pantagonian cavy-Please help?

Question
Hi,
I just purchased a pantagonian cavy at an exotic auction a couple of days ago.  I had never even seen one before and thought they were really neat looking.  I am very much an animal lover, and especially like anything that is out of the ordinary.  Love exotic animals.  Anyway, can you tell me something about these creatures?  I know that it is a male that is a little less than 3 years old.  It has never been tamed and I have been told that it is impossible to tame one after it reaches that age.  Is that true?  I would very much love to learn about these cavies and would love to start raising them.  I am in the process of building a pen for him and I have been told that I need to have atleast a 6 ft. fence and I need to put fence wire on the floor of the pen so that he can't dig out.  Is your cavy a pet or is he pretty wild?  How long have you owned your pantagonian cavy?  I appreciate any help you can give me about them.
Thankyou,
Betty

Answer
Hi-
Please feel free to email me directly at lori_j_keller@bankone.com.  I have lot to share with you about cavies, males in particular.  It's very possible to tame them.  I need to know what kind of behavior he exhibits when he's around you now.  You have an advantage since you're a woman.  Cavies tend to bond with humans of the opposite sex.  It's important to know though if this cavy bonded with any other cavies before you got him.  If he lived with some companions, you could have a difficult time ahead of you.  Cavies live in large groups naturally and they bond with one mate for life.  If his bondmate has been taken from him, you could be in for some long hours spent trying to bond with him.

Email me directly, if you don't mind, so we can correspond person to person and I'll answer all your questions.  Let me tell you a bit about my cavy in the meantime.  Mischief is loose in the house.  He's pretty much like a dog.  He's free in the house during the day, and I let him out when I get home just so he can play with the cats in the backyard.  A 5 foot fence will keep your cavy enclosed, as these guys can't jump high.  They can run like the wind, but they can't make really tall jumps.  Mischief has a soft catbed thingey that's his litterbox.  Cavys love to pee on soft things.  So if you take an old quilt or something and wad it up in the corner of the room, they will naturally head over there to pee and poop.  It took some work for us to get Mis to put his poops there as well, but it did finally work.   He chews on a few things in the house, but in general isn't as destructive as a dog or cat can be.  We have several different kinds of chewie toys for him.

Get your cavy to a vet and have his teeth checked out.  Their molars and teeth you can't see can grow out of control and cause them pain.  And the slightest overgrowth can really affect their moods.  I was surprised at the small overgrowth mischief had at his last vet visit.

Mischief comes to his name, sits on command, and will take walks with me on a 'gentle lead' harness.  He's AWEsome.  We are also working with a behavioralist so we can get Mischief to quit projectile peeing on my husband.  Who knows if we'll ever get that under control.  But it's a small price to pay to have Mis in the house.

These guys do best with lots and lots of attention.  The males especially will be stand off ish with you at first, but after they begin to bond, you'll really see a difference in their behavior.

Do you have a good diet for your cavy already?  Looking forward to chatting more with you about him!  Best wishes!