New owner - life is ten times better with a pig!

So in the past I've had the whole shebang - rabbits, hamsters, degus, rats, mice, you name it. But I've never had guinea pigs, and it's always something I've wanted to do but I knew it took a lot of space. After my last hamster died several months ago, I started considering how I could MAKE room. I was in the mood for something different, and my house was super lonely with just three catfish to talk to (and they're not cuddly).

After a couple of months of lightly thinking about it, my mom (didn't expect her to enable me, but I'll roll with it!) found a local ad for a pig that needed a new home because the kids didn't pay any attention to her anymore. The picture had me hooked, but not only that - she came with EVERYTHING for 70$ Canadian. Cage, accessories, food, bedding, everything I needed to get started because obviously I hadn't bought anything yet. So I responded to the ad and went to pick her up that night! I wasn't expecting what I found! The nice lady handed me like a million things. I had to make 3 trips out to my car! The cage was much nicer than expected and had an included attachable playpen (which was good because the cage wasn't quite big enough), much of the accessories were brand new, and there was a massive bag of fleece. I feel like I robbed the place for only 70 bucks! Not only that but the pig, named Angel, was friendly and ADORABLE. So I went home very happy.

The last week has been AMAZING! I suffer from depression (especially in the winter) and I have just been so happy having the pig around. I renamed her Mabel and then realized I should 100% verify sex before looking for a cagemate. "She" was Mabel for all of a day, because HE is definitely male, ha! He's now named Mr. Mustard (after my aunt kept saying Mr. instead of Colonel during a game of Clue which cracked me up) and loving life. Yesterday I had to make a trip to town so I thought, what the hell, I'll pick up the supplies for a C&C. So now he's in a 2x4 C&C and MY GOD is he happy with it! I've never seen him move so much. He especially loves the large hay rack I set up and he's slowly coming out of his shell (he's fine to hold but a bit skittish when you approach or walk by). He's only made happy noises in a few cases, most recently this morning after I put fresh hay in his rack - WHEEK! WHEEK! WHEEK! Warms my frigid little heart

I've asked a former rabbit/rodent breeder contact if she knows of any breeders or rescues in the area, but I'm not hopeful. I basically live in the middle of nowhere (lucky I could even get cubes and coroplast!), so we'll see. My best bet might be finding another case of a pig needing to be rehomed. (yes, I'll make sure it's male ) I've also ordered him some much better pellets (they're not the absolute best but MUCH improved from what he's eating now) and he is LOVING life with fresh greens instead of vitamin drops. Oh, and I have my webcam pointed at his cage so I can watch him while I'm on my computer.. I'm a bit of a creeper

Anyway, thanks for reading my mini novel I just thought I'd introduce myself since I don't know anyone in the pig world! Looking forward to learning tons of useful stuff. I can't wait to get my second pig!