Introducting Penny, my new guinea pig

[citronsoul]

A bit late, as we've now had her nearly two weeks, but I thought I should finally introduce our latest addition, Penny.

I've never had a guinea pig that was this relaxed around people. Phoebe has always been a snuggly pig, but Penny is snuggly on a whole new level. She doesn't run away, and when you're holding her, she behaves like it's the most normal thing in the world. So it was really no surprise to us when we discovered that she's also a belly pig.

She's also the smallest pig, weighing in at just under 900 grams. She loves to eat, but she's not a little vacuum like the other two are. While Phoebe and Porky have always inhaled food, she's more selective & spends more time picking out favourites first. Her favourites change daily. For example, sometimes it's endive, other days it's bell peppers. She's started to appreciate romaine lettuce, but she's keeps turning down herbs and cherry tomatoes. Carrots seem to be the only thing that she will always eat. I'm hoping that Porky & Phoebe will teach her to try new things.

Anyway, here are some pictures!

 

[Mommy Of One]

Ohh,
What a darling!
I really do adore your piggy, she is too cute!
What a lovely personality aswel!

 

[piggiesinpa]

That is so cute. I love her.

 

[JarBax]

Congratulations! Penny looks so sweet, and sounds like she is sweet natured too! Where did you get her from? Sounds like her previous owners took good care of her! Do you have plans for introducing her to Phoebe and Porky?

 

[MissCin]

Aww! She's such a cutie.

 

[citronsoul]

Congratulations! Penny looks so sweet, and sounds like she is sweet natured too! Where did you get her from? Sounds like her previous owners took good care of her! Do you have plans for introducing her to Phoebe and Porky?

Her owner posted about her on a local forum. They needed to rehome her because she couldn't get along with any of her other pigs, and she didn't want Penny to live alone. Her owner asked for a home with a neutered boar because she's so dominant with other sows. So I offered to pair her up with my two. I'm a bit worried about how things will go with her & Phoebe, but Porky is pretty macho, as far as (neutered) boars go. So i'm hoping he can solve any squabbles.

However, i'm not surprised that Penny was fighting. She was housed with 3 other sows in a cage that was 1 meter by 50 cm! I think she got a lot of attention, but the housing could have been a lot better. They'd used a hay rack to section off a corner of the cage, and that's where Penny had been living.

So yeah, I'm glad that i'm able to offer her a new home with more space. The cage will be upgraded to a 2x5, with a small loft area. We're going to set it up during introductions, so that the cage will be new to all of them.

 

[Tulia&Susie]

Oh my what a cute little piggie!!! My Ralphie will do that do(the laying on his back) and I find it the cutest thing ever. But congrats on the addition and she looks so beautiful.

 

[Pennyspiggies]

She is so cute! congratulations!

 

[JarBax]

I am SO glad she has got a better home now - you're absolutely right - it's no wonder she didn't get along with the other sows if they were stuck so closely together in such a tiny space! Good luck with the intros, and new cage extentions etc - keep us posted (with lots more pigtures please!)

 

[citronsoul]

I'm bumping this up, just to give an update. All 3 pigs are now living together under relatively peaceful circumstances. It took several weeks for Penny to get settled in, and the whole introduction process went through several phases.

Phase #1: Pigs introduced in a neutral area. Phoebe licked Penny's ear and then ran off to hide in a pigloo once Porky noticed Penny. Porky basically rumblestrutted for several hours and chased Penny. There was a lot of hair-pulling and squealing.

Phase #2: Once all three pigs were settled in their new cage, Porky had pretty much established his position as dominant pig. Phoebe then decided to show Penny that she was "Mrs. Boss." Penny didn't accept Phoebe's bossy behaviour and challenged her. There were times where I really thought the two of them were going to start a real fight, but Porky always came between the two of them.

This phase dragged on for a really long time (several weeks). I gave buddy baths, Phoebe ended up with a cut on her lip and I nearly gave up hope that the two of them would ever get along. Every time the girls ran into each other, they would freeze, start chattering their teeth, and the first one to turn away would get a nip in the butt.

I remembered that the girls initially reacted friendly to each other though, so that's why I decided to wait and see what happens.

Phase #3: Finally! The girls have got their positions sorted, and Phoebe lucked out. All Penny has to do is look at her funny, and Phoebe dashes off to hide.

But things are relatively stable now. All three of them will eat from the same hay rack. The girls are no longer squabbling. I even caught Penny & Phoebe sleeping in the same pigloo once. Porky loves having two girls around, as it means twice the amount of snuggles and grooming sessions as before.

I've included a few pictures of the pigs in their new cage. Once the weather improves, and I've got more light (I don't like flash) then I'll make some news ones for the photo gallery.

 

[naturegal592]

She is so cute! I wish one of my babies would let me lay them on their back, that is so adorable.

 

[Jenni_Feathers]

Aw sooo cute!

 

[LadyBelle]

Awww, she is so tiny compared to the other two. I have two boars right now who are in the meeting in neutral area phase. If they just can't live together then neutering them both, having them in separate cages, and maybe getting a sow to live with each is a possibility. So far there have been no fights, just some dominance chattering and one chasing the other.

 

[Prickle]

She's beautiful citronsoul! I love the belly pic, she looks so comfortable.

 

[citronsoul]

Awww, she is so tiny compared to the other two. I have two boars right now who are in the meeting in neutral area phase. If they just can't live together then neutering them both, having them in separate cages, and maybe getting a sow to live with each is a possibility. So far there have been no fights, just some dominance chattering and one chasing the other.

I hope that things work out between your boys! If it's just chattering and chasing, then things should be fine.

Penny's small size is magnified by Phoebe's (aka. Chubalub) large girth. Phoebe weighs about 500 grams more, and Penny is fully grown! She hasn't put any weight on (or lost any) since she got here. She makes up for her small size in attitude though!