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New owner looking for some advice

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MarkJ

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Hi,

I'm a new owner of 2 piggies, Rascal and Oreo.

I've had them for about a 3 weeks and last night, I noticed Rascal wasn't his usually bouncy self.

I also noticed a little loose poo in the cage, so I cleaned that out and left them to settle for the night.

This morning, Rascal was huddled in his corner and not wanting to come out.

They recently had a wicker ball filled with grass, it's supposed to be like a treat and also they would regularly have lettuce. After reading some the of posts on here, it seems the choice of lettuce (iceberg) is a bit of a no-no, so I feel more than a little guilty now (my daughter said she gives it to her 2 that she has at home with her mum, so I didn't think anything of it). Just a couple of small pieces morning and night that where hand-fed and I was using it as a bonding exercise, to get them used to being close, as I'd stroke them as they ate.

I would just like clarification from the more established owners, as to whether I should be taking him to the vets this evening when I get home from work, or whether it's something that will pass based on what he's eaten recently.

Thanks,

Mark
 
Apologies for another post, but I couldn't edit the previous one....

One other thing is that Oreo keeps trying to climb on top of Rascal (only since this morning). I'm not sure if this is a term of affection and trying to get him to play, or something a little more sinister (bullying), or maybe I'm just reading too much into things.

Mark
 
I'm presuming they are both boys? Mounting can be dominance behaviour and not to worry about it....my sows do it too!

Guinea pigs shouldn't be having iceberg lettuce...all the other types of lettuce are ok

this may help you decide what to feed your pigs
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42

as for the vet....If you are worried about any change in behaviour it's always worth a vet trip just to be on the safe side, especially when your pigs are new and you haven't got to know them properly yet.

HTH

Kate
 
Hi, personally I would take him to the vet ASAP as huddling in the corner is, in my experience, a sign that a piggy is really not well. If there is something wrong with his tummy he could go downhill quite quickly. The vet can make a proper diagnosis and may be able to give painkiller / gut mover. It's vital that pigs eat and poop regularly. When my pig was ill I noticed him huddled in the corner in the morning, got home from work and he was the same, when I rang the vet she said he needed emergency treatment. I'm not trying to over worry you, I just think it's best to be safe. My experience is in a thread titled 'ill guinea pig - first experience to share'. Hope he's OK
 
both sexes of guineas will mount each othe rwhich is perfectly normal behaviour, as far as your pig sitting by him self, prehaps the other one is being dominant over him , is he eating? try picking some fresh grass and put in for him and see if he`ll eat that.
 
Please have him seen by a preferably piggy savvy exotics vet asap. Loss of appetite, sitting hunched up in a corner and having lose poo are all signs of acute illness. Don't wait - guinea pigs can go downhill very quickly! Don't feed any fresh food at all until he has recovered; just good quality hay (which should make up to 80% of the daily food intake). Weigh any ill piggy daily to monitor the food intake, healthy piggies weekly.

if your two boys are not used to fresh food, grass and lettuce can give them a tummy upset. Always introduce veg and grass slowly. Iceberg lettuce is nutritionally very low; other lettuces are better, but ideally they should not be fed daily.

Please post in our food section for more information on a good diet.
 
First off, thank you all for your replies and respective advice.

I think I'll err on the side of caution and take him to the vets when I get home, as there is one local to me.

The normal feed is fresh hay and dried pellets, with the lettuce just being as a treat. Anyway, the lettuce won't be given anymore (certainly not iceberg).

I will keep you updated on how things go.

Thanks again.

Mark
 
tummy ache

Hi Mark,

My new guinea (only had her a week) is doing the same. I am taking her to vet in morning. I know what you mean about feeling guilty, god I do but you have to introduce a little bit of food, you are just been a good owner.
 
I dropped out of work early to head home to check on Rascal and still no better, so made an appointment at the vets, of which I've just returned from.

Noticed Rascal had a sticky patch on and behind one ear, which wasn't there this morning and vet wasn't quite sure what it was or where it came from.

Rascal got a mixed shot of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory and he's being kept in over night for monitoring.

