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hayleyh

hayleyh

Teenage Guinea Pig
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I picked up my new piggy today. The poor little thing was so bullied by his siblings, he has no nail on one of his toes, no fur on his nose and is lacking fur on his back where the other piggies attacked him :(
When we met the piggy I introduced Isiah (my 6 month old male boar). At first they made unsual sounds, then Isiah started to do some kind of dance, and then they chased each other around. I'm a bit worried about all this body language as I dont really know what it means.
Since I've got them home I have put them in the cage together and they are pretty much just ignoring each other and minding thier own business. Isiah is sleeping on one side of the cage and Ollie (as I have named him) is sleeping on the other.
I am hoping in time they will fall in love. It doesn't appear that they have yet. I'm just crossing my fingers that they dont fall out.
 
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Hayleyh, without meaning to worry you where did you get your little piggy from? Glad to hear you have now given him a new loving home where he hopefully will no longer be bullied. I wanted to point out that a vet should see the bald patches incase it is fungal, really you shouldn't out him near your other piggy until you have confirmation as it could pass onto him too. Other piggies can barber (chew) at their fur but i'm not sure whether they would pull it from the roots and create a bald patch like this, hence why i think it could be something else...like fungal.

If you have any questions please do ask as i'm sure we can all make recommendations, but obviously you need to see a vet for a proper diagnosis and treatment. Hope this helps. :)
 
ps, do you have any pictures of the bald patch on his bottom?

Also, the behaviour you have described is often called rumble strutting...was he making a vibrating sound? This is normal dominance behaviour, but watch out for either of the pigs opening their mouths wide (like yawning) and definitely if they go to lunge at eachother or bite each other. If you see this you need to remove them and put them in separate houses. There are some good threads on here with examples of behaviour in the behaviour section and you can listen to examples of the different noises they make and what these mean.
 
I doubt that's from hair pulling - I'd be more inclined to agree with Guinea pig <3.

Quarantine is important to prevent illness passing to your existing pig.
 
I'm pretty sure its not fungal as there are no other signs of a fungal infection - its just a bald patch - the benefits of being a nurse is that I kind of know what to look for :-)
But I do plan on taking him to the vets on monday to get him checked over anyway.
I am more worried about the fact that my piggy Isiah is not willing to go in the bedroom because Ollie is in there. Now that you mention it I have seen Isiah yawn a couple of time but not sure if that is just yawning of a sign of something.
I am worried if I have done the right thing introducing another piggy into Isiah's life.
 
He should be kept away from your existing piggie for at least two weeks and introduced gradually! oh dear...
 
all piggies that haven't come from a reputable rescue should be quarentined for at least 2 weeks, even if they appear perfectly healthy.

I am sure most rescues on here wouldn't mind if someone were to quarentine a piggy that had come from there rescue, I know I wouldn't. Sometimes just the stress of a new home could make something flare up.

I really hope he doesn't have any health issues.

Also have you checked the sex of your new piggy?
 
hayleyh said:
I'm pretty sure its not fungal as there are no other signs of a fungal infection - its just a bald patch - the benefits of being a nurse is that I kind of know what to look for :-)
But I do plan on taking him to the vets on monday to get him checked over anyway.
I am more worried about the fact that my piggy Isiah is not willing to go in the bedroom because Ollie is in there. Now that you mention it I have seen Isiah yawn a couple of time but not sure if that is just yawning of a sign of something.
I am worried if I have done the right thing introducing another piggy into Isiah's life.
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Ok, any clumps of fur coming away with dead skin on the end? Fungal also starts on the face which is another reason why it's likely to be fungal. Best to take him to the vet and get a skin scraping to confirm/disconfirm. Piggies dont normally have bald patches...it's always best to quarantine any pig for (i think) 6 weeks before introducing them, especially if it has not come from a rescue (which i'm assuming he isn't from as a rescue is very unlikely to re-home a pig with a bald patch like this).

I would suggest you keep a very close eye on them both/remove them from each other because i wouldn't want your piggy to catch fungal if it is this. Pigs shouldn't live alone so Isiah will benefit from having a friend but it's best to do it in the right way rather than rushing in. This doesn't mean you can't do it right but i think it's best to sort out the white piggy first.
 
