Meet the Pets - Mars and Argo

Only five short months after re-starting this blog, beginning this mini-series of 'Meet the Pets' and introducing our brood of 10 animals, we are finally at the very last post! Saving the best until last does not apply in this situation at all, and not because Mars and Argo aren't the best, but because all of our animals are the best.

So as for the final two family members, they are the smallest of the furry bunch and second smallest after the Leopard Geckos! After Athena (Columbian Boa) they were the last to join us after we adopted them right around when we moved in together at the end of January / start of February 2019. At the time of adoption, these poor guys were said to be only a year old and had already had two homes and been re-paired once. Mars had originally been in a pair with another piggy but was a big bully so when he had been taken back to Pets at Home because the family didn't want them anymore, they re-paired him with Argo. Mars and Argo were then adopted by a new family who after only a month turned back up at Pets at Home, phoned the store while sat outside to say they didn't want them anymore and then dumped them back at the store that day. These little guys had done nothing wrong and yet they already had 2 failed homes at such a young age. 

If you are considering adding a small furry animal to your family please research it a lot before you do it. (Obviously, this goes for all animals, but it seems people disregard the seriousness of small animals, some of which can actually be quite hard work). 

Just because these are smaller and thought to be less 'work' does not mean they are a toy to buy for your child who will more than likely get bored in a month or two. Once you are sure you can provide the time, money and love a new buddy/buddies will need, look to adopt an animal/s before going to buy. Please. A lot of small, local shelters may have pets other than dogs and cats but Support Adoption for Pets with Pets at Home are also a good programme specifically for Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Hamsters and more. As their website states, ''These adoption centre units provide shelter for pets that can no longer be cared for by their current owners, and we do everything we can to find them a loving new home. For as long as they need, they will have a safe place to call home with us, and we cover the costs of their food, housing and any veterinary treatments that may be required.''

As you can probably guess, that is where Mars and Argo's story started and ended on the 26th of January 2019. They are finally in their forever home and don't need to worry about not being cared for properly or being abandoned again. Now let's talk a little bit about each of them...

A little bio and some quick facts:
Name: Mars 

Species: 'Albino' American Guinea Pig 

Gender: Male

Age: 2

Birthday: 7th February
Temperament: Ruffian!

Loves
Screaming at you when you open the fridge
Broccoli and Parsley
Playing with the cats
Being talked to because he has impaired vision
Running around the house

Hates
Getting put back in his house
Apparently his brother...

Despite most 'albino' guinea pigs apparently being more so hard of hearing than anything else, our guy definitely has impaired vision. By his body language and way he moves about this has always been evident and he is a good lad at responding to his name - whether that is because he knows his name or rather that he just follows the voice is to be determined. Either way, when he hears his Daddy talk he gets very excited and has his little nose right up in the air looking around for him. 
If you can't tell, Mars was named thusly because of his red eyes (like Mars the planet) and trying to stick to our naming theme of Gods and Goddesses, Mars being the ancient Roman God of War. Thinking about this it suits him well as he is a fighter who was re-paired due to bullying, has previously bullied his brother Argo, once fully attacking him which left us with a blood bath and meant we had to separate their beds completely! He also has one grey foot which has seen him dubbed Peter Pettigrew as a nickname...if you know, you know haha.
Mars is a loud, feisty, crazy little guy who makes us laugh when he 'popcorns' around the living room and takes over the cats cardboard castle. A big personality difference to his brother...

A little bio and some quick facts:
Name: Argo
Species: Silkie Guinea Pig
Gender: Male
Age: 2/3
Birthday: 7th February

Temperament: Timid

Loves
Broccoli and Parsley
Chewing anything wooden
Laying in the sun


Hates
Being picked up
Getting groomed


As I stated above, this guy is almost a complete opposite to Mars. Don't get me wrong, he has a good loud squeak on him too, especially when Mars starts and he will join in but in general, he's much more reserved and chilled out. He enjoys being out and exploring but tends to shy away from the living room, it seems he is completely indifferent to the cats, being neither a fan of them nor being scared of them...he just doesn't acknowledge their existence haha.
A few months ago we had a terrible health scare with Argo when a small golf ball sized 'lump' appeared on his throat. It ended up being a bacterial infection of the lymph nodes that got larger over a very short amount of time and ended in tears. This was at the time where the boys shared their home in our kitchen. I came into the room to a scuffle and the sight of blood...a lot of blood, espcially for such a small nick caused by bully Mars. Luckily Mr H was at home and after my screaming we were able to get him looked at, cleaned up and quarantined for a few days in a separate large indoor cage where we could keep him clean. When it was time to put him back into the his house we decided it was necessary to separate them for good and blocked it off into two sections. Now Argo has one side and seems much happier and relaxed. He gets himself in and out easily at his leisure to run around still too, just like his brother (just at different times)! 
Oh! And as for his name. Long story short it came from a small band/girl I watched online years ago. We'd already named his brother and so Mars Argo sprung to mind and seemed to me a nice fit. Only later did I find out that Argo is also the name of a famous ship in Greek Mythology just fitting it into our theme! 

There we have the final members of The Hallow Family!  
Make sure to have a look back on the rest of this mini series for super cute photos of our other 8 babies and read all about them. Click the links below:
Dog // Baker

Snakes // Anubis, Athena and Hades
Cats // Aurora and Eos
Lizards // Hela and Freya

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed meeting our family. Please leave us links of posts about your pets in the comments!
Until next time!