I had heard a rumor of a fellow guinea pig person that the feed store on 4th Street would let you have free hay if you were a rescue group all you had to do was bring a bag. So I called them and they do in fact offer free hay. So my next call was of course to Phyllis. I picked her up and off we went to 4th street.
For those of you not familiar with Albuquerque, 4th Street is either the ghetto at one end or the country at the other end. In between is a mix of old and new. Luckily we were going to the country end. Phyllis was raised in the country on a farm so she knew all about hay and feed stores and the lot. Me, I had been in a feed store before but that was to buy flea dip and chicken feeder to make candy dishes out of. I never looked around.
We found the hay area and they pointed us in the direction of the Timothy Hay and Alfalfa Hay, thank god because when there is not a wrapper on it telling me what it is I have no idea. After getting pointed in the right direction I got my trash bag out and started in. It was kinda fun, I put handful after handful of hay in my baggie all the while thinking how happy the piggies were going to be. Phyllis was in charge of the Alfalfa. Once we had our hay we put it in the car and went inside so I could look around. You never know I may find something I really need in the feed store.
The first thing I thought was that the feed store was a lot like the hardware store and the cooking store. So many things, that I have no idea what you do with. But I looked around anyway and found out that if I ever need a 50 pound bag of guinea pig food that was the place to go. I saw brand new horse shoes that just mesmerized me. I have never seen them new before. They are usually an antique and in an antique store. During my trip through wonderland, Phyllis is just wandering with me, trying very hard not to make fun of me. All the while I am gripping at her for not sharing her knowledge of the feed store with me sooner.
Once that was over I had to head home and take care of some animal chores. My main objective for the evening was to introduce Mario and Lorenzo. These are two new piggies I rescued this week. Mario is 5 months old and was surrendered to the city pound. Lorenzo is an older piggie that a family had and no longer wanted him. I have had their cages sitting side by side so they could meet through the wires. All was going well as far as I could tell so I took it a step farther and opened the doors so they could go from one cage to the other cage. It took a few minutes but eventually Mario went into Lorenzo's cage and that is when the hay started flying.
It started with Mario chasing Lorenzo around and around the cage, nipping him on the butt when he could and making some very strange noises. I was told this could happen in the beginning but then Mario started to...well you know and Lorenzo was getting very upset. So I separated them, while Lorenzo hid in his box so no one could see him, Mario proceeded to strut around in his cage making more noises. I then knew 100% that Lorenzo was not a Lorenzo but a Sophia.
There had been questions all along, with guinea pigs its not as simple as lifting a leg and looking for something. It is more of a push and pull and see what pops out. I did that with Sophia and nothing popped out but then I was told that you can't always tell. Well I can tell now. She was one pissed piggie, she would not come out of hiding until I moved her cage on top of another cage so should could not see Mario anymore.
As of this morning she was better, at least she took her carrot and did not glare at me like she was last night. But of course everyone in the Hamster Haven is usually quiet and quilty in the morning because for the fourth day in a row, Guinevere had escaped from her cage. I have tried everything and every night she figures out a different way to get out. I am envisioning a Dr. Dolittle scene going on in that room at night. All the other critters are guiding her as she climbs, clings and hangs onto the cage to get out. Tonight I am going to create Alcatraze for Hamsters in hopes of keeping her in there at night.
Posted by
Cynthia