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Guinea Pig Dilemma

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cherryredcutie

cherryredcutie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hiya,

it's a bit of a story but I need to get it off my chest, it just keeps getting round my head all day...

The wife of a friend of my fiance has 2 guinea pigs. They all went to the pub on Friday (not the guinea pigs) and she told my fiancee that one of her guinea pigs is getting bold at the back. My fiancee told me about that yesterday and when I heard that I thought "oh might be mites". So we went around their house yesterday to have a look at them. The wife wasn't there so we just got them out and one of them was missing a lot of hair on her rear and back (luckily no wounds yet), typical V shape so I treated her with Ivermectin spot on and her friend as well just to be on the safe site. She really squealed when I picked her up and I am sure she was in discomfort from the mites.

Anyway they live in a hutch outside and the wife only cleans the hutch once a week (no spot cleans) so after a few days they have to stand and sleep in their poo and wee (and then she complains that they are stinky). There are lots of flies in the hutch, the two water bottles are green with algea :(. They don't get any hay (because they eat it all rolleyes), I think they only get straw in winter to keep them warm (they have one of those hutch covers as well). At least they get some veggies and dry food twice a day. I think they are 4 years old now. We have also talked to her husband and he says he doesn't know why she got them as she has no time to look after them. They don't seem to have been handled a lot either. We've offered to take them off her last Saturday so I can at least take care of the mites and I would also like to bathe them. She had offered them to us a few times before but I didn't know she wasn't looking after them properly until I saw them.

Then her mum has 3 guinea pigs and she is looking after them even less, from what I have heard they don't get any veggies, no hay, one bowl of dry food a day and they let them run out of water. It's one male and 2 females as far as I know and they are around 5 years old. The wife said if we knew anyone who would want them we should let them know. They also said the male seemed to be going crazy as he started to squeak at the wall if anyone comes into the garage where they live. They only get cleaned every other day and apparently the garage stinks.

I can't believe she let the one get that bad, I think she thought the piggy was going bold because of age. She said she was surprised that we got them out and didn't get bitten, because they would always run away from her so I think she never gets them out either. Well, I am at least gonna give them the whole course of ivermectin so hopefully the hair will grow back soon.

Anne x
 
hi hun, well done for taking the 2 in. The other 3, you speak about, is the male neautered? if he is, i have space for 3 more piggies.

All mine live together, very happily. Get fresh veg/fruit, water, hay and piggy food every day. get cleaned out at least twice a week, and have a huge enclosed area, where they can play to their heats content. :)):))

I live in walsall, where about are you?
 
aaaw poor piggie8... it must be so frustrating for you!:( do you mean every other week where it says every other day?:{ good for you for getting the pig with mites better and takingh them in :)!
 
Hiya,

thanks for your replies.

@Nickylowe40: Thanks for the offer, I don't know if the male is neutered but I will try and find out! I live not too far from Walsall, we have a car so would not be a problem to deliver them.

@crazyaboutcavys: Yes, it made me sad to see them like that, I guess she doesn't know better. I think they said every other day, but not sure what they mean by that, could be every 3 days or every 10!

Well, not sure if they let us take them yet, but hopefully they will so I can nurse them back to health and either keep them or find them a better home.
 
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You seem to be doing a really good job, lots and lots of education is required if they are reluctant to give them up on how guinea pigs need to be kept. I realise with friends diplomacy is the key to a good outcome for all involved. Best of luck
 
hi cheeryredcutie, would love for you to come and see the set up the piggies maybe coming too. Look forward to speaking to you soon x>>
 
AWW that's sad. I hope there is a happy outcome here for all 5 guineas. Sounds like if they are willing there could be a happy ending for all 5.

I would think the male would have to be neutered or sterile to have lived with 2 girls for however long and not get them pregnant.

Let us know what happens.
 
Awww poor piggies :( there seem to be so many stories of poor care of piggies, I think it is a case of people passing 'knowledge' on rather than doing proper research.
I just wanted to say well done you, it must be a tricky thing to tell your fiances friends that they are in the wrong without offending them!
Hope there is a happy ending for these piggies and hope the little baldy one is on the mend soon x
 
happycath said:
Awww poor piggies :( there seem to be so many stories of poor care of piggies, I think it is a case of people passing 'knowledge' on rather than doing proper research.
I just wanted to say well done you, it must be a tricky thing to tell your fiances friends that they are in the wrong without offending them!
Hope there is a happy ending for these piggies and hope the little baldy one is on the mend soon x
Click to expand...

