Guinea Pig "Quarantine"?

[kiwifrosty]

Hello!

I rescued a female guinea pig from a shelter yesterday, and it was a shelter that typically doesn't house pigs; it was a situation where the pig was dropped at the front of the shelter and then the rescue of course took her in, because who would leave a guinea pig out in the cold?

I have had a single female pig when I had realized I need to get her a companion, and that is why I rescued the other female from the shelter.

However, I now have a question.

I have read online that before introducing pigs to each other you are supposed to quarantine them for two weeks to make sure the new pig is healthy. That being said, the new pig was in a foster home before I adopted her and she was the only pig while she was there (which was for about a month). There were no other pets inside the home except a hamster that lived in the same bedroom as her, but they shared different cages obviously. My current pig hasn't been around other pigs in about a year. (I know, I'm a bad person and I should have gotten her a friend sooner, please no rude comments!)

Should I continue to quarantine them?
If you said yes to the previous question, if I make an appointment with the vet for a check up on the new pig to make sure she is healthy and the vet says she is perfectly fine, would I still need to quarantine or no since the vet said she was healthy?

Any advice is appreciated. I currently have them separated, but I am anxious for them to meet and I want to make sure I am following all the correct protocols.

 

[S'mores and Pockets]

I am sure some other people will come along with better advice, but I would say you should quarantine them. Then you can keep an eye on the new piggie and see if she has any symptoms of anything.

 

[Free Ranger]

Welcome new member!

If either piggy is carrying mites or lice they can spread from one to the other - that's the only thing I have to offer and that's because I've had vet-checked pigs from good rescues in the past and a few wheeks later everyone was scratching! Vets can't always spot mites - lice are easier to see - sometimes you just have to be prepared to treat everyone. Perhaps you could keep the girls in the same room where they could see/smell each other and get used to the idea of another piggy before introducing them? I would always say a vet check is a good idea because we don't know all the other things they're checking for when they poke around their tummies and all. Pregnancy for one thing! But well done for bringing two lonely piggies together - everyone will be happier

 

[Siikibam]

How old is the new girl and how long was she with foster mum? I would still err on the side of caution and quarantine her. If she’s under 4 months then the need for social interaction far outweighs the need to quarantine.

As mentioned above I would book her in for a general health check.

 

[Piggies&buns]

With @Siikibam

 

[kiwifrosty]

How old is the new girl and how long was she with foster mum? I would still err on the side of caution and quarantine her. If she’s under 4 months then the need for social interaction far outweighs the need to quarantine.

As mentioned above I would book her in for a general health check.

she is about 2 years old and she was with the foster mom for about a month; her sister had died right before she got to the foster mom as they had come from a neglect situation

 

[Piggies&buns]

she is about 2 years old and she was with the foster mom for about a month; her sister had died right before she got to the foster mom as they had come from a neglect situation

I would think that if she definitely hasn’t been around another piggy for a month then she is quarantined now anyway. You do just need to be prepared that if she does have something then you may need to treat them both.

Ensure that when you do introduce the two piggies to each other that you do it properly following the correct neutral territory procedure.

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