Growing up Different

I've said before and I'll say again, animals that are gregarious (social) in the wild need and desire other animal companionship. At Animal Wonders we strive to allow every gregarious animal to have an animal companion. This doesn't necessarily mean we have breeding pairs or even same species pairs. This just means we do our best to find compatible animal companionship for any animal that desires company.

In the case of Pepper, the Patagonian Cavy, it's a work in progress. Pepper is almost 4 weeks old and is living in the house with us. This ensures that he gets as much human interaction as possible, he stays extra warm while he's still young, and we can watch his every move to monitor how he's sleeping, eating, moving, etc. Our last Cavy loved company from the rabbit, Cheeks. We tried this pairing but found that Cheeks was a little too enthusiastic about his new friend. Seraphina, the fox kit, spent her first month inside as well, but she loved to pounce on anything that moved and Pepper thought this was not a fun game. We introduced Pepper to Ash the chinchilla, but Ash didn't appreciate Pepper's tendency to disregard personal space. So Pepper is spending his time with us in the room and interacts with our house cat, Ambros. Ambros has seen many animals of all shapes, colors, sizes, and smells come and go from his house. He tends to keep to himself and watch from a distance putting anyone too curious a few steps back with a soft but well aimed tap on the head. Pepper and Ambros interact and spend the day vying for the best spot on the couch (remember that cavies are not recommended as pets, they will chew and pee on almost anything, including the couch). Pepper will continue to find companionship with humans and animals alike as he grows to maturity. In the wild Patagonian Cavies are monogamous and mate for life. In Pepper's case he will most likely bond to his caretaker(s) and find comfort and companionship with them. Right now he seeks out human interaction and loves to follow moving feet and comes bounding when he hears a whistle call.