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Failure to thrive

Bill & Ted said:
Not all guinea pigs wheek. My boar Ted could never wheek, he was a big lad at around 1350 gm and never had a voice so don’t worry. Some piggies are very vocal and some aren’t

Good luck for the second try. Bondings of any kind an always scary and stressful, you are doing great! Zeus is such a little cutie 🥰
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This help so much! Thank you!
 
Pumpkinandmuffins said:
Sorry for posting so much. A lot to figure out. Mr. muffins was originally scheduled for the 11th, next week, to get neutered so that eventually he could move in with pumpkin who he missed dearly during her pregnancy and his daughter. (6 weeks post neuter) with our plan to get Zeus up to 200 g and bonding with Mr. muffins next week, should we bump out Mr. muffins neuter appointment? Especially since it sounds like the boys still need some time with dad? They are four weeks tomorrow.
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Don't worry about posting lots, you do have a lot to figure out. I find that in other areas of my life writing things out sometimes brings me the answer without my actually needing a response from others, so even if nobody responds, maybe you will have come to your answer, or closer to it.

Personally, I think I'd go through with the neutering appt for Mr Muffins. The boys will still have 6 weeks with dad before he can be moved back in with his 'wife' and daughter.
 
Zeus weighed in this morning at 175 g. He gained 10 g in two days. He is such a big boy passing up his critical care and eating the pellets for young guinea pigs and lots of hay, even though it is slow going for him. He still tends to get cold when he doesn’t have access to the little heat pad and light over his cage. He will spend time in the little cage next to his dad and brother today. Counting down to when we can try to rebond him with Dad and Brother again.
 

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13 more grams and we are going to try an Ernest to bond him with his dad, Mr. muffins and his brother who he was living with as of last week. He has been spending some time each day in a cage near where Mr. muffins and his brother are. I’m praying it goes better than last time because I would love to have them together for as long as possible. I know a trio won’t work out for long, but would love to get some time. I know we will need to commit to the process until Mr. muffins, either accepts him or makes it clear that he never will. It is going to be hard because I definitely see Zeus as vulnerable even as he gains weight.
 
Good morning special new friends! I’m looking for some guidance. Zeus is 191 g today and we are planning to spend Sunday attempting to bond Zeus with Mr. muffins and rebond him with badger his brother. He has had some opportunities to see badger and does not seem to have any difficulty there. Badger does not act any differently towards him than he did for the first three weeks of their life together. I know to create a neutral space as I did when bonding Mr. muffins and badger. I usually put out a fresh big sheet with a pile of yummy veggies in the middle of the living room floor and two tunnels. This approach worked really well when initially bonding Mr. muffins and pumpkin. It also worked really well when bonding badger and Mr. muffins. When we recently had Zeus and Mr. muffins on our laps, Mr. muffins immediately started trying to flip Zeus over again by putting his nose under Zeus‘s belly and pushing up. We know that we need to see this through to the point where they are bonded or there is no chance of bonding. We also have a cardboard hidey with 2 openings which only Zeus and badger can fit in and will use that. Am I missing anything? I’m very nervous. I also know that if we successfully bonded them that the threesome will not last beyond four months, but this will give us time to get Zeus neutered and bonded with Miss pumpkin and their daughter. Our final goal is to find a loving home for badger and Zeus if we can’t find a good home we will keep them. When bonding Mr. muffins and badger, it seemed super clear. Badger attempted to mount muffins repeatedly for a day and then Mr. muffins relentlessly chased him around, mounting him for a day and then it was over. I have not seen either of them try to mount one another in three or four days and occasionally Mr. muffins will rumble strut and badger will go find something else to do away from him. The one time last week we tried with Zeus Mr. muffins acted very differently, sniffing, his bum dramatically, and then nonstop, flipping him over under his belly, using his nose over and over.
 
See that badger is lost in the hay and loving every minute of it. We actually got a bale of twice cut hay yesterday lol you can also see how we have Zeus set up to spend time side-by-side with muffins and badger.
 

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Hi there did you say your final aim is to re-home Zeus and Badger together? 🌈
 
CTWC said:
Hi there did you say your final aim is to re-home Zeus and Badger together? 🌈
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I did that is my final goal. I’m so in love with them both, but we really can’t sustain in having five guinea pigs as a family. Of course, heavens forbid. We can’t find a home with folks who understand the commitment and understand guinea pigs we would hold onto them.
 
Pumpkinandmuffins said:
I’m so in love with them both, but we really can’t sustain in having five guinea pigs as a family.
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I understand that so much (not being able to sustain 5 guineas, especially in different groups)! I think I would have even more difficulty having to find a new home for a guinea I worked so hard to save, as you have been doing with little Zeus.

I don't have an answer for you or a suggestion as to what else to do, but in the past (I don't have guineas atm), I formed much greater attachments to guineas I had to look after so intensively. A real gut-wrencher when they went over the RB and/or when I had to give them up to a Rescue. Maybe you are of stronger stuff than I am emotionally, I hope so for your sake.
 
Morning did I read in your post though that you're neutering Zeus? Did you mean Mr Muffins? 🤔
 
Oh my goodness, I couldn’t imagine neutering Zeus. I definitely meant Mr. muffins so that I can get him in with pumpkin and his daughter Hopper eventually. There is so much planning to all of this because obviously that will only work if I can get him rebonded with his brother. I also do not really think I will be able to let go of Zeus. I love these guys all so much. I just feel like my life just changed in a whirlwind. I was reading about cleaning their bums and boar special hygiene last night and was becoming so overwhelmed and then I read that I should be weighing them daily. My living room smells like a barn. Having said all of this, I have such a special attachment to all of them already. I don’t have a plan to surrender any of them to anywhere that would be a last case resort if something happened like I became very ill or if I lost my job and could not take care of them financially. From when I found out
Pumpkin was pregnant, my plan was to take care of them all until I could take a bonded pair and adopt them out to a good home. My vet is very popular in town and has offered to help. Zeus has not gained any grams over the past 24 hours, but he looks bright and alert. I will put his cage next to badger and muffins today and attempt to bond him on Sunday. There was a small part of me that suspects there is something else going on for little Zeus beyond his initial failure to thrive.
 
I thought it was what you meant but was just checking 💗 I know what you mean they steal your heart and take over your house 😂
 
Pumpkinandmuffins said:
See that badger is lost in the hay and loving every minute of it. We actually got a bale of twice cut hay yesterday lol you can also see how we have Zeus set up to spend time side-by-side with muffins and badger.
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Fingers very firmly crossed. I hope that Zeus will bond with both boars or at least with his brother if his dad is not accepting him.
 
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