Vet checked out his stomach and said there appeared to be no abnormalities, so hopefully the shot will clear him up.

His brother Oreo is already sulking around his cage looking for him. :(
 
Hopefully he will be much better after a night's rest with some medicine in him, fingers crossed.
 
Unfortunately, Rascal is showing no signs of improvement at the moment, so the vets have kept him in. Trying to look on a positive note that his condition hasn't worsened.

Hopefully he will have a good extra 24hours with them and make a full recovery.

His brother Oreo is a bit lost without him.
 
Well he is in the best place, they will be looking after him. Try not to worry and fingers crossed. It took my Clive quite a while to improve, over a week really.
 
Not good news I'm afraid....just had the call that Rascal passed away in his sleep last night. :(

It's so scary how quickly this came on to the point of passing away. The vet pointed out that the small animals are usually like that, just nature, as signs of weakness usually lead to being picked off.

Well, got to break the news to my daughter now as well..

My next question has got to be, are piggies OK on their own?
 
Tummy ache.

Hi Mark,

So sorry to hear, I was thinking about you all day and really thought he would be ok. Sometimes they just don't cope well with injections either. I would get another guineapig for yours, same age and pick one with a similar temperament. If he is quiet don't get one too lively. I have owned guineas on their own and to be honest they seemed very happy but yours started life with a friend. I think spinach cave mine belly ache she only had two 2" leaves not giving that a again till she is older. All the best. Silly xx.
 
I'm so very sorry to hear this. You did everything you could, perhaps he was just a poorly piggie by nature as you hadn't had him for very long and your other is OK. I hope your daughter is OK too. Very sad news.
 
Thanks everybody for your wishes.

I've still to talk to my daughter yet, as she doesn't live with me.

Is there no risk bringing another piggie into the fold? When we where buying, my daughter set her sights on two from different litters and the staff at Pets at Home wanted to put them together before they would sell them to us.

After a minute of getting along, they where nibbling at each other, so it was a no-go.

Just don't want to bring another one in and then have to keep them separated.
 
MarkJ said:
Thanks everybody for your wishes.

I've still to talk to my daughter yet, as she doesn't live with me.

Is there no risk bringing another piggie into the fold? When we where buying, my daughter set her sights on two from different litters and the staff at Pets at Home wanted to put them together before they would sell them to us.

After a minute of getting along, they where nibbling at each other, so it was a no-go.

Just don't want to bring another one in and then have to keep them separated.
Click to expand...

The option with the least amount of risk is a rescue, however if there is none with a relatively close distance, then a well reputable experienced breeder.

The problem with pet shop pigs is that they are often mis-sexed and can bring illness with them etc. although there is nothing 'wrong' with them, it's just higher risk especially when it comes to bonding as you can't really return the baby pig a month or so later if it does all go wrong, where as rescue piggies are perfectly healthy and are in need of a loving home and have (usually) full rescue back up for the rest of there lives ! (:
 
twiams said:
The option with the least amount of risk is a rescue, however if there is none with a relatively close distance, then a well reputable experienced breeder.

The problem with pet shop pigs is that they are often mis-sexed and can bring illness with them etc. although there is nothing 'wrong' with them, it's just higher risk especially when it comes to bonding as you can't really return the baby pig a month or so later if it does all go wrong, where as rescue piggies are perfectly healthy and are in need of a loving home and have (usually) full rescue back up for the rest of there lives ! (:
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.

I need to talk to my daughter this evening and see what she wants to do. It would make sense to me to have a friend for Oreo, but the nearest rescue centre is around 40 miles away.

Anyway, I'll talk it over with her and decide from there.

Thanks again for the support.
 
Hi Twiams,

How do you find a breeder in your area as I tried but don't know how to find one. The rescue centres here had no guineapigs at all, seems everybody wants one from them.
 
As this is a rescue friendly forum, discussion of breeders and links to them is not allowed.

Have you seen the piggy bank map of reputable rescues? There are a number in the Yorks area.
 
Silly said:
Hi Twiams,

How do you find a breeder in your area as I tried but don't know how to find one. The rescue centres here had no guineapigs at all, seems everybody wants one from them.
Click to expand...

