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Guinea Pig Dilemma

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Crackle

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I have 3 male piggies Snap, Crackle and Pop. They are 2 years old. Crackle has always been the smallest. He was living with the other too but they started fighting, I left them together but it got to the stage where I had to remove him as he was geting cuts and loseing weight.

I moved him in with my Rabbits a flemish giant and a giant cross. I understand that guinea pigs arnt ment to live with Rabbits but both my Rabbits are big softies and live in a 13 by 8 foot Run with lots of hiding places. So Cracked had lots of places to hide.

He has been living with them for over a year with no problems. His skin has been better and hes put weight on and was happier.

On sunday Crackle wasnt moving and didnt look right. Picked him up and was shocked by how thin he was. He felt week and was unable to walk or stand. I thought he was going to die so brought him inside gave him some pellets and veg. That evening I checked on him and he had eaten most of the food and was walking again. It was amazing how quickly he and turned a corner. I'm thinking he must have got too cold outside.

I have weighed him and hes only 670g. So hes living inside at the moment untill he gets bigger again.

Will it take long for him to put weight on?

The problem is he cant say inside too long as I'm in a flat and my dog Maizie is trying really hard to get to him, Shes a staffordshire Bull Terrier so he wouldnt stand a chance. Crackle is curently living in my bathroom and I'm having to make sure the door is always shut which isnt easy with a 5 year old. And Maizie the dog keeps waiting at the bathroom door.

If hes not going to do well outside I'm considering rehoming him which I dont want to do
 
I dont recommend guinea pigs with rabbits but I'll leave it at that.

Maybe you should take him to the vets about his sudden weight loss? Its not like guinea pigs just to loose weight like that.

Maybe his teeth need checking? has he been dribbling at all?

Will take a few weeks or more to gain nearer to his normal weight. 670g is very skinny. Males are usually about 900g - 1200g
 
i dont think single piggies should be living outside in the winter they ideally need a friend to cuddle up with. does he not have a hutch to live in or does he live in the run permanently?
 
Sorry to hear about crackle :(

I would advise not putting him back with the rabbits or the guinea pigs. You just never know what is going to happen.

I would have a look at some of the threads about winter care for guinea pigs you can find these by using the search tool.

Are your animals in a shed or garage with heating? Are their hutches insulated? Do they have heat pads?

Rabbits can bear with the cold better due to their coat however piggies feel the cold just as we do so if they are not some where insulated they will really struggle.

As for the weight I am not sure, but I do know that is very little for his age.

Hopefully a more knowledgable member will be able to offer some info on that x
 
His teeth look ok. I did take one of the others to have his teeth trimed at vets couple of months ago and got them to check the other two and they where fine.

He has a hutch in the run which hes sharing with the Rabbits. He likes to sleep cuddled up to the Rabbits. The Run is a large walk in dog run with concreat bottom and roof to keep the rain of. I have the hutch inside but cant really cover it as the door is open and they are free to go out as they please. The run has acutally worked well as it keeps my dog and foxes out.
 
Firstly - Guinea pigs and rabbits should not live together. Apart from the risk of unintentional kicks, guinea pigs tolerate a far smaller band of temperatures (they come from adifferent climate), need different vitamins to rabbits and have different dietary needs. Rabbits can also transmit a disease that is deadly to guinea pigs. Please do not put your boy back with the rabbits!
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/rabbits.htm

Guinea pigs should never be left unprotected outside over the winter months. You can find tips for winter proofing hutches on this forum (housing section).

Big jumps in temperature can cause loss of appetite, among other things, like bullying by the rabbits. Please weigh your piggies once weekly to catch health problems early! I would ask you to have your boy seen by a vet.
Here is a list of possible causes:
http://www.guinealynx.info/anorexia.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/scurvy.html
http://www.guinealynx.info/weigh.html

It is always hard to give up one of your piggies (I know that myself!), but you may want to consider signing your boy over to a specialist guinea pig rescue who will look after him well while he is with them, rebond him with a suitable companion and only rehome him only to a good and home checked home when he is fighting fit again. For me, it is as important to acknowledge when I am not the right home for a pet as when I am - when the chips are down, it is always the pet who has to pay the price, not me!
Here is a list of reputable and dedicated rescues:
http://www.guineapigrehome.org.uk/gp/centres.asp
 
Just want to thank everyone for all your advice.

I do have another hutch which I could keep him in. Is it possible to bond him with a different male?

I used to buy Guinea Pig pellets but as they where all together I have been giving them all Rabbit pellets. They dont have many pellets, Lots of veg every day (my neighbour leaves leftover veg on my doorstep most days which is handy) and hay.
 
Just so you know it is safer for rabbits to have guinea pig food than guinea pigs to have rabbit food. Guinea pigs need the vitamin C which is in their nuggets which rabbit nuggets do not have.

Also you could try bonding crackle with a baby boar from a rescue....some places do boar dating so he gets the right companion :) x
 
It may be possible to bond your boy with a young baby boar.

