Godzilla & Ghidora have come home..

Muddypaws · Dec 27, 2011

Hi!
I am a new member, been reading and absorbing as much as I can.
We have been planning for cavies for a several months.
Husband and I made the cage and bedding (pics in the Open Cage Gallery) and today we brought home the boys.
They were a Christmas gift for our 6 year old, who has worked really hard to read and learn, too! ~ She choose their names...Ghidora & Godzilla (yikes!).

It was a 3 hour drive home with them and they are freaked out.
One has just gone to limp as a coping mechanism and the other is more watchful and seems to be in charge for his brother. They are in their pen (with some of the bedding that came with them for familiarity) but immobilized. They just need time, right? And I don't need to worry about food/water consumption right away?

We have two dogs, who will be coming home tomorrow from their Christmas vacation (aka we went away without them). Which is going to be one more layer of stress for these little guys.

Would covering the cage help them feel safer? with the open C & C grids + open top it must be daunting. I just feel so bad that it is so hard for them and also that while this is EXCELLENT for our 6 year old to work on patience, it is going to be awfully hard for her to wait them out (she read and sang to them all the way home and for an hour tonight

).

Lori

pinky · Dec 27, 2011

I love the names. I used to have cockatiels named Godzilla and Mothra..... Make sure your open topped cage is kept in an area where your dogs don't have access to them or else I'd make a cover to keep your guinea pigs safe. Dogs are predators and a guinea pig can kick in that prey instinct in a dog and could result in a disaster. Something as simple as your dogs picking up a guinea pig in its mouth and dropping it can kill a guinea pig. There are a lot of postings on here about unfortunate accidents involving dogs and guinea pigs. Better safe than sorry.

Trega · Dec 27, 2011

Congrats on the piggies! It is perfectly normal for them to move very little for a couple days (maybe more) they will eventually come around if you spend time with them for a while every day until they know you aren't going to hurt them. Covering the cage may help, I had a pig who felt that if his head was covered with a blanket, I couldn't see him lol. I hope you share pictures soon!

Muddypaws · Dec 27, 2011

Thanks for your replies

It makes me feel better knowing they are oK and just need time (must continue to remember to think in prey animal terms

)
For the dogs, now that we know where we are putting the cage, we are going to add a cover/ top for sure.
Our Sheltie is a marshmallow~ and has the sheepdog's natural tendency to care for small critters, he will be carefully and slowly introduced, even so.
Our Papillon is my concern~ he is barely 4 lbs himself, so keeping him out from the ground is easy, but he climbs and leaps like a cat (hence covering the cage is needed) AND he has the heart of a ratter~ he could never lift a piggie, but it doesn't mean he wouldn't TRY. Thankfully he is soft natured and easy to correct, so that will counter *some* of the instinct, but not all.

Pictures~ will do once they aren't so scared!
Godzilla is (I think) a short haired brindle~ caramel orange-ish and grey~ like a washed out tortoiseshell? and Ghidora is mostly white, with one eye patched with dark grey and maybe a hint of tan, I think he has a long haired crest on his head~ his body is smooth but longer hairs on top of his head only. Very cute!

pinky · Dec 27, 2011

You can make a sturdy cover from wire shelving you can buy at Home Depot or other hardware stores. They can cut it down to size for you. There are lots of examples in the Photos section. It might not make them "feel" safe, but it should protect them from the dogs. Depending upon how large your dogs are, they might be able to break open a C & C cage held together with connectors. You can to reinforce it with zip ties to make it sturdier. Some people keep their cages up on a table but a strong dog might be able to pull it down.

Muddypaws · Dec 27, 2011

ooh! Great idea! I think we have some of that shelving material in the basement, actually.
Our dogs are too small to pull apart or pull down~ the Sheltie is about 30 lbs and no prey drive, the Papillon is just over 4 lbs

but he could definitely sail in over the top from a perch!

ChristieB · Dec 27, 2011

Congrats on the fur babies! We just got our 2 babies last week and they were so skittish and the female is still skittish, they are MUCH better.
We used to have a Papillon...we just lost him to a horrible disease that was caused by his last vaccines and the piggies are actually therapy to help us deal with his death. Papillons are smart and known to be gentle and caring for all animals so I bet you won't have a problem. I would just never leave them alone so that the dogs would have access. Guinea pigs mimic little dog toys and it may be confusing at first. We have 2 cats and when the piggies are out for floor time they are NEVER left alone and someone must be with that at all times. My cats are curious (they are indoor cats, have never hunted and are declawed) but I still don't trust them 100% yet (or ever maybe ) Congrats on the adjust

baby babies! let us know how they adjust!

2Julia112 · Dec 27, 2011

Congrats on the new piggies! I cant wait to see pics of your cage!

Muddypaws · Dec 27, 2011

Thanks!
Christie~ I am so sorry about you Papillon, vaccinosis is real, I have had some pretty sick dogs from vaccines as well, and now I am VERY conservative with them, when I do it at all~ you are right,they are bright and I am sure Murray will figure it out with some help~ but like dogs and kids, 100% trust is never given, no matter how amazing the animal and bond, animals will act like animals

macysmom · Dec 27, 2011

When we brought our little one home she hid for a week. Now she happily comes out to greet us when we get up in the morning and even popcorns all around the cage when we come home from work. We have a sheltie too and he completely ignores the the cage, but we had to have a serious talk with our 8 yr. Its "her" pet, but she knows that she can't pick Macy up by herself, and if she wants to hold her that she has to ask an adult. She knows that she can pet her in the cage and hand feed her veggies all she wants though. Macy just tolerates it.

Hhbean · Dec 27, 2011

So happy for you! You may want to move their food near their hidies, if you haven't already. I can't wait to see pictures!

Muddypaws · Dec 28, 2011

Thanks!
The dogs are on their way home, so we are going to try and keep things to a dull roar (they have been apart from us for 4 days).
This morning there was evidence that they thoroughly explored the cage (ie poop everywhere!) and ate hay and pellets. I removed the main hideys for a while and they explored cautiously, nibbled on some apple pieces and chattered a lot before settling into a tube together and sleeping (as in actually closing their eyes and relaxing, not staring vigilantly LOL).
So we see progress already!

Muddypaws · Dec 28, 2011

Just adding that tonight the piggies are roaming the cage, making lots of happy noises and even popcorning a bit all while the Sheltie and I are in the room. They are eating hay and drinking for the first time as well. The Sheltie doesn't care about them at all and the Papillon, while he has sniffed the air, hasn't figured out they are there yet.

Still no decent pictures~ too shy, but I do know, from a long time cavy owner/ show person that one is a silver agouti van and the other is a chocolate and cream broken LOL

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Godzilla & Ghidora have come home..

Muddypaws

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pinky

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Trega

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Muddypaws

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pinky

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Muddypaws

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ChristieB

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2Julia112

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Muddypaws

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macysmom

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Hhbean

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Muddypaws

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Muddypaws

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