Advice please.

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Nemo

Nemo

Adult Guinea Pig
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Today I went for some pet stuff at a local garden centre and looked at the pets and there was this small female guinea pig sat in the corner all on her own and I felt so sorry for her. I decided to buy her and let her live with my two older females who are around 12 months old now. I introduced them and they were fine with her but a few hours later they seemed to be a bit nasty with her and nipping her although she wasn't hurt and they were probably just showing her they were boss but they wouldn't let her in the bedding part of the hutch and I was worried about her cos she's only little.

I haven't a clue how old she is but she's very tiny - she's so tiny that I can't even put her in a Nero cage or she will get out through the bars. I have had to bring her inside because I wasn't happy about leaving her with the other two in case they hurt her in the night. At the moment she is in a hamster cage because its the only thing she can't get out of. I know it's not ideal but I can't put her in the Nero 2. I feel so sorry for her because I'm sure she should still be with her mum.:(

Am I best keeping her inside (the others are in a large shed in a Lavender Lodge hutch) until she grows a bit? And what age is best to reintroduce her to the other two who I would like her to live with if possible?/

I know I shouldn't have got her really but she is just like my Nemo was when he was young and I was worried that someone would buy her and just keep her on her own all her life.:(
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Oh shes adorable! Wow she must be young if she is fitting through bars! Poor love. I would let her put on some weight, gain some confidence and take it from there. Maybe in about 6 weeks. She only looks about 3 at most on the snaps!

Good luck with her, and does the princess have a name yet?
 
That's terrible if she has been taken away from her mum at 3 weeks old.:( She was all on her own with no other guineas to snuggle up to and it's not the warmest of places where she was. She went to sleep in my hand before when I brought her in. She was quite nervous at first but soon settled down when we cuddled and stroked her. I am worried the hamster cage is too small for her but thought it would be better than a cardboard box and we haven't really got any big ones. I have a hamster run so I will let her out to have a run round in there tomorrow.

I think she will be okay with Maisie and Meg once she is a bit bigger and the weather will be warmer then so I will keep her in for a few weeks. I was going to introduce them in the exercise pen and I put her in it and she ran straight through the bars.:)) They didn't get aggressive with her and there was no teeth chattering or anything but I think they were nipping her a bit when she got too close. She tried to get under Meg at first I think for a feed.:(

Thanks for your advice Louise.:)

I was thinking of calling her Milly because the other two are called Maisie and Meg but that might change. :))
 
oh my she looks very very young!
A beautiful little thing though. Perhaps when introducing them next, leave her grow a bit and then do it in neutral teritry rather than in each others cage.
Good luck. She looks very sweet :)p
 
I was going to introduce her in the exercise run but she got right through the bars.:)) This is the run with 3 of my other females in it, you wouldn't think she could have got through there would you?

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blinking heck! She must be tiny! She must have been taken away from her mother too early :( Poor little thing. Well at least shes got you and her future is now much brighter :)
Goodluck :)
 
I know - she just ran through the holes with no problem at all - she didn't even have to squeeze through at all. It's a miracle I caught her because she is so fast and if she had got loose in the garden I don't think I would ever have caught her.

I'll have to feed her up a bit.:))
 
The good news is that babies grow fast so she won't have to wait an eternity to get in with your others!

Poor little thing being taken away from her mother so young. And good luck with her, she's beautiful!
 
Hi

I don't know what sort of hamster cage you have - but if it is one with bars you could take the bars off and use them as a mini run, inside your big run.

When i am introducing baby piggies i often use the lid of the cage - so they can speak to each other and smell each other - but the babies are safe. If you do this often enough when she is bigger you can just put her in the run and they will be so used to her smell they won't batter an eyelid.

If your hamster cage doesn't have bars maybe you can try and get a cheap one from a car boot sale or free-ads just to use fo this - they normally give them away really cheap cos the bottoms of the cages get nasty - but the bars are normally ok.

Just a thought ...
Thanks
Rach
 
Gosh - my baby was able to get through the bars on day two, but no longer on day three of its life (thank God)! Poor little beauty! she must be so bewildered!

She doesn't look more than 2-3 weeks old, poor girl. The behaviour of the older sows is just putting her in her place at the bottom of the hierarchy. Ideally, she should not be left alone ove night. Perhaps you can have her with the more tolerant of the adult sows?
 
Vickyt said:
Gosh - my baby was able to get through the bars on day two, but no longer on day three of its life (thank God)! Poor little beauty! she must be so bewildered!

