Twinkle and Tinsel ended up at Hamilton Animal Services after they were abandoned outside of an apartment building. While in shelter, staff noticed that Tinsel’s bottom incisors were digging a bit into the top of his mouth, so those teeth got a good trim. It is very important that guinea pigs have something to chew on – especially lots of fresh hay – as their teeth grow continuously and need to be worn down. Chew toys are also important to prevent boredom, provide exercise and mental stimulation.

When an experienced foster home offered to accommodate them, we were happy to get these boys out of the shelter. The boys have been neutered and are now settling in to their foster home. So far, these boys are pretty nervous, so we hope that with time, patience, and kind handling from their new foster, that they will begin to develop trust in humans. We’ll post an update on how these cute boys are doing shortly.

Welcome to Ladybird, Tinsel and Twinkle! We’re so happy you’re here!

UPDATE: January 14th, 2025
After attempting to re-introduce Tinsel and Twinkle after their neuters, it’s been determined that they have zero interest in getting along as neighbours or roommates. We’re making these boys available as solo pigs for now, in the hopes that they can be bonded to a herd other solo pig in the future.

Here is a note from Twinkle’s foster:
“Twinkle is still quite fearful, as in he bolts for his house when we enter the room. When we sit in the room and watch them he will slowly emerge and feel comfortable if we don’t move… lol. He seems quite traumatized, honestly, but there is slight progress from when he first arrived. We are still working on that with him.”