Fresh Food Confirming Daily Diet is Safe for Piggies

Omnytrix said:

I'm sorry too. Until we got Patrick, I was blind to what a Guinea pig really needs. Now I'm simply trying to give them both a better life, and I'm being punished for it. I'd take them to my dads house, but he despises all rodents. I'm gonna try the introduction tomorrow when she's gone. Maybe if I can show her they can get along she'll listen to me.

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You shouldn't be punished for doing a good thing. You've clearly done research to make sure you're doing the best thing you can and that's a great approach! Your mom is in the wrong in every way and I think it's awful that she tries to punish and blackmail you just so you will agree with her and she also shouldn't have disrespected you by not listening to what you had to say and allow you to present your research without instantly dismissing you.

Please know that not all adults are good people and sometimes those adults are parents. It's hard to first realize and accept that parents are just humans because when you grow up with them you look up to them and put them on a pedestal but parents don't always know best nor are they always good people. I hope you won't beat yourself up too much over this because none of this is your fault at all. I know you're in a pretty helpless situation right now since you don't get a say in anything but you might be able to take steps towards independence in the future so that you won't be in this kind of situation again.

I don't know if this is the first time your mom has done something like this or if this is a first but it sounds like this is probably not the first occurrence? My mom was very manipulative and mean as well, eventually I had to cut contact for my own sake and that was a very hard thing to do because shouldn't moms be loving and kind to their children? Unfortunately that's not always the case. It might not be that bad for you and maybe this is just a rare incident for you, at least I hope so. I don't know how old you are nor your full situation but if you ever want to talk about it feel free to PM me at any time. I might be able to give advice since I've been in that kind of situation or at the very least it might be nice to get it all off your chest, if you wanted too of course, it's fine if you don't want to and again things might not be all that bad so you might not feel the need to but the offer is there regardless.

Again, I'm so sorry this is happening to you and your pigs. I hope you will be able to talk some sense into your mom but these kind of people usually can't be reasoned with.

Thank you very much for all the advice and support. I'm leaving her house soon, and I obviously can't take the piggies with me, so I was hoping to make enough of an impact before I left that she would start treating them properly in my abcense. Now if only I could get Patrick to stop flinging bedding everywhere when he gets excited over breakfast .

It's good to hear that you have an exit plan. It sounds like you're doing all you can to get those pigs the best care possible. There's not much else you can do unfortunately :/ At least you know you did all you could and so I hope you don't beat yourself up over it but of course the situation still sucks. I can tell you care so much for your pigs and how hard this is for you, you sound like a good person and I hope your future will be brighter and happier Also, my offer still stands, any time

Aww your piggies look so cute in that video you shared. That behaviour is totally normal. They don't look like they're fighting or anything, so I'm also sad to hear that your mother doesn't want them together. Hope things work out for you and piggies.

I tried again to introduce them today. They are now sharing a cage. They have not tried to kill each other's which is great. There's been some tense standoffs, and some happy dashing around from Patrick, but nutmeg still refuses to leave his house. Should I try again when Patrick is a little bit older?

No. Don't keep reintroducing them. If they're not fighting, just leave them together. There will be some squabbling, as they have to work out which one is going to be the dominant pig.

Do keep the cage as open as possible so they don't have to get in each other's faces. I don't put any hideys in cages for at least two weeks after introducing new pigs.

Well you were right! They are eating side by side now, no squabbling! They're even sharing!!!!

There will be squabbling, but ignore it unless there's all-out bloodshed. One of them has to be dominant, and the other has to be submissive, unless you've got two very submissive pigs. But bickering and chasing and mounting and complaining are all totally normal. Just give them as much room as possible, keep things out of their way, make sure there are multiple food dishes/water bottles, and hope for the best.

bpatters said:

There will be squabbling, but ignore it unless there's all-out bloodshed. One of them has to be dominant, and the other has to be submissive, unless you've got two very submissive pigs. But bickering and chasing and mounting and complaining are all totally normal. Just give them as much room as possible, keep things out of their way, make sure there are multiple food dishes/water bottles, and hope for the best.

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I'll see how it goes, and report back in a few weeks. They both have their own houses and food bowls and water jugs. I'll see what happens.