Advice please :)

[Kate_19]

Hi all,
My name is Kate and I'm from Australia.
I have two male pigs that i adopted from a shelter 3 years ago, they are great

And about two months ago was given a young female piggy that was bought as a gift for a little boy, but he's far too young to care for a guinea pig.

About a week ago i decided to get another girl pig so that she has a friend, i found someone that was rehoming a 5 month old female Sheba Mini Yak. I've had her for 5 days. I introduced them slowly, in neutral territory, and they seemed to get along instantly.
So my main concern is about the new Sheba Mini Yak, she's been a bit quiet since i got her. And i understand it does take a while for new pigs to settle, i think i just want some advice/reassurance. I have seen her eat and move around etc. When i go to check on her she is either in their bed, or in a corner that she has chosen. She doesn't look physically unwell or anything. Although after doing some research I am slightly worried about her sitting in the corner!
One other concern i have is the possibility of her being pregnant, I don't think she is, but because she originally came from a breeding home the possibility is there. But i could just be paranoid about that bit! And I have no intention to breed guinea pigs at all. But if she happens to be pregnant, I'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it!

I'm also in the process of building/preparing them a C&C cage, it should be finished in a few days. The cage they are in at the moment is fine, and they're kept indoors. But it will be nicer for them to have some extra space.
And incase people are wondering, the two girls are kept well away from my boys

So any advice, ideas etc would be much appreciated
Thanks.

 

[Mother Hubbard]

Hi Kate,

Firstly, welcome.

You'll find loads of information on here and it's all really practical advice as well.

Regarding your second girl furry, the advice is always to quarantine them first, away in a separate cage in a different room ideally from your other piggies for about 3 weeks I think...this way any illnesses will manifest themselves and you can deal with them, especially as she was a breeding piggy. Also she will need worming, so best to check when she was last done.

In terms of introducing piggies, well I would put that off and separate your piggies for the moment especially as your new one is sitting in the corner. It's good she's eating and it could just be she's a little frightened, so best to make sure she has plenty of hides to escape to, she'll need to feel secure.

Keep an eye on her though, if she's little quietly all fluffed up, then it's a sure sign she's unwell, you can tell from their poo's as well. It's worth monitoring how much food she is eating, plenty of good quality hay as well, and weight her weekly. I put mine on my kitchen calendar so I've always got a record.

Hope that helps...and it goes without saying really we'd love to see some pigtures of your little furries.

Cheers.
Lil

 

[Kate_19]

Hey Lil,

Thanks for the info
I put her in a separate run area yesterday (indoors), and she picked the whole bowl of food up in her mouth and threw it! Then found what she wanted to eat from it...So that should be a good sign! And there was also droppings in there after she'd been in there, so I'm guessing thats another good sign. And she walks and scampers around the run fine. So hopefully she's just been a bit shy and will eventually come out of her shell.

I realise now that I should have quarantined her before introducing her to Stevie....
Stevie is her usual bouncy self, as a guess I would say she is about 3 months old.
And Chip (the new little fluff ball) Is 5 months old.
I will definitely worm them all this week

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Guinea pigs can take time to settle in and bring round; especially if they haven't had much in the way of friendly human contact before. Patience and persistence will eventually get you there, but it can be a very slow and gradual process.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239

If you worry about a potential pregnancy, please open a thread in our pregnancy section (which is specifically monitored by some very experienced members) for our detailed information pack. Please keep any questions and updates to the one thread, so we can refer back to your specific situation and timeline at all times. The only way to find out about pregnancy is by doing the same as the good rescues do - put any incoming female on a 10 weeks pregnancy watch, starting from the last potential contact with a boar over 3 weeks old. :{

 

[Kate_19]

Ok I'm hoping that my attempt of posting a photo is successful!

So the top two are my boys, left is Felix, and right is Fudge. I adopted both of them together from a rescue shelter about three years ago

And then we have my girls, little Stevie on the left, and Chip (the latest resident!) on the right