Wow - I feel like no-one has anything nice to say. I feel quite upset now. I was really happy this morning when I brought my piggy home. I got him from a friend of a friend who has several very well looked after piggies but this one just happened to be bullied by the other piggies because he was the runt of the litter.
he doesn't have any clumpf of fur coming off and no dead skin. the fur on his nose came off because he was placed in a cage next to his mum and rubbed his nose so hard against the bars because he really want to get close to her but the owner would not put him in with the other piggies. When she saw this had happened she moved him away completely. The fur on his back is sparse because the other piggies used to grip on to his skin at the back when they fought with him but it is slowly growing back.
I have taken all of your advice about seperating them which I am greatful for and I will introduce them to each other more and more over the next few weeks.
And like I said I am taking Ollie to the vets on monday to get him checked out.
 
Kinda looks to be like he was a constant bar chewer. I worked at a childrens farm a while back and their was a piggy there that chewed the wire on his cage loads, and had a bald patch on his nose. I would really get it checked by a vet just incase!
 
Gracie01 said:
Kinda looks to be like he was a constant bar chewer. I worked at a childrens farm a while back and their was a piggy there that chewed the wire on his cage loads, and had a bald patch on his nose. I would really get it checked by a vet just incase!
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Thank you - this is what it is! But yes he will be going to the vets.
 
hayleyh said:
Wow - I feel like no-one has anything nice to say. I feel quite upset now. I was really happy this morning when I brought my piggy home. I got him from a friend of a friend who has several very well looked after piggies but this one just happened to be bullied by the other piggies because he was the runt of the litter.
he doesn't have any clumpf of fur coming off and no dead skin. the fur on his nose came off because he was placed in a cage next to his mum and rubbed his nose so hard against the bars because he really want to get close to her but the owner would not put him in with the other piggies. When she saw this had happened she moved him away completely. The fur on his back is sparse because the other piggies used to grip on to his skin at the back when they fought with him but it is slowly growing back.
I have taken all of your advice about seperating them which I am greatful for and I will introduce them to each other more and more over the next few weeks.
And like I said I am taking Ollie to the vets on monday to get him checked out.
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I don't think anyone wanted to upset you - we where just concerned about your other pig.

It's good your taking him for a check over Monday - but I do think it maybe typical of fungal. Fungal can appear like that on the face of course I hope it's not and it is just from rubbing his nose. He really is a cute little fella.
 
oh no I didn't think people were trying to upset me - of course not - I just meant I am now worried and upset about all this. I hope both my piggies are ok :-)
 
hayleyh said:
Wow - I feel like no-one has anything nice to say. I feel quite upset now. I was really happy this morning when I brought my piggy home. I got him from a friend of a friend who has several very well looked after piggies but this one just happened to be bullied by the other piggies because he was the runt of the litter.
he doesn't have any clumpf of fur coming off and no dead skin. the fur on his nose came off because he was placed in a cage next to his mum and rubbed his nose so hard against the bars because he really want to get close to her but the owner would not put him in with the other piggies. When she saw this had happened she moved him away completely. The fur on his back is sparse because the other piggies used to grip on to his skin at the back when they fought with him but it is slowly growing back.
I have taken all of your advice about seperating them which I am greatful for and I will introduce them to each other more and more over the next few weeks.
And like I said I am taking Ollie to the vets on monday to get him checked out.
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Aww Hayleyh no one was trying to be horrid or upset you, just wanted to make sure both piggies are happy and healthy. Fingers crossed it's from chewing bars, keep us updated on his vet visit and please do ask any questions in terms of bonding if you need them. I'm not very experienced in it but there are some pro's on here! :))
 
hayleyh said:
oh no I didn't think people were trying to upset me - of course not - I just meant I am now worried and upset about all this. I hope both my piggies are ok :-)
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Glad you are ok, this is a lovely forum and people are usually very friendly. You're only getting upset because you are a good pet owner and care about them. I'm sure the vet will make you feel at ease once you know Ollie is ok :)
 