She doesn't look more than 2-3 weeks old, poor girl. The behaviour of the older sows is just putting her in her place at the bottom of the hierarchy. Ideally, she should not be left alone ove night. Perhaps you can have her with the more tolerant of the adult sows?
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Well Maisie and Meg are usually quite easy going guinea pigs so I thought she would be fine with them. I think like you say they were just putting her in her place because I think they were just giving her little nips on her bottom and they haven't left any marks or anything but when she was sat on the food bowl Meg chased her off it.rolleyes They are a bonded pair so I don't really want to split them and they live in a large lavender lodge hutch which is big enough for 3 piggies. I'm sure she will be fine with them in a few weeks and she will get plenty of love and attention in the meantime as an inside piggy.:)

This is Maisie and Meg (Maisie is the spiky haired one)
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And this is my gorgeous lad Nemo who is 5 1/2 now, and the new little piggy looks exactly like him when he was little.x)

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She'll be a lovely addition to your group! Is Nemo neutered?
 
No sadly he isn't so she can't live with him.:... He's five and a half now so too old to be neutered. Iggy is in love with Nemo though and if he was neutered I would put her with him but they have to make do with kissing through the bars when they are out on the grass.:))
 
Oh poor piggy, sooooo tiny! Only looks a couple of weeks old - did they tell you how old she was? She should still be with mum by the looks of it! Trouble is she'll be wanting the other pigs to 'mother' her and they won't want to! Bless her. One thing to check - is she drinking from a bottle ok, have you actually seen her drink? If she was with mum she may not have learnt to yet and will need help.

Also go easy on introducing new veg etc. and only small quantities as they get the runs quite easily at that age.

Good luck with her

Sophie
x
 
omg she is so small and fragile is it really legal to sell them that young there? if not i think you should report it so it doesn't keep happening good on you for saving her
 
Oh my goodness how can they sell her being so young, I would say 3 weeks old max.

Poor little thing, hope she settles in ok.
 
sophiew said:
Oh poor piggy, sooooo tiny! Only looks a couple of weeks old - did they tell you how old she was? She should still be with mum by the looks of it! Trouble is she'll be wanting the other pigs to 'mother' her and they won't want to! Bless her. One thing to check - is she drinking from a bottle ok, have you actually seen her drink? If she was with mum she may not have learnt to yet and will need help.

Also go easy on introducing new veg etc. and only small quantities as they get the runs quite easily at that age.

Good luck with her

Sophie
x
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I've given her a dish to drink from at the moment as the bars on the cage are very close together so I can't get a bottle in. She seems lively enough though but it is a shame that the owner of the garden centre who I think breeds the guinea pigs himself couldn't leave her with her mother for a few more weeks.:( I didn't ask him how old she was I told him I would have her but I went to get some bird stuff for my budgies and when I got back to my o.h he had already given her to him in a cardboard box without any hay or shavings in and the poor girl was sliding all over the place. There was a couple more little guinea pigs girls that were also quite small in another cage but they had been reserved to be picked up today.

Is it actually illegal to sell guinea pigs at this age because if it is I will give the RSPCA a ring and see what they say about it.

I have had baby guinea pigs a few years ago and had to hand feed them because sadly their mothers both died and I was left with six babies to feed and they all survived and grew into big strapping piggies. I had Nemo from a baby too but he had his mum to look after him.
 
PLEASEHELPSAVEboris said:
omg she is so small and fragile is it really legal to sell them that young there? if not i think you should report it so it doesn't keep happening good on you for saving her
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I'm not sure if it is or not really - I know it should be though.:(

I'm glad I got her though because if I hadn't, someone might have bought her and not knowing she was only very young could have just stuck her outside in a hutch on her own.:(
 
Missbonbon said:
Oh my goodness how can they sell her being so young, I would say 3 weeks old max.

Poor little thing, hope she settles in ok.
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I know it's terrible how they could take her from her mum so young. If she was a male then I could understand it a bit more because they have to be split from their mothers but a female could have stayed with her a few weeks longer. I suppose there is a chance her mum could have died and that's why she was for sale but it's still not right.grrrr
 
No, it isn't! At least she's in a good and loving place now and hopefully feel at home soon!
 
So tiny but so absolutely gorgeous x)

Glad she's somewhere safe now :)

Teresa x
 
You're piggies are all gorgeous. Hope the wee one grows up to be a strong healthy piggy! And I'm sure she will with all the loving care you give her!
 
Thanks.:)

She is getting plenty of attention with all the cuddles anyway.:))
Just hope her new cage hurries and and comes, I ordered it yesterday and hoped it would come today but they haven't sent it out yet.:(
 
She is so tiny and beautiful bless her. What does she weigh? That can help indicate age.
 
I never thought of weighing her.:red I will weigh her in a bit and see what she is.:) Thanks for the suggestion.:)
 
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