Wayward Guinea Pig, Part 2
Oops. I actually started last night's post in order to tell about one of our cavies' most recent escape, and wound up leaving it out completely. Ah, the joys of posting in the wee hours. ;-)
The short version is that this past Sunday, I was feeding everyone in preparation for driving to Nashville, to pick up Marek, who had just delivered four trucks there. But when I was spreading out scratch grain for the chickens and ducks, I was greeted by a free-running guinea pig, when he should have been safely in his cage. The other two males were still in there, so I quickly secured the cage, to prevent further escapes.
I've mentioned before that guinea pigs, like all mammals, are very smart. And this little guy is no exception, having eluded me for three solid days the last time he escaped, because he is wily and FAST. And, true to form, as I tried to capture him, I had a series of "close but no cigar" encounters, when I a-l-m-o-s-t succeeded in capturing him, but not quite.
Being a smart cavy, he mostly stayed close to the cages and the other guinea pigs, not surprisingly snuggling next to the girls' cage as much as possible. Since they had chewed through the cotton towel across the front of their cage, which meant that I could leave it in place while still giving them much-needed ventilation, the resulting skirt gave him a handy place to hide.
I clearly don't know the mind of a guinea pig, but they all heard the little girl squealing as Musica carried her off to our front porch, which had to be stressful for them all. Hopefully their lesson was learned, but in any case, they all seemed to know innately that they are safer inside the enclosure than outside of it, even with Rutger crowing. From what I can tell, this little boy never tried to leave the enclosure, which is a blessing.
And why would he? Plenty of new grass, and standing hay from winter. Bits of grain that the chickens and ducks hadn't gotten to yet. He hadn't been out long enough to be desperate for water. I put some pellets and sunflower seeds out for him, to keep him happy and well fed, and went to pick up Marek.
We got home long after dark, so I waited until the following morning to try to recapture him, as I didn't want to risk driving him outside the enclosure at night. We have a lot of predators here, and a guinea pig would make a tasty snack. My job is to keep him as safe as I can.
The morning was sunny and fairly warm, so I got the grain for the chickens and ducks, and headed for the enclosure. I spotted him immediately, peeking out from under the towel next to the girls' cage, so I set about feeding the ducks and chickens, and trying to see if I could get close to him.
After a few circles around the cages, and a couple of ill-fated attempts corner him, he finally took refuge under the towel in front of the girls' cage. I placed my hands in front of and behind him, so that he couldn't scoot out the end, and moved my hands in to grab him, in which I succeeded.
He did squirm and try to escape again as I was putting him back inside his cage, but I won, so the boys and girls are all safely ensconced in their cages once again. I fed them all immediately, to give them a positive association for his capture, and I was done.
I must say that, had I videoed my attempts to capture him, they would very likely have been among America's funniest home videos, as an adult woman trying to capture a fast guinea pig is inherently funny, even while being a frustrating endeavor.
So if you choose to have guinea pigs/cavies assist you with your bed preparation efforts, be forewarned, and build your cages with the express purpose of preventing escapes before they happen. And remember that, like rabbits, they dig, and they dig a LOT faster than you think they can.
And I would love to hear your take in the comments.
Wayward Guinea Pig – Day 87 – Daily Haiku
A Message from My 90-Year-Old Self to My Self Today
Lolo is Whining- Day 86 – Daily Haiku
Gate of Dreams - Claus Ogerman – Outstanding Jazz Album
Feeling So Grateful – Day 85 – Daily Haiku
Our Spice Bush Abounds – Day 84 – Daily Haiku
Spring is Moving On – Day 83 – Daily Haiku
I Dance Toward My Blessed Death – Original Poetry
Our Black and White Hope – Day 82 – Daily Haiku
Marek, My Best Friend – Day 81 – Daily Haiku
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All words and images are my own. The above image shows the boys' cage on the left, with the girls' cage on the right, shortly after being moved to new grass, last May. I don't recall which camera I used, but it was likely my LG V10 smart phone.
The photo of our dog, Lolo, and our late cat, Miod, I took as they were cooperatively begging at the dinner table, despite our longstanding rule of not feeding them from the table.
You can see how much that deterred them both.
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