Yeah I think you are right there that they didn't research properly before getting piggies. Their aunt used to breed guinea pigs and they had some off them and the first ones were mis-sexed so they ended up with more than they had bargained for. The wife told me she feels bad giving them away but if you don't have the time to look after them and get them treated when they are ill, it's much better for them to go to another home.

I let my fiance do the talking he is much better at that than me ;) and I might get too upset, although I was surprisingly calm there at the weekend.

@Nickylowe40: I've pm'ed you :).

I'll let you know when I have any news!

Anne x
 
Just found out that the male is living on his own as he is not neutered. He is bit older than 5, the other two are about 5 years and 4 years (mum & daughter). The one with the mites and her friend are 4 years old. I might be able to bond the male with my boy Yoshi who is not neutered, he needs a friend as his friend died some weeks ago. I'll see if I have more info later.
 
Just a quick update...we got a phonecall yesterday and they have decided to let us have the pigs with the mites so if they don't change their mind we're going to pick them up later. When we have them I'm gonna order some more ivermec so they can have their next treatment in time. Apart from the mites they seem to be in good health, I will give them a proper check when they are here though. I'll take some pics as well :).
 
So...we went around their house yesterday and picked the guinea pigs up :). They were on a better diet than I thought, they got hay (but not nearly as much as they should I think) and they are on Wagg Optimum pellets.

This is Pom Pom

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And this is Moonpig

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Moonpig is the one with the mites, she has quite a bit of fur missing on her back and rear and some dandruff as well. The skin seems to be very dry. I might give them a bath tomorrow and also get some aloe vera lotion for the skin. Does anyone know how long it takes for the fur to grow back?

IMG_0137.jpg


IMG_0141.jpg
 
The hair will start growing back as soon as the mites in the skin have been killed off. Usually you can see it growing back within a few weeks.

Just see what happens when I'm away for four days! I'm glad that you got those poor piggies out; hopefully the other ones are getting better treatment from now on!
 
yeah well done you! I love a happy ending! Fingers and everything else crossed for the ones left behind
 
Well done for helping these piggies!

They look lovely. It looks as though Moonpig's hair has been missing for quite a while on her back. I am sure that now you are looking after them giving them the correct treatment and diet, things will improve very soon.

In a couple of weeks you should see hair/fur growing back. If not, or you are worried in the meantime, then please consult your vet just to be sure.
 
Aren't they just so cute!

I hope the hair starts to grow back - that skin just looks so itchy.
 
Thanks for your comments :). I have just given them both a bath with Manuka und CocoNeem shampoo, they weren't too impressed rolleyes but still easier to bathe them than Yoshi! Yoshi has noticed their arrival and is happily talking to them :)). Moonpig's skin looks a bit better after the bath. She doesn't seem to be too itchy. She's got some fur missing on one of her front legs, too, I only just noticed it when I bathed her. I need to cut both their nails as well later as they are pretty long, didn't get around to it yesterday.
 
If hte missing fur is on the inside of her front leg, it's just normal wear from cleaning herself; most adult piggies are bare!

But I'm glad the pigies are OK - I bet they don't know what hit them!
 
Hi
I find it really disgracefull how so many people take on pigs s pets and dont know what they are doing or how to look after them, there is certainly not enough education around the subject and you are doing a really good job trying to rescue those pigs. I wish you all the luck. I do have a few spare hutches here and i dont live to far away in Coventry, however at the moment i am a little reluctant to take on anymore pigs as i am well aware of my limitations. We all have busy other lives and need to take on only what we can manage. Good luck and keep us all posted.
 
Yes, that's true, you shouldn't take any more pigs than you can really commit to. The guys I got the piggies from are not bad people, I think they just didn't know any better. I am looking after another piggie at the moment and at the weekend I will sort out some stuff for another level for my C&C cage so that the girls can have more room and get more exercise as well. When I have that sorted I see what the other owners say, if they let me I might take them in first and then look for a new home for them.
 
I just wanted to say well done you for rescuing these lovely piggies. They are both so lovely looking and don't seem to mind posing for a pigture x) I'm sure they'll both be feeling better soon after a few hugs and invermectin! Send them my love x
 
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