She just showed up in my backyard one day. I read up on them and started feeding her. I moved about 3 months ago into my current place and brought her with me. Before I moved in I plugged up any cracks in the fence (not that she would try to leave, she was in my other yard for 2 months and there were several places she could get out - she got in somehow - and she never did). My yard is pretty small. She lived in a thick bush and came out every morning and every evening to get her strawberries and carrots.
This morning she is missing. I crawled around on my hands and knees and looked under the few bushes she might be in. I walked the fence, no gaps or cracks or dig spots.
In addition to being sad I’m also perplexed. Where did she go?
I don’t want to be cruel in your time of loss, but I don’t think there’s a mystery here. You list no location, but almost anyplace in the world, I’d assume that she went…up. With a feathered companion that did not have her best interests at heart.
Such are the risks of keeping small animals outdoors.
Yeah, I thought of that. Location: Central valley California. But I’m in the middle of a lot of apartments and there is a lot of tree cover over my yard. Plus she pretty much only came out to eat. Not discounting it, it just doesn’t seem likely. There’s a lot of juicy pigeons around too.
Sorry to hear that your guinea pig is missing.
Unfortunately I too would suspect that some predator attacked her, but who knows, maybe she somehow found a way out of the yard. It might be worthwhile to call to the local animal shelters and see if they have had any guinea pigs come in lately.
If you are near apartment buildings, I wonder if someone might have come in your yard and taken her?
Even if she doesn’t turn up, at least it sounds like she had a good life while she was with you.
Thanks, lavenderviolet. Yes, I fattened her up quite nicely in a couple of months. It started my day out with a smile as she wheedled excitedly for her morning strawberries.
They are very good escape artists. It might not be impossible for her to find her way out of a yard that you think is very secure. (and maybe back in again with any luck) A predator is a big possibility too, but this was a travelin’ pig who found you, so she made it that far alone at least once before.
I hope that she turns up. It would be a good idea to keep some food out there in case she did find a way to get in and out of the yard. If she returns and you are inclined to keep her as a pet, get a cage and keep her indoors. Freedom for a small rodent is just another word for “I am about to get eaten by something”.
Having grown up with guinea pigs, I know that guinea pigs are quite the prolific breeders.
My guess would be that she met a fellow guinea pig and they’re off right now making sweet guinea pig love, soon to be followed by a litter of little guinea pig babies, and shortly thereafter, bouts of maternal depression followed by some alcoholic fueled fights about why her love toy doesn’t come home anymore and spends all his time in strange back yards and doesn’t he love her anymore? Soon, she’ll show back at your doorstep, baby guinea pigs in tow, with a broken heart and a sob story. Decide now if you’ll take her back, or let her live the rest of her life, raising her guinea pig babies in squalor because she set her sights on the neighborhood play-pig, instead of investing her energy in making her future brighter.
Haha, thanks phall0106, that gave me a laugh. I thought about the cat angle as well. The wooden fence that surrounds my yard is about 7 feet tall. I’m sure a cat could get in if it wanted to but it would then have to contend with my cat and then drag my two pound little cavy back over the fence.
Yeah, I know. I tried to catch her early on but couldn’t (when I moved I enlisted the help of friends to catch her). Besides, since she seemed happy being free coupled with the fact that I didn’t release her I was resolved to let nature run it’s course.
Aww, Sooty is so cute. I have no idea as to her true sex. I didn’t turn her over for the brief period I had her in hand.
I’ve had a lot of guinea pigs in my time, and between them my neighbours have had almost as many cats. They’ve never come into conflict, and I doubt a cat would bother taking a guinea pig away even if it did catch it.
Is it possible the guinea pig escaped through an opening you haven’t found and is still lurking in the neighborhood?
Many years ago I had a cavy and was letting him graze on the front lawn, when he decided to escape into the shrubbery, and I couldn’t find him. He spent an exciting night and part of the next day on the run. Then we noticed his shrieks when the back door was being opened and closed (he’d learned to associate our comings and goings with feedings). After carefully stalking him by the sound of his voice, I spotted him lurking in a patch of pachysandra and captured him.
If there is a sound that your pig associates with food (like crinkling of the plastic that covers a head of lettuce, for example), you could play a recording of that as you check out the immediate area around your yard.
A random, more or less wild guinea pig just appeared in your yard one day and decided to live at your house? Some people have all the luck. Did you ever find out where it came from or if it was tame at all?
Yep, she just showed up. I caught a brief glance of a red furred creature darting across my yard the first two weeks she was here (followed closely by my cat). At first I feared it was a rat. After I started feeding her, it dawned on me it was probably escaped pet. I put up ‘found’ notices at all of the nearby apartments. No one responded.
I’m hoping she’s cheering up some other family right now. I miss her but I’m grateful for the time she shared with me.
ETA: Lucy got along just wonderfully with my cat.
That’s amazing! Not many people get such an adorable mystery in their lives. Hooray for everyday magic! Maybe she’ll come back. If not, at least it was good while it lasted and you’ll have a cool story for the rest of your life.
Time for wild speculation. Maybe she wasn’t a guinea pig at all but a fairy testing humanity’s kindness. An alien who’s disguise-a-tron malfunctioned? A time traveler from a future where the world is ruled by rodents? A glitch in The Matrix?
Just think, you may have saved the world! You might find an old gold coin out in the yard one day or get some other windfall.
She was certainly a cute little thing, made me smile.