Poppy is around 5 years old and although she is in good overall health, she does have a mammary gland tumour, which she has probably had for some time. It is causing her no issues whatsoever, and she will likely live her full lifespan, as guinea pigs seem to manage to live with their lumps and bumps depending on how invasive they are. I suspect her eyesight is not what it was, but she gives no indication that she is struggling to see as she found her house and her food with no difficulty at all. I am looking for an understanding home for Poppy, and it would be lovely if she could be introduced to other females so she could have company in her twilight years.
She is very cuddly once caught, and will tolerate being held and stroked for a long time. I would recommend that the slow approach is followed to introduce her to other guinea pigs, and give them at least a week of side by side interaction before trying an introduction in a neutral area.
UPDATE: Poppy has gone to a wonderful new home! She is being slowly integrated with three other “ladies” so hopefully will be accepted into their little group soon. Here is what her new owners had to say:
Hello Mairwen, just to update you on little Poppy. She has been living next to my three girls since Friday and they’ve all been curious. She is eating well and they have all been sniffing each other out at the dividing panel. She had 10 mins lap time on hubby’s knee this morning and our Ruby and Poppy exchanged some minor teeth chattering. We are going to continue keeping them separate for as long as it takes with us doing these very brief Introductions as we go along. This evening they had 20 mins lap time with Poppy and my Ruby being the last two to be taken back – they sat side by side and were vocal (week week weeking!!) but no issues. Ruby took two months with her last introduction so however long it takes we will make sure Poppy is introduced and integrated on her terms. Here are a couple of photos. Will keep you posted x Cathy
Further update:
Hello Mairwen, just wanted to update you on Poppy, or Sophie as we now call her. It did take a good 8 weeks before they could all be fully integrated. It wasn’t our Ruby that was not accepting, but Lily. As you suspected, we think that Sophie’s poor eye sight made things worse for her as she could not see the others around her – just knew they were there when they brushed against her or nudged her. So it all sounded very traumatic when there was a commotion! The first couple of weeks of them all together saw her retracting but she is now holding her own with them and will occasionally nip back in retaliation. I tell her she’s a good girl for not accepting any bullying! She still loves her cuddles and all four girls have been loving time out on the lawn – who needs a mower when you’ve four guinea pigs ????. So the hard work paid off and she is now happy with her new friends. Hope all is well your end. Take care. Photos enclosed.
i
i