Oreo, our lone piggie

Discussion in 'Pets and Animals' started by homeschoolmama, Mar 5, 2008.

  1. homeschoolmama

    homeschoolmama Senior Member

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    This is our last little piggie, Oreo.

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    Oreo came to our home from an abusive situation in November 1995. He was "a year or two old" and would bite & attack literally anything or anyone that came near him. It took us 6 months to be able to pick him up without being attacked, and to date we still have not been able to put him with another boar without him immediately attacking them... and I do mean attacking, not just your typical testosterone-battle! We have tried literally every "trick" for getting him to live with another pig, but we finally had to give up when the other pigs were getting sick because of the constant attacks.

    Just within the past 6 months, he has allowed us to hand-feed him, and he will now stretch out & beg for chin-scratches when we walk by his cage. From the scared little boar we started with, he has become quite the personable cuddle-pig. I doubt he will ever be a lap-pig, but he loves to sit next to the kids to be petted on the sofa, or run over their laps & under their knees during floor time.

    Because he will not tolerate other guinea pigs in his cage, we have kept him in a separate cage since he came to us. Until Mr. Pigg's death, the two shared a divided space so that he could SEE other piggies, but he wouldn't have to defend his space. Last week we reconfigured the cage, and gave Oreo a 30"x42" (2x3 C&C) space that is closer to everyone in the center "core" of our home. He can see us in the living room, the dining room & the kitchen, and he can even peek down the hallway into the kids' rooms. We've doubled his floor-time to three hours each evening, (the entire living room is "caged" off and the kids create paper bag tunnels & caves for him) and he seems to be coping with the loss of his next door neighbor. This is Oreo's favorite place to hang out during floor-time... we call it "the hay-cave" and it is recreated whenever the paper bag gets destroyed.

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    A few people have asked about our cage. It's changed a lot over the years. It started as a 30"x72" (2x5) cage for two piggies. When Oreo came to live with us, we expanded it to a 42"x72" (3x5) cage. After Junior died, we divided the original cage for Oreo & Mr. Pigg, and added a "bay window" in the front that served as a hay-bin & eating area. Now that Mr. Pigg is gone, we have changed the cage again... to a 30"x42" (2x3) area so that he can be in a more central space in the house. This is his house, as of this morning... pre-cleanup, so please excuse the mess!

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    We do not use aspen bedding. He lives on fleece blankets that we sweep each morning, and wash every 5 days. The cage is set on a VERY basic homemade table and all of his hay, food, cleanup, spare blankets & other care products are stored in two bins underneath him.
    love,
    mom
     
  2. MaryJane69

    MaryJane69 Member

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    what an absolutely lovely set up. i really love it. i ahve never seen an animal cage with no top, its so free feeling!

    glad he is settling down, you guys seem like a great family to live with! lucky little pig
     
  3. LoveMore

    LoveMore Member

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    If I recall correctly, GPs are one of the few animals you can do that with because they can't jump or climb out. I love that setup, too. :)

    Mama, best of luck with Oreo, it looks like he's come a long way. Thank you for rescuing him!
     
  4. BlazingDervish

    BlazingDervish Banned

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    Oreo looks like a lovely and happy pig!
     

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