This forum does not discuss breeding in any way http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18257

Have you looked at the rescue map yourself, if you are prepared to travel a little way to find the right piggie, or wait for one to come into your local rescue then you will be well rewarded. I traveled over 2 hours to find a neutered boar after my flash died this year and then somehow ended up traveling to glynneath rescue for two boars :red
 
The link is here

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209994852075231951564.0004b8fd9391b4257d8eb&msa=0

If you are set on a baby then it would be worth getting yourself homechecked etc and then perhaps when some come in or are born then you would be able to rescue. There are often many slighly older pigs 6-12 months in rescue, still just as cute :)

It's very worth considering dating your lone piggy so they can choose their new companion. A lot of the PB rescues on the map above might be able to offer this service.

Hope this helps x
 
I ended up doing a 120 mile round trip yesterday to find a friend for my bereaved boar Junior, and it was totally worth it. The rescues are extremely experienced in making perfect partnerships, and the chance of them falling out is much slimmer than if you just put a new pig in, as the rescue will observe, monitor and carefully keep an eye on your piggy. Junior was with Stewart for at least 4 hours before Joanne let us take him home - some people like to bond them for even longer!
If travelling is difficult then you could always try the Piggy Bank, and ask them for help. They do sometimes offer 'trains' for those who need help with transport to and from rescues.
 
Sorry if I offended anyone by asking. Three rescue centres up to 15 miles away had nothing even older ones. They had tons of rabbits though. I will remember for future reference to check further afield.
 
Mark

So sorry to hear about Rascal....sometimes they just go downhill so quickly which is why we err on the side of caution on here and recommend people see a vet sooner rather than later, which you did!

Hopefully you and your daughter will make the best decision for Oreo and bring more piggie love into your lives!
 
Thanks again everyone for your support.

My daughter is quite adamant that we get Oreo a companion and I'm all for that, after all, we have the set-up for it and he is looking a little lost at the moment.

My problem is that my daughter wants to go to the local pet shop tonight and get him a friend, as she is off on holiday with her mother this weekend for a week and doesn't want Oreo to be on his own for that week, in case he becomes "anti-social".

After reading some of the posts, I'm more and more inclined to make the trip to the nearest rescue centre (assuming Oreo will be alright in the car for an hour each way - that's if you're supposed to take them with you when picking a friend).

So I guess my question is, will Oreo be OK for another week or so on his own?

Obviously my experience of pet-shop purchases is a little negative at the moment, so I couldn't handle bringing another poorly piggie into the fold and going through all this again. I would much rather make a more informed purchase, than a spare of the moment purchase.

Thanks again for any advice, it is greatly appreciated.
 
he will be fine for a short time, just make sure you give him lots of attention and a soft toy for him to snuggle up to for the mean time. He also needs to grieve, did you collect rascals body from the vets? When my boar died, I placed him back in with his herd of girls so they could sniff and see him gone, a few mins was fine before I buried him in the garden. Dont worry if you didnt.

Even though I had 3 piggies left, the grief from each of them was evident and it took weeks before I found and could bring home the right boar for them. The only thing that I did hurry up to do was to find a potential husboar for them knowing it will take time, as luck would have it one of the recommended rescues - walsall RSPCA had just neutered three boars, in my case there is a 6 week wait before he would be safe to introduce to the girls, and I asked for a home check, passed, reserved silver and then traveled to collect him, after a week of him living next to the girls it was introduction day, a couple of days later the bond was secure and they are back to living as a herd of 4.

Its a sad time to lose a companion, but despite our grief the ones left behind need to find a friend, but the time between finding and bringing him home will not make the other antisocial, it will allow time for him to grieve and move on before his new forever pal. I am glad you are seriously thinking of opting for a rescue, they will have healthy guinea pigs for adoption, a pet shop is a bit of russian roulette I am afraid and at least the rescue will give you a lifetime of back up to help you through the settling in period.

Just out of interest, which rescue is your closest one and which area are you in? There may be possible ways to help you find your new piggie chum depending on what you need, even if its just advice and a shoulder to lean on.
 
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