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Help needed please with rescue guinea pig

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emma1976

I rescued vera (the guinea pig) over the weekend she was in a tiny cage which was soaked in urine and pooh we removed her from there and put her in the cage we had which is 3 times the size of her previous cage shes very shy and nervous and seems to spend most time in her house shes lost all her fur on her back and around her bum and when i picked her up today for a cuddle she seems to be covered in scabs. Shes eating fine and drinking fine and poohing and weeing and when i was cuddling her today was making little noises (which hopefully is a good sign). I'm new to this as never owning guinea pigs before and need all the help and advice to getting her to be a lovely pet.
 
Hi emma welcome to the forum

Well done for rescuing Vera, you did a good job there

By the sounds of it she may have mites. with hari loss and scabs comes mites. I think the best thing to do is take her to the vets who will be able to tell you this for sure. They will give you treatment for her which will help clear the problem.

www.gorgeousguineas.co.uk is also a good site for piggies and for those with skin problems and so fourth. Chrissie is really helpful there too if you email her and she will advise what is best to use.

The noises are probably happy noises, they do this when they are enjoying their cuddles! i wouldnt worry, she sounds healthy anyhow and its good sign shes eating too!

Keep us updated

Emily
 
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Hi,
If she hasn't been handled much then it's natural she will be scared. Don't worry, she'll come around eventually. The little noises are probably signs that she's enjoying being fussed.
The hairloss and scabs are indicative of a mite infestation. This is easily treated. If you are new to guinea pigs then I would reccomend visiting a vet. He or she will be able to confirm that it is definateley mites and give you some medication to sort it out. Usually, it's a pipette containing ointment that should be dropped behind the ear.
Her eating, drinking and passing urine are all good signs that she is in otherwise good health.
If it transpires that she does have mites and she's living with another pig, you should treat all of them for the infestation.
Good luck with her!
 
I agree that the scabs are probably from mites. To stop her getting urine scold you can put some vaseline on her skin where the fur has disappeared to protect the skin from getting red and sore. You could give her half a chewable vitamin c tablet for a couple of weeks as she is probably very run down from the poor condition she was kept in. Good on you saving this piggie and hopefully you'll have plenty of happy times with her.
 
Thanks for all that advice i've booked vera in for the vets for tomorrow so fingers crossed theres not to much wrong with her will uipdate you tomorrow when we get back....
 
Hi Emma1976 ... welcome to the forum.

Well done for rescuing Vera - she sounds a poor little thing but I am sure that she will settle down soon in your care. And once her skin problems have been sorted out, she will probably be less stressed and nervous.

I echo all that has been said above ... let us know how it goes at the vets.
 
Welcome and well done for saving the little piggy :) Cannot add any more to the advise you have been given :)
 
Just got back from the vets and vera has got mites so she had her first injection today she also had her nails clipped as they were very long but shes in good health so that was good news was just told by the vets she needs to be handled more i have been taking her out of the cage three times a day for about 30 min cuddles i havent been letting the kids pick her up but they have been stroking her while shes on my lap do i need to get her out of the cage more or is this ok for the start. Thanks for all the advice so far will most properly be needing more in the future lol.....
 
oh I'm glad that Vera will be getting back to normal soon, poor little darling.

No worries about he advice and if you ever need anything, we are always here so just ask!
 
Hi

I would have thought she needs to get used to hands in her cage - try hand feeding her tasty things (lettuce, grass, cucumber) - she might not come forward at first but gradually she'll get used to hands = good things!

Mostly it's the picking up and putting down that is stressful for them - so make sure she's got lots of support around her body and that she's not inadvertantly 'squeezed' in her tender tummy bits if she struggles. A towel or cuddle blanket might help?

Good luck with her!

Sophie
x
 
yes have been hand feeding her and slightly wrapping her up in a towel so as not to hurt her.....
 
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