I will let you all know how Ollie gets on - I am really crossing my fingers its just from the bar chewing. He's a sweet boy. The lady who I got him from has 3 guinea pigs (she is not a breeder - she bought a female pig for a her daughter and she was pregnant but they didn't know that). So 4 guinea pigs later and the lady had to decide to rehome the poor bullied piggy - she was very upset to see him go and she was worried about whether he would be bullied by Isiah so she said if they dont get on she would take Ollie back.
 
hayleyh said:
I will let you all know how Ollie gets on - I am really crossing my fingers its just from the bar chewing. He's a sweet boy. The lady who I got him from has 3 guinea pigs (she is not a breeder - she bought a female pig for a her daughter and she was pregnant but they didn't know that). So 4 guinea pigs later and the lady had to decide to rehome the poor bullied piggy - she was very upset to see him go and she was worried about whether he would be bullied by Isiah so she said if they dont get on she would take Ollie back.
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He is very cute, i'd ask the vet to double check his sex too, just in case! ;)
 
If an addition isn't from a rescue or somewhere like the rspca (both of which normally quarantine and health check for you) then it's just best to get them all checked out first to be safe. One poorly piggie is bad enoug but you dont want to end up with two, that's all.

Everyone just wants to make sure they're all ok. Oh and it's a good idea to treat both for mites to prevent anything ocurring later down the line, ivectmin is best but i've used johnsons 'spot on' for when i've been stuck.

They're very very cute by the way and hopefully they'll get along just fine together :)
 
Aww isn't he such a cutie, glad to hear you found your piggie a little friend :) good luck with the introductions between the two

Fingers crossed that his bold patches get better! Don't know whether it's the same in guinea pigs but I know hamsters get bold patches like that from sticking their noses through cage bars, so you could be right there

Hugs and wheeks xx
 
Awwwwww!! He is so cute! Glad to know that you have found your other a friend!!
 
I've got Ollie booked in to see the vet later today and I can't wait to get him there. He has been itching all night and I'm sure its mites. Poor little boy. Thanks to everyone for suggesting I seperate my two as Isiah is such a healthy boy.
I am really annoyed too as I bought a 'non drip' bottle from sainsbury's and it must have dripped all night long because when I woke up this morning the bottle was completely empty and Ollie's cage was soaking wet. Poor little boy - I felt terrible.
 
Yaaaaaaay - I just got back from the vets. She said that the bold patch on his nose is nothing to worry about and it is probably from bar chewing. She looked at his skin on his back and thinks it is sore from him scratching himself. She said this might be caused if he has mites as I suspected. So not antibiotics but she did give me some treatment for the mite and some to treat Isiah too.
So poor Ollie will remain in quarantine for a bit longer before they can start falling in love.
But I feel happier now :-)
 
Is that bottle you got one of the glass ones.
If it is, you have to fill them right to the top, as they do tend to leak. something I learnt when I took my first glass bottle back to p&h. derbrain that I am.lol Was told it needed to be fully full.
 
Glad he seems ok, Hopefully your other little fella hasn't caught anything if ollie does have mites, you could always put the cages close to each other so they can interact, although the mites may be an issue as they could go from cage to cage?

Fluffy69, what happens when the water level go's down because the pigs have been drinking it, does it start leaking again? Was thinking of getting one of those glass bottles.
 
Toffeewoffee said:
Glad he seems ok, Hopefully your other little fella hasn't caught anything if ollie does have mites, you could always put the cages close to each other so they can interact, although the mites may be an issue as they could go from cage to cage?

Fluffy69, what happens when the water level go's down because the pigs have been drinking it, does it start leaking again? Was thinking of getting one of those glass bottles.
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Its not one of the glass ones but I was reading the instructions on it and it does say to fill it to the top and squeeze and few drops out because this creates a vacuum and stops it from dripping apparently. Tried it and it has worked today - so one dry and happy piggy!
 
mrs_tommo28 said:
Hows your piggy hayley, hope he is okay! you did a lovely thing
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He's ok - he'll be fine after his course of treatment. I am so happy with him. He is such a cutie. He's very skinny so I'm looking forward to fattening him up and turning him into a healthy piggy :-)
 
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