It has been a long time since I have posted here, but now I also finally have some good things to share
![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png)
Although also some more sad things, as I like to share their full story. Just skip Birk and Benny parts if you want to avoid the worst ^^*
Of the ones I shared last time back in 2019 on the previous page, I lost the last one a few months ago, and I had gotten a neutered male named Tjalfe in the meantime, which also had to put down last year, but I don't have any pictures of him on this pc.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/hvQCpp5T/IMG-20230905-103338.jpg)
Ronja, the little creme/long haired in the last shared photos has always been skittish and quick to run, and loved her cage very much. Aka she preferred to be there rather than up with me and getting petted
![:P](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/tongue.png)
She taught herself that a hand under her body meant to be carried to her cage, so she tried to climb, dig and nip any hand she saw in an attempt to get you to carry her to the cage ^^*
It really shows how social they are, when she was alone a few months after first Tjalfe and later Birk had to be put down, as she just turned her head away when presented with a hand, in those periods where she was alone in the cage. She didn't want to go back down but rather wanted to stay on a lap.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/MGtrTcBM/IMG-20230724-161851.jpg)
Birk I got from a shelter where he was after having been dumped at a playground, they thought him to be around a year old. He started out with going down with a cold, which can be really dangerous for guinea pigs. I spent the next 8 months fighting for him, while he won my heart, with countless vet visits, pain killers and antibiotics and him fighting and being underweight and struggling to put on weight. Every time he took a step forward, he took one or two back.
I got an x-ray of him which showed he had arthritis in his back leg and and an old injury in his spine, and the vet ruled him to be at least 4 years old, if not older. (normally guinea pigs live to between 4-6 years). Looking back, he had something underlying we just couldn't find which resulted in him getting other health problems, which we could see and tried to treat.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/s1FT87k8/IMG-20230311-091931.jpg)
![](https://i.postimg.cc/C11rfFCv/IMG-20230620-124514.jpg)
He seemed to enjoy his life here though, with a heat lamp and painkillers to dull most of the pain. And he clearly was thrilled to be with Ronja who liked him too, although found him a bit too clingy sometimes, but usually reluctantly accepted him laying right up and down beside her. ^^
![](https://i.postimg.cc/6QBmtV8x/IMG-20230822-155544-01.jpg)
When Birk had to be put to sleep, I went and got Benny (not my naming) since Ronja clearly needed a partner, even though I wasn't really ready for a new guinea pig just yet. Ronja needed a friend and I thought that I needed some good experiences..
Unfortunately Benny did not become that as I only got to have him a week. He had no disease and was just a pain in the ... since he the first few nights called loudly each time he thought he heard Ronja move around, or perhaps that he didn't hear her, he was beside himself not being alone anymore.
He didn't survive the sedation though, which is always a risk for these small animals, although I had never had a problem before. He got a bleeding in his brain and while I rushed to the emergency clinic there wasn't much they could do.
Ronja then began to do less well, and I gave her a bit of time before finding her a new partner, to be sure she was fresh enough for a new introduction. She didn't, she began to lose weight and got really tired, so it was time for her as well.
So that made it 4 goodbyes in a bit more than a year, with three of them in a couple of months.
Now to the good part!![](https://i.postimg.cc/Jn24Cz4Z/IMG-20231214-231716.jpg)
Meet Jolly and Pepsi!
Someone asked if I shouldn't have called Jolly for Cola (or Coke?), but I technically already have
![:P](//storage.proboards.com/2475952/images/j4x3M6WbsBpReeVALlIv.png)
Jolly is the name of a Danish brand of cola, and while I both think it sounds better than cola or coke, it's also really fitting with how happy she is! She was named Esther before, which to me is an old granny's name, and I'm not doing well with very human names for pets, it feels weird.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/W33bykjs/IMG-20231205-183818.jpg)
Pepsi is the boss. And the nervous one, although she has begun to sometimes dare come to the opening of the cage to get snacks, and she is doing alright being held and petted.
![](https://i.postimg.cc/1zM3MKkW/IMG-20231205-100447.jpg)
And this is Jolly, she's testing their places in the hierarchy once in a while but is still on the bottom. She is very outgoing, curious and playful, and is not doing very well with being up and petted
![:P](//storage.proboards.com/2475952/images/j4x3M6WbsBpReeVALlIv.png)
I have just figured that she is alright with it, if she's buried in a towel and on my knees under the coffee table, then she's alright and can relax.
I have only had them since the start of December, so we still have some work to do and get them a bit more tame, but it looks good and they make me smile a lot ^^