Ace is a solo Guinea pig up for adoption! Within 2 hrs., a Redditor adopted the last pig I posted. Can we do it again?

Submitted by heather1999xyz t3_z59t1r in boston

https://www.arlboston.org/adopt/adopt-a-pet/

Reddit found a home for Winston (see past post) within 2 hours of posting.

Can Reddit do it again? I’m fostering Ace. DM me if you’re interested in him or email the ARL, linked above. He has been at the shelter for around a year.

Ace is a gentle and sweet Guinea pig. He looks like a Siamese cat. His favorite treats are bell peppers. His love language is touch. His favorite animal is the human being.

Ace's favorite activity is grooming people. He will gently lick your clean fingers and comb your hair. Please give Ace's Salon a 5 star rating on Yelp. Adopters get a lifetime pass for free spa services.

Ace is a truly solo pig and would do best in a home where he can get cuddles multiple times a day. Ace is gentle and would be a wonderful starter pet for a child, or a first time Guinea pig owner.

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Ace is a solo male Guinea pig. The ARL has tried to pair him with so many other Guinea pigs and hasn’t found a match. As genuinely sweet as Ace is to humans, he is extremely aggressive towards other Guinea pigs. His aggression to other Guinea pigs is not related to aggression towards humans. He has always been good with humans, according to the shelter and in my experience fostering ace.

He is what I call a true solo. He doesn’t need or want a split cage or a neighbor or playmate. He gets upset by the sounds and even smells of other Guinea pigs. I forgot to clean a tunnel before I put it in his cage and he became extremely upset.

A true solo is extremely rare and I would not use that descriptor unless it was accurate, and I would not use it lightly.

The upside to this?

Guinea pigs are social animals. Ace still wants lots of attention and cuddles from humans. He genuinely grooms people and loves to be held.

A solo pig is also cheaper to take care of than a pair. They don’t require as large a cage either. If you have a limited budget, a solo pig is actually a great choice.

I focus on observational and behavioral fostering to ensure I can accurately describe an animal to adopters. Not every animal is a fit for everyone and if one of my fosters isn’t a fit, I can held you find another set of pigs that are.

Adoption fee is $35.

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borkmeister t1_ixv6ufl wrote

We met Ace when we took home Hazel and Basil last week. He was great! Very talkative, expressive, and affectionate. A piggy full of sass.

If we could have taken home a male piggy we would have. Whoever ends up with Ace is getting one A+ piggeroo.

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixv941s wrote

You took Hazel and Basil? AWESOME!

Thanks for vouching for Ace as well. He is a chatty boy.

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borkmeister t1_ixvbk0z wrote

https://imgur.com/a/HScdBPR

The herd happily at home!

We did some name shuffling but everyone has happily settled in

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixvc4q7 wrote

You say name shuffling. What I hear is witness protection. I’m so happy they found a great home! How did you pick them from the others?

Also the ARL LOVES adoption success stories. I’m running a blog about Guinea pig fostering and adoption. Let me know if I can interview you some time.

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borkmeister t1_ixvd7he wrote

Yes, happy to be interviewed. From what we know of their back story we would love to ensure that their former person knows they are safe, loved, and cared for.

We chose these two fuzzballs because we were looking for a female middle aged piggy. Sammi is ~4.5, so still has a few good years left. Mr. Rosie, her partner, passed away in March and she was pretty depressed. We saw how bad it was to have her solo and needed a friend for the rest of her life. Older female piggies are hard to find; people seem to surrender them much earlier under normal circumstances. So when we saw these two chonks come available we decided to move quickly.

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixve524 wrote

Thank you for not surrender shaming! Surrendering happens for deeply personal reasons and isn’t a happy experience for either parties involved. Knowing your pet has been adopted and given a new home is amazing and encourages others to surrender vs. release to the wild.

You have a huge heart and I’ll hit you up for an interview for my website. It can be as anonymous as you want. Or it can plug socials. Whatever.

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixuta98 wrote

Ace is a solo Guinea pig up for adoption! Within 2 hrs., a Redditor adopted the last pig I posted. Can we do it again?

https://www.arlboston.org/adopt/adopt-a-pet/

Reddit found a home for Winston (see past post) within 2 hours of posting.

Can Reddit do it again? I’m fostering Ace. DM me if you’re interested in him or email the ARL, linked above. He has been at the shelter for around a year.

Ace is a gentle and sweet Guinea pig. He looks like a Siamese cat. His favorite treats are bell peppers. His love language is touch. His favorite animal is the human being.

Ace's favorite activity is grooming people. He will gently lick your clean fingers and comb your hair. Please give Ace's Salon a 5 star rating on Yelp. Adopters get a lifetime pass for free spa services.

He is very loving and will come to the side of the cage to sniff your hand or to eat vegetables. He enjoys playing with chew toy balls.

Ace is a truly solo pig and would do best in a home where he can get cuddles multiple times a day. Ace is gentle and would be a wonderful starter pet for a child, or a first time Guinea pig owner.

/////

Ace is a solo male Guinea pig. The ARL has tried to pair him with so many other Guinea pigs and hasn’t found a match. As genuinely sweet as Ace is to humans, he is extremely aggressive towards other Guinea pigs. His aggression to other Guinea pigs is not related to aggression towards humans. He has always been good with humans, according to the shelter and in my experience fostering ace.

