Mars Hallow
2018* - 2025
Our beautiful albino baby boy, Mars, joined our family as a rescue on Saturday, the 26th of January 2019 and passed away on Tuesday, the 25th of March 2025.
Of course, Mars came to us with his brother, Argo, who we sadly lost on Saturday, May 27th, 2023. I am very aware that Guinea Pigs thrive in pairs or groups. However, our situation was a little different. For a few reasons, including the fact that Mars was blind, a little older, and very independent, we decided not to try and re-bond him after Argo left us. In the past two years, he has thrived and been truly spoiled.
Mars and Argo had a rocky start to life.
Mars and Argo had a rocky start to life.
They had been bought from a pet shop and then returned, re-paired, re-sold and returned all over again. The pet trade in this world, including the UK, is broken and I wish the human view of animals could be different, but this post isn't to get on my soapbox.
We didn't intend to get Guinea Pigs (or any more pets, really) when we did. We'd been together for 3 months, and I was still living between ours and my parents' for another month after we got our boys. I already had Baker, and Josh had Aurora, Eos, Hela, Freya, Anubis and Hades. That being said, when I saw Mars and Argo and read their story, I had no choice. I knew that Mr H and I could welcome them into our home to give them the life they deserved.
We didn't intend to get Guinea Pigs (or any more pets, really) when we did. We'd been together for 3 months, and I was still living between ours and my parents' for another month after we got our boys. I already had Baker, and Josh had Aurora, Eos, Hela, Freya, Anubis and Hades. That being said, when I saw Mars and Argo and read their story, I had no choice. I knew that Mr H and I could welcome them into our home to give them the life they deserved.
All of our children, except Baker, are named from Mythology, Gods and Goddesses.
Mars has red eyes, so his name originally came to me because of the red planet; however, it turned out that Mars is also the ancient Roman God of War. Not only that, but the month of March is named for that same Roman God, so the fact that he left us in 'his' month seems somewhat fitting.
[*We were told both Mars and Argo were 1 year old when we adopted them, however, we think that Argo may have been 1 year older, meaning Mars was born in approximately 2018. If that is the case, Mars was around 7/8 years old this year.]
In our previous home, Mars and Argo had a full bedroom to themselves, as can be seen in the first few photos, and it was brilliant. However, when we moved to our current home, they got a large wooden hutch to share in our kitchen and were given the run of the whole downstairs daily. This ended up being replaced by two large cages after Argo had an injury and they had to be separated, whoever was in the bottom cage (we swapped them every week) was able to get themself in and out as they pleased, and the piggy in the top cage was lifted in and out of course. A while after Argo's loss, we finally upgraded to a C&C cage, which I regret we hadn't learnt about sooner, because not only was it more practical for cleaning, but they should really be the only option for piggies. I wish Argo could have gotten the experience Mars has in the past year or so.
Mars was our confident boy! Strange considering, as I've said, he was blind, but he never let it stop him. So much so that he ran straight into the fridge and doors more than once while on his little adventures around the house.
No matter how much room he was given in the garden, he would sit in one area, munching grass the whole time, just like his brother, so that's why in many photos the run set-up looks quite small.
As his cage was in the kitchen, whenever the fridge door was opened, he'd give a squeak to request being picked up and taken to choose a treat from inside. He was a big fan of a lot of veg, but when it came to fruits, he would only eat apples. It was always a joy to share an apple with my boy.
Unlike Argo, we knew the day Mars would be leaving us, so we made sure to let him have whatever he wanted leading up to it. He had plates full of parsley, baby corn, celery and his favourite, radish, on March 24th.
Just like all animals, including all small animals, Mars had his own perfect personality. He was a treasured member of our family, bringing so much love and joy to us all. He was incredibly intelligent, knew a huge range of words, loved his cat siblings and had a huge impact on our family. His loss is different to all other losses I've gone through, and he is missed immensely.
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I may be a volunteer for a Pet Bereavement service, but that doesn't make this any easier. My heart is broken, and it physically hurts. Know that if you have lost a pet of any species, size, or age, you are not alone, and grieving pet loss is just as difficult and important (if not more so) than losing a human for many people.
If you feel like you want to talk or need support, don't hesitate to get in touch. The PLS is also there 365 days a year for you. Find out more here > Blue Cross Pet Loss Support
[*We were told both Mars and Argo were 1 year old when we adopted them, however, we think that Argo may have been 1 year older, meaning Mars was born in approximately 2018. If that is the case, Mars was around 7/8 years old this year.]
Mars was our confident boy! Strange considering, as I've said, he was blind, but he never let it stop him. So much so that he ran straight into the fridge and doors more than once while on his little adventures around the house.
No matter how much room he was given in the garden, he would sit in one area, munching grass the whole time, just like his brother, so that's why in many photos the run set-up looks quite small.
As his cage was in the kitchen, whenever the fridge door was opened, he'd give a squeak to request being picked up and taken to choose a treat from inside. He was a big fan of a lot of veg, but when it came to fruits, he would only eat apples. It was always a joy to share an apple with my boy.
Unlike Argo, we knew the day Mars would be leaving us, so we made sure to let him have whatever he wanted leading up to it. He had plates full of parsley, baby corn, celery and his favourite, radish, on March 24th.
Just like all animals, including all small animals, Mars had his own perfect personality. He was a treasured member of our family, bringing so much love and joy to us all. He was incredibly intelligent, knew a huge range of words, loved his cat siblings and had a huge impact on our family. His loss is different to all other losses I've gone through, and he is missed immensely.
.jpg)
.jpg)
I may be a volunteer for a Pet Bereavement service, but that doesn't make this any easier. My heart is broken, and it physically hurts. Know that if you have lost a pet of any species, size, or age, you are not alone, and grieving pet loss is just as difficult and important (if not more so) than losing a human for many people.
If you feel like you want to talk or need support, don't hesitate to get in touch. The PLS is also there 365 days a year for you. Find out more here > Blue Cross Pet Loss Support
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