Popcorning through Life

Wendell vacationing on Neebish Island

In today’s ScienceDaily there was an article about depression and caged animals. The study found that mink kept in sterile living conditions ate and slept more than mink living in enriched environments.

The article got me thinking about the quality of life I provide to Wendell, my guinea pig. Wendell has a large cage, equipped with an igloo for sleeping, a hanging salt wheel and wood toys. He gets baby carrots twice a day in addition to timothy and piggy nuggets that I refresh when I daily clean his cage. There is always activity around him for he shares the family room with the television and the cats.

As guinea pigs go, Wendell’s temperament is much calmer than the cavies I have had in the past. He allows me to trim his nails without biting me and has acclimated well to riding in the car. But he is a solitary guinea pig, making me wonder if he needs companionship.

I have had positive and negative experiences with multiple guinea pigs. Iggy & Bruizer, my first pair, were raised together. It was fun to watch them popcorn around the cage, a guinea pig trait where the pig “bucks” up his back end while running. When Bruizer died unexpectedly, I introduced Muggs into Iggy’s home. While Iggy was used to having a partner to share his cage, Muggs was young and aggressive. As he grew, Muggs took to bullying Iggy, biting his ears and barricading the entrance of the igloo keeping Iggy outside. Iggy never retaliated, but his days of popcorning around the cage were over.

When both Iggy and Muggs passed on, I made a decision never to introduce a second pig into my cavy cage. Elvis, my fourth guinea pig, was a short-timer. I had gotten him from a friend who was trying to re-home a daughter’s pet. Elvis was charming, but obviously a senior citizen. He died within months after I brought him home.

When Elvis died, I cleaned up the cage and stored it in the basement. In some way I had not given up entirely the idea of having another guinea pig, but had decided not to actively seek a replacement for Elvis. That was until I spotted Wendell at my local feed store. Like Elvis, he was an unwanted pet of a young boy and he was looking for a new home. It was love at first sight. I put his cage into my car and took him home.

One of the difficulties of having guinea pigs is that they need constant attention. They have a tendency to poop in their food and water dishes so leaving him home for the weekend wasn’t an option. At first, I took Wendell to a friend’s house, but that arrangement didn’t work out. It was then that Wendell became a world traveler. He has his own travel carrier, a portable play pen and a tote bag with all his supplies. I have taken him all over the state, visiting his human and doggy relatives. Wendell seems to enjoy the change of scenery with the added bonus of having me entirely to himself.

This brings me back to the study on depression and caged animals. What can I do to make Wendell’s life more enjoyable? I can let him wander around the room more often, put some new toys in his cage, perhaps allow him to sit on my lap longer and brush his fur. I would like to think he would enjoy the change of pace, perhaps even learn to popcorn. Wouldn’t that be nice?