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Small pets

How to find runway GPig?

10 replies

ARoomWithoutADoor · 12/09/2019 12:41

Dd put her two male GPigs out in their outdoor pen yesterday.
We came home 6 hours later and noticed only one was there.
The pen had become wonky and two of the corner had 1" gaps.
He must have got through.
Dd is devastated - she is also autistic and struggling to process it.

Realistically, having searched the garden (with no sign) and having a fence with holes into an open field, it's gone for good hasn't it? :(

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cranstonmanor · 12/09/2019 12:48

Can you create a trap with a bucket in the ground with his favourite snacks that he can get in to but not out of? Preferably with some netting so the cat can't get to him but he can get in?

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poppym12 · 12/09/2019 12:50

I'd like to say he may come back if he can hear and smell his friend in the garden but I'd be very worried about foxes or sparrowhawks (we have lots around here).

Were the 2 boys closely bonded?

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poppym12 · 12/09/2019 12:52

Also, check every corner, plant and upturned stone in the garden again and again as out in the open, being prey animals, a Guinea pig will hide away.

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ARoomWithoutADoor · 12/09/2019 13:15

they were bonded yes.
I have put lots of cardboard banana boxes around with snacks under and keep checking them

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ARoomWithoutADoor · 12/09/2019 18:42

OMG - found him!!
He'd tunnelled under a really deep tuft of grass about 1ft away from pen.
Now fighting with the other one though :(

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fergusthefrog · 12/09/2019 18:44

Our house cats fight after a day at the vets because one smells different. Usually resolves in a day or so. So glad you found him!

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poppym12 · 12/09/2019 21:10

I'm glad you found him. Hopefully they will be able to agree the pecking order again soon. Are they both neutered?

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70isaLimitNotaTarget · 14/09/2019 09:44

Are they both neutered?
Makes no difference to boars .

You need to get them Smell Neutral. Washing them in strong smelling pig shampoo is best (nothing like a Bonding Bath to make them hate you in solidarity rather than each other ) but if that's not feasible , rub the dirty bedding round them so they smell of each other

When DD was at school one of their school piggies escaped ( cage not secured) , it was running free for three days (IIRC they didn't find it) . Poor DD got shredded by branches trying to catch it , while the Yr 7s lobbed apple cores at it (helpful not)
She tried the cardboard box trick but no avail. ( DD and I had pigs for years but thankfully no escape artists . But we had a Contingency Plan in case one went AWOL . Boxes , secure area , thorough sweep of areas where a pig could hide . Don't panic it )
Difficult to catch a tiny animal with loads of people crowding it , poor creature just hid further into the shrubbery .

You must be relieved he's back, hopefully he'll learn from his mis-adventure . .
Get the garden run Fort Knox'd .

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poppym12 · 14/09/2019 15:59

Fair enough 70. I can only speak from my own experience with Guinea pigs. I found the adolescent phase quite traumatic but neutering calmed the bullying and fighting significantly.

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ARoomWithoutADoor · 15/09/2019 11:47

Thanks for all the advice.

I have re-established peace by putting them both back in the large garden run (newly secured) with two hiding places and plenty of food. They stayed out all day and went back into indoor shared pen exhausted and stuffed full - it seemed to work :)

We often get them out for a cuddle - dd 'does' one and i 'do' the other. Should we swap them so they both smell of both of us?
and put them back in at exactly the same time?

The suggestion of immediately sorting 'smell' by rubbing with grubby pen bedding is genius, thank you, 70