seth" - the god Seth's animal is, among many others, a wild boar so I thought it would be funny to call my guinea piggy Sethy. (Un)fortunately, his nature is unlike Seth's. ). OK, enough ranting, here's the photo:


I have two other animals, parrot Koki (he's 20 years old):


...and a black labrador Brin (8 years old):


This forum is very helpful for all new cavy owners! Thanks!

[Toadies]

Welcome! What a beautiful little guy. Be very careful, this site is extremely addictive and full of great ideas, support and help. I think you will find that one GP is not enough. They just steal your heart and you may well want at least one more (as Sethy would appreciate a buddy). Enjoy!

[Alusdra]

Oh wow! Congrats on having such an old cockateil! That's really an accomplishment. Your pig is quite cute! (And probably will be even cuter with a buddy... )

[Skydancer]

Yes', I'd like to get Sethy a companion, but first I have to find a shop where I can buy coroplast and cubes so I can make a little bigger cage to accommodate 2 piggies (though the current one is not so small either). I searched hard in the town where I live, but I couldn't find any of these materials. Will have to check in the capitol city.

[Skydancer]

UPDATE:
Sethy got a new buddy Flippy (from a rescue ad on the radio) today. I can't believe how much Sethy's behavior improved in the company of another piggy. He's not so extremely shy anymore and they seem to get along just fine. They are both sleeping now, tired from play.

Here's a photo:

[Scooter]

Welcome to the forum!! Glad to see you now have a pair of piggies. As the previous post said, GP's are very addictive, and, one is never enough. There is great information here, plus, very caring piggy caregivers. I find this site very heartwarming.

[Guinea_Piggin]

Welcome! Your boys are gorgeous. It's fun to see the change in behavior in your first pig when you get him a friend, isn't it?

Like everyone else has been saying, this site and the pigs are very addicting. Have a look around and feel free to ask any questions you may have/come up with. You will get a lot of good answers and some awesome help.

[Toadies]

Skydancer - the new baby is precious. Did you by any chance have a vet check him out? If you just got him today, you need to be sure that he isn't sick or carrying anything before he and Sethy co-habitate. I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but URIs a hard to fight in our little guys. I'm delighted (as Sethy obviously is) that you got him a buddy. Let us know how things go. Congrats.

[Skydancer]

Yes, before we came home we went to the small pet clinic. The vet said everything seemed OK. He checked for URI and mites.

I'm delighted (as Sethy obviously is) that you got him a buddy

It seems they feel it's time to decide who's the boss. Sethy (younger/smaller one) it generally quite shy. He doesn't provoke Flippy (older/larger) but will attach Flippy if he provokes him, which he does. It's quite strange behavior. I thought Flippy would be the dominant boar, but it looks like this isn't so. Flippy [FONT=arial, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana]rumblestrutters and rocks his body left and right when Sethy approaches. Sethy usually shrieks but he looks like he isn't afraid of Flippy so he pursues him and tries to bite him. Flippy then backs off. This goes on and on... How long this behavior usually lasts?

Oh, and a quick question: do cavies yawn when sleepy or this exclusively means dominant behavior? During lap time Sethy sometimes yawns when he wakes up from sleep. He really enjoys sleeping in my lap.
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[bee1101]

yes, yawning is completely normal (and so cute!).
It's great he sleeps in your lap, that shows he really trusts you.

[Skydancer]

ANOTHER UPDATE:
I'm so sad how all of this has turned out: I've never even suspected Sethy is a sociopath. He bit Flippy on his nose, both ears and butt. There was bloodshed and it all happened so quickly I couldn't separate them. Flippy is such a sweet & gentle boy. Now I know why Sethy was all alone in the cage where I got him. I will have to make another, bigger cage and divide it into two parts so Sethy doesn't kill Flippy. Damn, it all looked so nice yesterday!

[CavySpirit]

Originally Posted by Skydancer

[FONT=arial, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana]Oh, and a quick question: do cavies yawn when sleepy or this exclusively means dominant behavior? During lap time Sethy sometimes yawns when he wakes up from sleep. He really enjoys sleeping in my lap.
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Oh it's normal alright, but he's NOT tired if he's with another male. It IS dominant behavior, he is 'showing his mighty and powerful teeth' to the other male.

Be sure to read this page: www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm