It’s been over a week since our two cavies joined our home, and it’s been quite a fun experience learning about their habits, nuances and also how different they are from Syrian hamsters. Ling chose the names for our two cavy boars. Rudolf – the chocolate-coat Sheltie has brown eyes with a tinge of evil red – is the braver of the two, and Danny – the black Vienna Chestnut coat – seems to follow his brother’s lead, but is, at the moment, also shy.
Granted that 9 days is still a very short span, our observations:
I reckon that as both cavies were from the same litter – born 24 Jun this year – the two get along great, and took just 8 hrs after bringing them home to finally venture out of their house to explore and dine.
Danny is a lot more timid, and it shows in many ways. He’s skittish, and whenever possible, would nervously approach food in my hand, pick them qickly then retreat back to his hiding home to eat in privacy. Movement or even a shift of body weight from one of us in the room is typically sufficient to send him scurrying! Rudolf is, relatively, adjusting quicker to their new home and his human owners though he too will scurry away occasionally.
Neither cavies are yet comfortable enough to be touched, and will instinctively start to back away when we approach them in their enclosures. One trick however is to try – as much as possible – not to put our hand into the cage from the top, but to slide our hand and arms and keep a low profile as far as possible. In comparison, Stacy – our Syrian – took just days before she adjusted to us and was willing to run to our hands if there was food to be had.
The cavies are also learning to recognize the rustling of hay when we top up their hay feeder twice a day. Depending on their mood, they just might ‘popcorn’ – where the cavies will leap into the air – and squeal in excitement.
Several enthusiasts note that the heart to cavies is through their stomachs, and that’s definitely true for these two! Of the fruits and veggies we’ve tried feeding them, the two especially love wheat grass, corn and Japanese cucumber, and to lesser degrees: lettuce and papaya.
Cavies poop – a lot! We bought a corner litter pad for their enclosure, and while they do a good amount of their ‘business’ there, a lot of their excrement is still outside that. Like hamsters, cavy droppings are solid and odorless, but their urine does stench quite a bit.
Hamsters need exercise wheels to burn excess energy. Cavies do run laps too – just not on wheels, but round and round their enclosures! They make quite a din when doing so, but it’s crazy fun to watch to two scoot after each other and trample on the 3M antislip mat furiously.
While the cavies are starting to settle in, we’re starting to think also of how to improve their abodes. Short of changing their current enclosure altogether, top on my list is how to fabricate a enclosure door and still maintain cage structural integrity at the same time. It’s to help our cavies develop confidence to step out of their cage easily when we get to floor time, hopefully soon!
I was wondering what their names would be!
You know, I don’t think I’ve seen this “popcorn” behavior before. That being said, I haven’t been around them in 25 or more years so I don’t remember much.