Just bought home a terrified unwanted piggy.

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tracybeakerisland

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Hi,

After my youngest daughter had been mithering me about some g-pigs she was concerned about in the adoption section at PaH I went up with her. We have had g-pigs in the past but not for a few years since we had rescued house rabbits. Two really concerned me and E as yet we cannot have them as they are being treated for what was either mites, ringworm or possibly both. One could be a runt or underwight and very long haired. The one thing I am sure of is they should not be going back out as kids pets.

We did however manage to get the boar who had been thrown at staff in a box on the grounds his behaviour would make him very difficult to rehome. I have been there collecting Alfalfa-King Timothy Hay for our very fussy ancient bun and seen people trying to unload sick animals on the local staff and at least they do try within the confines of the shops policies.

We now have the most terrified g-pig I have ever meet.
Not sure of his age but he is a full sized male adult, his ears have been badly bitten but are healed but the one is badly scarred.
His fur is frankly a mess. [sort of wirey long haired rex I think] I managed to give him a gentle brush across the top to remove some of the tangles and loose hair. No signs of lice, mites or other skin problems just an unloved and never brushed pig. He does have matts underneath but I have not tackled those yet as he is so scared I decided to start with the top and go slowly.

For now he is on megazorb with a selection of dried grasses, hay, and some burgess pellets. I have offered g-pig suitable fresh herbage and a range of teeny veg nibbles. So far the only thing he has eaten is some grass and sliced carrot so I doubt he has had a good diet as he took one look at the rest and ran away as if he had never seen any of it before.

He has tunnels and a large pigloo to hide in and believe me he is hiding. He is also being very silent which is a concern. Gentle strokes make him hunker down in a way that makes me think he has not been handled kindly in the past.

He is isolated in a very large indoor rabbit cage on the kitchen surface for now so I can keep an eye on him without pestering him. He has not got a name yet as he has not had a chance to show his personality.

Has anyone any tips for gradually re-habbing such a terrified pig?

For now I am handling him gently for short periods four times a day and leaving him to hide the rest but I am open to anything that could help make his life feel better.
 
Hi Tracy, family and scared piggie welcome to the forum x)
Firstly well done on getting this little man he obviously needs some TLC!
I'm hoping some of our more experienced owners will come up with some more advice, all i can think of to start off with is be patient, you're doing things right :) A little visit to a savvy cavy vet might be advisable too, just to check him over, sounds like the poor boy has been thru hell :0
Good luck and if you have time whee'd love to see some pigture of the little man, my girls send him some welcoming wheeeeeeeeeeeeks and loving girlie kisses xoxoxoxo


Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x
 
Hi there

As the cage is an indoor one I would recommend draping a couple of towels over the enite top and down most of the sides so that he feels more secure. Place food and water very close to the hidey so that he can eat and drink without having to brave the scary outside space. Give him at least a week to settle before handling so that he has time to become accustomed to the noise, smell and routine of the house.

Sadly brushing will cause him more distress and I would cut out any knots and tangles, brushing the new growth will become a useful way of handling him without the pain of tangles. A bath would also help with the condition of his coat, once he's had a hair cut. I usually do this as soon as they arrive to get it out of the way and to make them more comfortable while they settle in. Having a short hair cut will mean that you do not have to handle him too much at the beginning.

Once he is a little braver and comes out while you are around, chatting to him while he eats, followed by gentle handling and grooming, should bring him on quite quickly. I do have some pigs that hate to be handled and I go at their pace, it can take weeks for some pigs to relax enough to be out when people are around.

After you have had him for at least two weeks then thinking about a companion would be a good idea - only from a rescue that is experienced in boar dating so that he can choose who he lives with. Usually a more confident cagemate can teach a scared pig the joys of human interaction.

Sadly soo many single boars get left to live their life out without the companionship of another piggy and this something to be avoided if at all possible.

HTH

Suzy x
 
My Minnie the Moocher was a scardey pig when she joined me last year but she has settled well into my friendly herd and although she is still 'attitudey' her behaviour is now scarcely different from that of other pigs.
 
I would agree with what Suzy says - get the haircut and bath out of the way while he is still scared stiff anyway, and then give him plenty of time to get his bearings and learn the routine. You may want to have somebody holding him while you do the cutting. Make sure that you have a finger between the scissors and the skin and that you do not pull on any mats if possible. You may have to give him two rounds of cuts, depending on how bad the matting is underneath. But just the sheer relief from all those mats pulling on his skin will make him feel much more comfy in himself!

It sometimes takes a LOT of time and persistence to bring a piggy round, but in my eyes it is absolutely worth that precious moment of absolute delight when such a piggy discovers that paradise exists - and it all his! Chat to him gently all the time, tell him how precious he is to you, send him soothing/loving thoughts and praise him lavishly, like you would a little dog. Always give him space to back down if he wishes. Perhaps you can pick him up and cuddle him in a cosy, in order to take some of the stress out and make him feel safer? Piggies love enclosed spaces and are more relaxed in them.

Try no to loom over him and try to establish a firm routine with the smae words said in the same way all the time, so he can learn what to expect.
 
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He has had a trim and a bath - thankfully I did have some Johnsons Anti-Insect Bath for rabbits which is also suitable for g-pigs.

Gave him a quick bath with a brisk rub and brush afterwards whilst checking him over for any unhealed wounds or stuff. Thankfully he was just dirty [very] and matted. He is moving better now the matted hair is off from round his legs. Gosh he has a white cornet on his head and his bum has flowing fluffy locks.

