help needed please

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padi

Hi I have a guinea pig and yesterday got a baby 4 week old and I was just wondering if this was abit young for a little one to be sold? Is there anything I need to do. Many thanks for reading
 
4 weeks old is too young to be sold, but now you have the piggy, you need to be 'mum'. The pig will be timid & possibly withdrawn, especially if you only have one. You will need to make sure that he has everything he needs.

Before I go on, have you ever had guineas before? I am only asking what experience / knowledge you have caring for them? They do have specific needs which need to be met - fresh fruit & vegetables (although some are better than others), plenty of hay, water & guinea pig dried food. I don't want to tell you things you may already know!

The other question I want to ask is, do you only have the 1 pig? If so I would advise you to get a second. Piggies are compnay animals & thrive so much better when there are at least 2. That said there is always the odd loner, but at 4 weeks you won't know that. When I got my first pig Corran, no one told me I needed 2. When I was finally found out & got my Tycho pig, Corran became so much happier, chatty & social.

The other thing is use this forum! I have had piggies for 10 years now & I am still learning. There is usually someone here who can help! Don't be afraid to ask!

Michele & my quintet of manly piggies!
xxxxx
 
Why do you need to sell the baby pig? To sell him/her possibly to someone with no other pigs would be unkind. They need company not only for it's own sake but also that they can "learn" how to be a guinea pig. Can you not keep him with your other pigs?
Depending where you are, maybe someone reading this thread can give him or her a home.
 
As Michele says it is not clear from your post whether he is the only pig you have or not.
 
thankyou

Hi

Thankyou for advice,I have kept pigs for about 10 years and started with a pair of females and 1 was pregnant(didnt know until the birth),there was 2 babies born and 1 unfortunately didnt make it and had to get another pig to make 2 pairs as the unpregnant 1 got a bit funny.We lost all four over the following 6 years.We rescued 2 boys in 97 1 died last year so we got a little boy to keep the other company.We lost the other rescue boy about 3 weeks ago and the little boy(Jerry) was feeling a bit lonely so got the new 4 week old baby on Friday.They are both boys and they are in together and it seems to be going ok,the new baby(Tommy) was trying to suckle Jerry yesterday and Jerry seems a bit frisky today but Jerry has defo livened up with the new adition.I was just unsure about special measure that I should take with Tommy as his age and obviously the last baby I had was with his mother.

Hope this makes sense lol
 
I have introduced babies (not quite as young as yours) with older pigs in the past. I would say keep an eye on their behaviours. The older pig will probably assert his manliness to show the baby who is boss from the beginning - borttom wiggling, growling, being first for everything... but make sure he doesn't stop the little one getting what he needs - food, water & your love! It might be worth weighing him weekly to make sure he is growing & you will know then that he is getting plenty to eat.
Also I would watch in case the older pig starts bullying him in anyway, as it can affect the baby & scare him. That said, it sounds like things are going well so far so hopefully it will continue & obviosuly you know how to care for guinea pigs, which is a great thing.

Laslty, do post a picture as it would be great to see your guineas!

Michele
 
Do I understand correctly that you rescued 2 pigs in 1997 and the second one only died 3 weeks ago aged almost 12 ?
 
oops lol

sorry I meant 2007 and we have no idea of age as they were rescued and fully grown when we got them lol
 
some pics

Image007.jpg


Heres a pic and there are others on this link

http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn281/padi_011/
 
He is a cute little fellow, so these are 2 males and you have put the 4 week old with the older boar, is that right?

That should be fine although introducing 2 boars should be done in a neutral place etc but as baby is so young the older boar will act like a dad to him. I would cut his veg up a bit smaller and maybe give him a seperate bowl to ensure he is getting some, put another water bottle in lower down and the dry mix isnt ideal for guineas, a pellet food is better as they cant pick out their favourite bits. I use supa excel by Burgess. If you do change over, do it gradually to avoid upset tummies. Lots of fresh hay always available of course.

Could I ask where you bought him i.e pet shop or breeder? guineas should be 6 weeks ideally...better to adopt from a rescue but he is lovely :)
 
Tommy

He loves sitting in the food bowl and they are getting on better by the minute,Jerry does act like his dad a little and defo protects him.I have never heard Jerry purr so much and he just seems a lot happier :).I usually get most of my animals from rescues,I have a disabled dog rescued from a so called crufts breeder!.I contacted the lady that I rescued my last pair from but she said luckily at present there is not many about :).I only found this site today and seen your rescue part.I bought him by checking online and saw this lady pedigree breeder who lives 5 mins from me and didnt like idea of age but thought better with me than a novice :)
 
They are soooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! I have a 9 week & 11 week old piggies & they are so adorable at that age! Well, come to think of it they are adorable at any age, but more so when they are in a very tiny package! I could take them both home! x)x)x)
 
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