Please make sure that you give your rabbits rabbit pellets that are specially formulated to contain more vitamin A and roughage. Rabbits need a lot less greens, but far more roughage than guinea pigs. However, you have to ask the rabbit experts on here for a good rabbit diet.

What guinea pigs need is:
- unlimited hay: 50-80% of the daily food intake should be hay (not straw)!
- topped up pellets for outside piggies in winter, 1/2 - 1 handful of pellets for adults in summer. In very cold weather, you can supplement with porridge oats or oat bran for extra caloires.
- 50g of mixed veg per piggy per day
- fresh water daily

What you have to very careful about with outside guinea pigs is damp - it can be even worse on piggies than cold and cause illnesses like URI (upper respiratory tract infection) or UTI (urinary tract infection).
 
Update!

Just weiged Crackle and hes 744g hes put on over 60g in 3 days!

I poped into the vets on thursday and they said to bring him in if he wasnt puting on weight after a few days so I'm happy.

Change him back onto g pig pellets and got some good quality hay.

Hes much better in himself, alot more active eating lots ect.

Also my dog is getting used to him being inside.
 
From reading your thread I noticed a huge difference ie putting on weight.

Perhaps this is due to proper care and proper food, rather than illnesses that are going unspotted and living in the freezing cold weather. I think if all you have is a run outdoors with rabbits or a lonely hutch he may be better in a rescue with the better change of finding a friend and a good home.

If you decide to get this piggy a friend, you would be unwise to put them straight back out into the cold weather because of the change in temperatures. Please also remember, a baby boar is not always the answer as they may fallout as he matures. Babies really should be indoors thoughout the entire winter as their bodymass is too small too withstand the cold.

Well Done for making the changes you have already. :).
 
Crackle said:
Just want to thank everyone for all your advice.

I do have another hutch which I could keep him in. Is it possible to bond him with a different male?

I used to buy Guinea Pig pellets but as they where all together I have been giving them all Rabbit pellets. They dont have many pellets, Lots of veg every day (my neighbour leaves leftover veg on my doorstep most days which is handy) and hay.
Click to expand...

It is possible to bond guinea pigs, if done the right way. I'm sure you can find the information from the posters on here.
 
flintstones said:
From reading your thread I noticed a huge difference ie putting on weight.

Perhaps this is due to proper care and proper food, rather than illnesses that are going unspotted and living in the freezing cold weather. I think if all you have is a run outdoors with rabbits or a lonely hutch he may be better in a rescue with the better change of finding a friend and a good home.

If you decide to get this piggy a friend, you would be unwise to put them straight back out into the cold weather because of the change in temperatures. Please also remember, a baby boar is not always the answer as they may fallout as he matures. Babies really should be indoors thoughout the entire winter as their bodymass is too small too withstand the cold.

Well Done for making the changes you have already. :).
Click to expand...


I'm slightly offended by the coment

"Perhaps this is due to proper care and proper food, rather than illnesses that are going unspotted and living in the freezing cold weather. I think if all you have is a run outdoors with rabbits or a lonely hutch he may be better in a rescue with the better change of finding a friend and a good home"
Hes almost 3 years old and never been ill before. I have a double 6 foot hutch and the 3 piggies live in the top hutch and my 2 giant Rabbits have the bottom hutch.

I have had him almost 3 years and hes always been fine. I have put alot of time and money into there home. I have a 13foot walk in dog run which has a concreate base (to stop foxes digging under), and a roof to keep it dry. Inside my walk in run I have a double 6 foot hutch and my piggies live in the top part and the 2 giant rabbits have the bottom hutch whch is left open so they have the whole run to run about in. I would shut the rabbits up each day for a couple of hours so the piggies cold have a run about.

I took on the 3 piggies as I felt guilty only taking 2 and leaving 1 behind. They are 3 brothers. Crackle has always been the smaller of the 3. As they got older the other 2 where bullying crackle and it got so bad I had to remove him. I thought it would be nicer for him to share the other 6foot hutch with the rabbits with acess to the run than be in a small hutch on his own.
 
hello,
I am sorry to hear about Crackle. Hope he is feeling better?

Is it possible that he could have been the runt of the litter? I had a piggy (Pingu RIP) who was very small compared to the rest of her litter. She used to get UTIs a lot, and lost her eyesight early too. If Crackle was the runt then maybe that would explain why his brothers behaved the way they did.

I also have to disagree that male piggies do not get on well by themselves, outside. I have three single males. Wibble and Wobble (4 years old) were born with twisted spines, and although they were together when they were pups they fought, when they matured. I seperated them so they didn't seriously injure one another. As they have got older it has been easier to keep an eye on their weight. (Too much weight could affect their mobility). Genghis (2 year old) is also a single piggy because unfortunately he just doesn't like other piggies. All three are kept out all year round. They have plenty of human attention, bundles of hay and veg, and have handmade hutches with weatherproof covers.

My advice would be: Keep Crackle on the piggy pellets, and fresh veg and hay. Keep a very close eye on his general condition and weight. If you can get him bonded then thats great, if not, keep him as a single piggy and give him all the love, and piggy supplies that you can :)
 
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