He coped with that well and had a small piece of cucumber as a reward and a sneaky way to make sure he has had some water. I have covered the cage to help him feel safer and left him quiet once he was dry to explore when he feels ready.

Still trying small amounts of different food to see what he will look at.

Poor thing- he is cleaner, safe but no nearer to a name.
 
Well done - at least, he IS eating, which is a good sign. I am sure that he will feel a lot better now!

You can always call him Gandalf the Grey, you know! He went from a harmless, if slightly odd friend of Bilbo's to something completely different, too!
 
Hello sweetie piggy, welcome to the world of guinea slaves who really look after us. We get loads of yummy food, dry comfortable houses, toys, games and loads of human cuddles. Don't be scared, your out of harms way now and your mummy will get lots of good advice about caring for you.

You need to wheek at your mummy though and tell her when you want something, we normally ring our bell and mum comes to us - great trick eh!

Good luck

Bloss, butter and violet
x>>
 
Hello and welcome, it looks like you're doing all the right things with him to help him settle and come round to realising that there are caring humans in this world.
 
Good luck with him iv never had a pig in such a state but with my experience of other animals it's the most scared and the ones that need you the most that you have the strongest bond with even if it does take time :)
 
Hi there and welcome. I am also a newbie here.

Way to go to bringing this little into your healthy and loving home.

Good luck in your adventure. Sounds like he will be just fine in coming around. Keep us posted.


My littel guy was also nervous and timid when he first came. Now he's out and about even when my two kids act up! lol.
 
Been watching- poor lad has not found the water bottle or its ina form he has not seen. Took him out at 6am and manged to persuade him to drink some water by rubbing a little water across his lips from the end of the bottle. The light dawned and he lunged for it.

He has had regular slices of cucumber as I was pretty certain he was not coming out to drink yet. A few pellets have gone as has some of the burgess grass and two fresh plainatin leaves.
Its a small start.

He also smelt so much better this morning- more like a clean male pig than a sad dirty matted pig. The megazorb does not seem to be adhearing to his fur so for now I will leave him with that as bedding topped with soft hay so he can have breakfast in bed.

Had a couple of very quite squeaks and a fast show of nose as he snatched and snaffled out of the pigloo in response to the lure of cucmber.

I have put the cover back over him and will check again at lunch time. At least he has stopped trying to hide in the floor although he is still trying the 'if I cannot see you you cannot see me' trick.
 
Another week on.

He now has a name - Ziggy. He has a white zigzag marking and moves in a similar fashion towards his food bowl.

Still very easily scared but more willing to come out of his pigloo if he thinks its quiet. No signs of anything nasty in the way of infections, infestations or similar.
He is now letting me groom him in exchange for cucumber after the dreaded deed is done. On his slightly more confident moments we get a few soft squeaks. I have given him some toys and he has not got a clue but he has started running through the tunnels.

When I have some spare dosh next week after I pay the buns vet bills I will look at making or buying him a snuggle thing for piggies and see if that helps him feel more relaxed. Hopefully now he is eating-likes SS g-pig pellets, hay, dried grass, fresh grass and pokes at veg and herbage a bit I can consider getting him neutered and think about piggy friends from Walsall RSPCA.

Really pleased that his fur is so much better since he had a much needed bath and daily brushing.
 
Ahh this is lovely :) I rescued a piggy last weekend also and Ive only had one tiny bit of a squeak so youre doing better than me :)) x
 
tracybeakerisland said:
Another week on.

He now has a name - Ziggy. He has a white zigzag marking and moves in a similar fashion towards his food bowl.

Still very easily scared but more willing to come out of his pigloo if he thinks its quiet. No signs of anything nasty in the way of infections, infestations or similar.
He is now letting me groom him in exchange for cucumber after the dreaded deed is done. On his slightly more confident moments we get a few soft squeaks. I have given him some toys and he has not got a clue but he has started running through the tunnels.

When I have some spare dosh next week after I pay the buns vet bills I will look at making or buying him a snuggle thing for piggies and see if that helps him feel more relaxed. Hopefully now he is eating-likes SS g-pig pellets, hay, dried grass, fresh grass and pokes at veg and herbage a bit I can consider getting him neutered and think about piggy friends from Walsall RSPCA.

Really pleased that his fur is so much better since he had a much needed bath and daily brushing.
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That would be fantastic. I've found that for a lot of piggies (though not all and this is something you must consider), pairing a nervous pig up with one (or more) braver pigs can be the best therapy you could ever give them. I've had pigs that have come across as nervous wrecks or nervous to lesser extents who have come out of their shell with other guinea pigs around to help them.

Piggies like yours could easily be very traumatised by their past, so dating would absolutely be the way to go if you're not sure about their temperament. P@H are notorious for not giving the full background information, or at least as much of it as they know.

With a P@H pig I wasn't given her full background when I got her. All I knew was she'd lived alone for a while because she came in pregnant (as part of their order of pigs for sale, not from a family), had her baby in the store and then was put up for adoption. Long story short, it turned out she was totally unsuitable to live with other girls, and I had to take her to Milhaven to pair her up with a neutered male instead. She's now a very happy piggy, and one with company. The outcome's worked out fantastic for me, yes I did have to take on an extra pig to do it (not that it's a problem, I've got time and space for quite a few pigs), but he's gorgeous and definitely wouldn't change having him for the world. Could have been easier though if I knew her full history.
 
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