Any top tips please?

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Woodlouse

Woodlouse

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Hi! I'm proud piggie mummy of 2 older sows - Blizzy & Artoo. However last night I gained a third, who I'm a little bit worried about.

She's VERY quiet and not eating much ATM :( She has found her way to me via a park warden who found her roaming in a park. He handed her into a vet who have started treatment for severe mites and she was then passed onto my friend Chloe (we're both involved in rabbit rescue with Fat Fluffs). Chloe has been looking after her since the weekend and she's eaten a few bits of greens, but is still VERY quiet and depressed ... so she moved in with me last night in the hope that hearing my girls chatter might perk her up a bit.

Despite having piggies for 6 years I've never really had a non-eater/depressed piggie so ...

Any top tips to try to cheer her up and get her on the road to recovery?

At the moment I'm just leaving her every possible food (GP SS pellets, readigrass, greens, lots of hay) but it seems she hasn't moved from her hut all night. I know she may need time to settle in but just want some ideas of how to help her. Not got a name yet ... husband is thinking!

Anyway - long post - sorry :red but I'd be really grateful for any advice. Thank you! x
 
I think just nice nibbles and some peace and quiet for a while, the wee soul is probably a bit shell shocked at the moment and sore if she has severe mites. Time and patience are needed at the moment. I am sure when she realises that she is there to stay and that life has a routine again that she will come round.
 
Well I'm pleased to report that she now has a name ... Winnie.

Not sure she's moved frm the hut all day but has eaten a few
bits of greens I left her in there and there's poo. So scared, poor girlie. X
 
Guinea pigs that have never been handled and haven't grown up in a loving pet situation can be very skittish and it can take a long time and much patience to turn them round. the company of other piggies certainly helps, but you want have all girls on mites treatment to make sure.

Just keep doing what you are doing now; you are doing fine.

Here is a link to a collection of tips on how to settle shy new guinea pigs:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239

You will find that your joy is so much greater when Winnie finally comes out of her shell and is discovering what happiness means! That is what has me hooked on rehoming shy rescue piggies.
 
Aww bless little winnie, like the above answer's I'd just leave her for a few days to settle in and become accustomed to your routine and living with her new lovely family :) Hope she settles in soon!
 
Wiebke said:
the company of other piggies certainly helps, but you want have all girls on mites treatment to make sure.
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Sorry, I didn't make myself very clear there. Winnie isn't actually in the same cage as my girls ... she's in another set-up parallel to them, about 2 feet away. I know it's the noise they need more than the actual contact with other GP's.

Eaten some grass tonight and we even think we might have heard a piggie "bloop" noise :) Think she's settling in :)
 
I think you're doing well by her already, you're not forcing anything upon her and you're letting her take her time to get to know you and her new surroundings. She is probably on high alert from the recent experiences she's had, but once she realises she's safe with you, she will become less shy. I have always found with my shy guineas that if I repeat the same phrase gently and quietly, it makes them feel at ease. When they hear it they associate it with me. Well that's what I like to think, it's probably much more to do with the fact that I have FOOD as well. That brings a guinea out of their shell more than anything!:))
 
Mites and any other illness do make a pig very depressed, if the mites are severe then I'm not surprised she's feeling fed up. I would try offering lots of tasty things, sweet fruits maybe like grapes or strawberries are popular with my lot, or some nice green leafy spinach and parsley. Is she eating her pellets/mix and hay? You can buy Vetark Pro-C Probioitic from Pets at Home. It can be added to water and it's very very good at helping poorly piggies get better quickly. The fact that she IS eating is a good sign though.
 
Tracyxx said:
Is she eating her pellets/mix and hay?
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Well there's lots of hay in the cage and hut with her so I'm hoping she's having a nibble. Don't think she's started on the SS pellets yet (she certainly didn't eat the mix Chloe was offering her). That said, I've found her a much bigger hut now (nabbed it from some of the foster buns!) which means that she can have a bowl of dry food and a bowl of greens in there with her. Hoping that will encourage her to eat more.

:)) As I've been typing this to you she's just come out of her hut and gone on a wander around the cage :)

I honestly believe that being able to hear Artoo & Blizzy is doing her the world of good x
 
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