Help me do what's best for my pigs..

[Umlauf]

Hi,

I have two beautiful guinea pigs, Nick who is nearly 3 and Dolly about 18 months. Daisy is really independent and can look after herself well but Nick needs a lot of cuddles. We adopted him and he was in bad shape when we got him with shredded ears and he is a very shy passive little thing. I love him to bits, Dolly too, but Nick is my PF..GP!

In September DH unexpectedly lost his job but got a better one abroad which came with a flat. Brill, but the flat didn't allow ANY animals. My parents have been amazing and are letting Nick and Dolly live in their front porch so they have a huge space closed off from the cats, and have bought them lots of little igloos for the space. They also have a big garden and the pigs have a run there where they can mow the lawn by eating their way through it. They are pampered, but never handled as my parents are allergic to Dolly. This was always meant to be a temporary agreement but my parents have made it clear they are happy to have them.

I miss them so so so much and want to bring them to live with me and find a new flat this summer. Due to the city we live in a house with garden is out of the question, so they'd have, at most, a patio or balcony with no grass. They would also be facing a really really long drive, 12 hours or so, they both hate driving. There are ferries but you have to leave small animals in the car so I think it'd be worse being in the hold of a ferry.

So I guess, what I'm asking, is what they need the most? Selfishly I just want them back for cuddles, but I can't give them grass :-(. My parents can't give them cuddles..... WWYD?!

Thanks for reading my essay

Personally what I would do is leave them be.

Is it really worth all the stress to move them again?

What happens if you have to move again and you can't take them with you?

Do they have a good quality of life at your parents??

Yes they like cuddles etc but tbh I think guinea companionship is the most important thing in a guineas life ... well , that and food !

They can live without grass - I have indoor piggies who never go outside (due to not trusting the neighbours and the millions of cats around) - they are happy pigs.

Does the fact that your parents are allergic effect the way they are looked after? I mean practical side like cleaning etc....

Thank you for replying! My parents are so good to them and clean them out with a full clean every weekend, and change little wet bits daily. They are not so allergic that they can't go near them, and in the summer they out them out every day in the run which they love. The only thing they can't do regularly for them is give them human affection which I used to do all the time, but they do have each other.

I know they could live without grass but they love it so much and now they've had it a lot they would know what they are missing.

I'm being quite selfish in just wanting them with me really, it would be stressful to move them. Being in my parents porch does mean my parents haven't been using their front door at all for a year, only ever entering through the garage, and they eat all the post that comes through the letterbox, so I feel guilty for doing that to my parents, but they've made it clear they are happy for them to stay (I think they've fallen in love a bit too!!)

Your pigs are so lucky to have such doting grandparents

I agree with Bonkey and would leave them where they are. They're happy and your parents seem happy with them. I know you miss them but I'm sure your parents will give you updates and you can visit them.

BTW Could you get your parents one of those external letterboxes (fixes to the house wall) to stop the pigs reading their post first!

Do your parents have any family nearby who would cuddle the guinea-pigs. Maybe you've got some young cousins/neices/nephews who want the cuddles but their parents don;t want the ownership.

If they're settled, looked after and have their grass then probably best not to uproot them.

My mum and dad had Mon-Fri care of one of my GP when I was at colledge. I washed and combed her at weekends. She was very spoiled

Ooh yes when our GPs (when I was a child) were FreeRanging , the post was fair game . But they were selective. Plain white envelopes were favourite, never brown envelopes.

And shoelaces were stalked, hunted down and massacred. No mercy

Thank you for your replies.

They are really lucky and I am lucky to have them to look after them. I am not sure we would have taken the opportunity to move overseas if we would have had to take them back to P@H. I shudder at the thought!

My Dad texted me to let me know they have been in their run outside helping him mow the lawn! I know they have almost everything they need. There is nobody to cuddle them other than my siblings in the university holidays sadly. Dolly is going a bit feral I think although she always has been a mentalpig!

70s Im laughing at the post stories!! Mine seem to particularly enjoy the 'sorry you were out' cards, the bit where the postman writes the important code to help him find parcels in the sorting office is especially tasty it would seem! Also my Mums new flipflops, delish!

Fernie the external letterbox is good idea, or even just a post basket/catcher inside the letterbox. I´ll google one and buy it for them I think! Thanks for the inspiration!

I do miss them lots :-( My parents also have an adopted fish from a sibling and two cats of their own (who love gazing at the pigs through the glass porch doors but never come into contact with them) so they are pretty experienced zoo keepers!