[Gpdd] re: [BREEDING] <nz breeding>

[Lauren Cordeiro]

Hi Charlotte,
Sorry to hear about the floods. I hope it misses you guys. I think at least in my part of the US, GPs are mostly kept indoors. However, when I was growing up it seemed the fad in my suburban neighborhood was to keep bunnies in 2'X3' wire cages in the outside of the house and completely ignore their existence until their minds probably rotted away do to lack of use and depression. But I think if an animal is given love and stimulation, it shouldn't matter whether or not they live outside, as long as they aren't in extreme temperatures and are well protected and sheltered. (By sheltered I mean not allowed to roam free wherever- which I'm sure in some places might lead to competition w/ native species) However, as far as the rabbit thing went, it seemed like to a lot of people the idea was "out of sight, out of mind," and let the poor things die of boredom alone in their cages. But I think piggies might even get along ok with minimal human contact, if they were in a GP colony and had a nice, safe place outdoors to live. But I definitely agree that they should be protected from predatory animals, and have suitable, solid-floor housing.

Honestly, some people get pets like guinea pigs and rabbits because they think they are much less work to take care of than a cat or a dog - but often they're more, since cats and dogs evolved to live in a human environment. And frankly, a lot of people, especially kids, lose inerest once the novelty of their "exotic" pet wears off, so they just leave them alone to rot. That seems like the bigger issue to me.
Good luck with your guinea pig education campaign! Maybe you could start a rescue shelter for unwanted GPs! That would be cool.
Lauren, Piglet and Pooh Bear

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