He is what I call a true solo. He doesn’t need or want a split cage or a neighbor or playmate. He gets upset by the sounds and even smells of other Guinea pigs. I forgot to clean a tunnel before I put it in his cage and he became extremely upset.

A true solo is extremely rare and I would not use that descriptor unless it was accurate, and I would not use it lightly.

The upside to this?

Guinea pigs are social animals. Ace still wants lots of attention and cuddles from humans. He genuinely grooms people and loves to be held.

A solo pig is also cheaper to take care of than a pair. They don’t require as large a cage either. If you have a limited budget, a solo pig is actually a great choice.

I focus on observational and behavioral fostering to ensure I can accurately describe an animal to adopters. Not every animal is a fit for everyone and if one of my fosters isn’t a fit, I can held you find another set of pigs that are.

Adoption fee is $35.

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tamirabeth t1_ixvi2oq wrote

Hi! I'm the one who took home Winston.

For anyone thinking of adopting Ace, I can't say enough great things about our fellow Redditor, their pigs, and the ARL. I fell in love with Winston very quickly, and am sure you will fall in love with Ace just as fast.

I had been wanting a guinea pig my entire life, and have been hounding my husband for a couple of years. But wisely, he said no, knowing that we don't have the room for several pigs. That's where Winston and Ace came in! Once he agreed and decided between them (it was a hard choice!), we picked Winston up the next day.

Even though we've had him for just a little while, I can tell that he needs to be alone and loves having an environment to just be himself in. I was also skeptical of having a solo pig, but it's obvious that he's a special guy just like Ace.

Winston and Ace are healthy, clean, and come with vet histories. Really, u/Heather1999xyz is a great foster parent and I can't thank them enough!!!

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixvig86 wrote

Tamira thanks so much for sharing your experience! It was a pleasure to meet you and your husband.

The moment he met you, he melted into your arms and he has zero fear. He is good with new people but I’ve only seen a pig do that when they can sense “their person.” At the shelter, he kept looking at you during the adoption process.

My husband and I were super worried that Winston couldn’t find a home that would accommodate his special needs, and a home that would respect that he needs to be kept separate from other pigs for his own safety. Thank you for respecting Winston.

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EColli93 t1_ixv7wae wrote

Don’t solo Guinea pigs become depressed? Does this pig not play well with others? EDIT: I see in the comments by OP that this is the case.

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixv8u8m wrote

It’s sad but true.

If a Guinea pig would be a danger to itself or others, regardless of whether they even like other pigs, it cannot share a cage and a divider may be used with caution.

Ace may want friendship. I don’t think he does. During the bonding process with Winston he tried to bite him with intent to harm. During bonding, they roughhouse. That’s normal and good. Ace lunged at Winston multiple times with intent to harm which isn’t ok.

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tamirabeth t1_ixvg5xa wrote

Omg Winston!

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixvgbrf wrote

I know. It is why I am so happy Winston found a forever home that’ll give him attention but also keep him safe.

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tamirabeth t1_ixvifjp wrote

I definitely slept in the living room with him last night, I didn't want him to be scared. He's the absolute best.

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixvinp0 wrote

Guinea pig sleepover! I bet he is very tired and just so happy to be home after going from shelter, to my house, to shelter, to you house, all in under 2 weeks. The hero’s journey.

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rebespar t1_ixz4phi wrote

Aww, if this gets enough momentum could we have a semi-regular r/Boston foster post? I’ve got two lovely kittens looking for a forever home as well. Shameless self-plug- https://www.petfinder.com/cat/juanita-delphina-58763424/ma/jamaica-plain/second-chance-shelter-for-cats-ma77/ ❤️

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixz70l5 wrote

You should make a post too. I’m posting Guinea pigs I foster personally so that I can better describe them. As soon as one set gets adopted, then I’ll post another.

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Orangechanclas t1_ixxdlsz wrote

Wow how did you get the job to foster Guinea pigs? I am seriously so jealous

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixxvduo wrote

Hi! It is entirely voluntary. I don’t get paid. Guinea pig fostering is my one big hobby. I am not compensated or paid by anyone, nor do I charge any fees. I am not associated with them in any way nor do I represent their organization.

https://www.arlboston.org/get-involved/foster/

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Orangechanclas t1_iy11bng wrote

I don’t want to get paid but I would LOVE to foster. Thank you!!

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heather1999xyz OP t1_iy11l79 wrote

Awesome. I’m not a rep but you can DM me if you have any questions or need help getting started.

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fourier_lemonade t1_ixxdo7t wrote

HMU if you ever have a single girlie that would go well in a group with other girls. What cute little guy! 🥹

edit: recently adopted two girls from ARL (Legacy and Holly were their names at the rescue); highly recommend to anyone looking to adopt pigs

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heather1999xyz OP t1_ixxuy3y wrote

Oh actually I do know some.

Melissa is Bambi’s mom. She was a foster of mine until Bambi was sexed. Melissa is extremely friendly (was since day one with me.)

Bambi just got adopted I think. Melissa is all alone but would be a great fit for an existing pair of pigs. She is very gentle and vocal about her veggies.

I sent you a message via Reddit, if you want any more help picking HMU.

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