Piggy has jumped from bed

[mackenzieluvslife]

I know, this is horrible. I’m completely shaken to be honest. I’ve had two girls, Mocha and Latte, from 8 weeks to 5 and a half years. Recently, Latte passed. I was devastated. I checked absolutely everywhere for a sow or group of sows I could adopt. I used the guineapigfinder, checked facebook, messaged people and group chats, and checked shelters. None near me, unless I wanted to get on a plane, so unfortunately I did have to purchase two girls from a pet store, who I’ve named Bee and Honey. I’m estimating they are around 9 weeks. Mocha and Latte were the only pigs I’ve owned up until this point, and both are confident, sassy Abbys. When they were little, they had never EVER jumped or made any attempt to jump off of any surface they were ever on (supervised, of course.) I got Bee and Honey a few days ago, and they bonded beautifully with my senior Mocha. They’ve settled in wonderfully and I honestly don’t know if it could’ve gone any better. Today was the first day I attempted to get started on taming them, and for whatever reason I opted for my bed, because I was so unused to the idea of a nervous pig jumping! Anyway, long story short, Honey jumped from the bed. It was about a 1.5 feet fall, and she landed on her side/tummy. I’m so totally heartbroken that I allowed this to happen because of carelessness and not thinking critically enough. She made no noise when she fell, and within the next 5 minutes she had already eaten, drank water, and popcorned around the cage with her sister. I’m gonna keep an incredibly close eye on her for the next few days (next few hours especially.) She let me poke, prod and pull at her legs and body, and didn’t react or squeal when I did so, and again she is acting remarkably normal. I also checked her teeth. Next time I’m opting for my foldable play pen. I’m so worried I’ve ruined the first ever time she spent time with me and this will cause a major setback. Could this have caused anything serious that I should keep in mind? I know that they play off ailments well. The second anything looks slightly wrong she’s being taken to the vet. I’ve never even come close to dropping a pig and I’m sooo shaken from this. Has anything like this happened to anyone here? Any stories that could offer me comfort? I feel like a piece of crap.
Picture of miss Honey.

 

[CTWC]

Morning how is Honey today?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this.

As an accident has happened, I would recommend you go to the vet for a check up anyway - don’t wait until you see signs something is wrong.
Given they are pet shop piggies we would be recommending a vet check sooner rather than later in any event - just to check they aren’t harbouring any illness or parasite as can be common amongst shop piggies.
(You will need to take all three of them to the vet together - you don’t want to ever separate them).

As you have only had them a few days we would not recommend you are handling them at this point though. Plus as they have just been bonded with your other piggy they need two weeks to establish that bond.
I would advise that you let them settle in without handling (vet check aside) and don’t put them in a playpen during the two weeks of bond establishing as it is a change in environment.

 

[weepweeps]

Accidents happen unfortunately. I’m glad she seems ok.

 

[Truffolo]

It is the thing we dread. You are obviously very very fond of your piggies. Also perhaps still shaken by the loss of Latte as this was one of your first piggies, although I doubt if it ever really gets easier. It sounds like you are having some fun together though and the new piggies have a great home. I would never judge someone for buying from a pet store if there are no rescue piggies available. Perhaps a week of settling in is a good idea and a vet visit for a general check up and to get their baseline info such as weight, teeth check, feet, general condition on record. Congratulations on your new piggies. Very sorry to hear you lost Latte

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your bad shock. It would be good to have both your piggies vet checked anyway and also to have their gender double-checked in our sexing section as a matter of routine.
New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

We don't judge members where they have got their piggies from. Not everybody has access to a good rescue or knows about rescues in the first place. We just support all members in their very own personal welfare journey to make the best of what they can do and learn as owners in their individual situation once they have joined our friendly and supportive forum.
Welfare is not an absolute concept, achievable for only the lucky (and rich) few; welfare is all the little things we learn in course of our ownership and all the little measures we can each of us take to improve our ownership along the way within our means and our constrictions. It is a life-long learning curve with moveable goal posts that we are all on, never mind how far in our life our ownership goes back.

New piggies can be unpredictable; for sale piggies have unfortunately virtually no friendly human contact and socialisation whether at the commercial chain pet shop breeding supplier or at for sale breeders when they are bought and are by their new owners expected to function as pets in a totally new complex environment. Blind jumps are sadly not at all uncommon in newish arrivals; you in rather good company there.

You may find these very practical how-to guide links helpful in understanding where your piggies come from and how you can work around their prey instincts. Nearly 20 years of forum experience with literally thousands of new owners and their questions and woes have gone into our guides. It may be a bit of a steep learning curve for you right now but it is worth the extra effort for more peace of mind for you! We are here for all the little and large questions and will answer them in a friendly and constructive way. We simply cannot type out all the necessary information in every single post; for this we have created our guides on a very wide range of aspects for all the little things.

New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos) (the first video doesn't work but there are plenty more pictures and tips for avoiding accidents)

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Here is our full and much wider very helpful New Owners collection that specifically addresses all the most commonly encountered unforeseeable little problems and questions and that aims to set you on the right path from the start.
You may want to bookmark the link, browse, read and re-read at need as you will pick up on different things at different levels of experience.
Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners

Please never hesitate to ask any 'silly' questions (which usually aren't anything but) or ask for advice; that what this forum is here. We are all a community helping each other.

 

[mackenzieluvslife]

Morning how is Honey today?

She was and is doing perfectly :,)

 

[mackenzieluvslife]

I’m sorry to hear this.

As an accident has happened, I would recommend you go to the vet for a check up anyway - don’t wait until you see signs something is wrong.
Given they are pet shop piggies we would be recommending a vet check sooner rather than later in any event - just to check they aren’t harbouring any illness or parasite as can be common amongst shop piggies.
(You will need to take all three of them to the vet together - you don’t want to ever separate them).

As you have only had them a few days we would not recommend you are handling them at this point though. Plus as they have just been bonded with your other piggy they need two weeks to establish that bond.
I would advise that you let them settle in without handling (vet check aside) and don’t put them in a playpen during the two weeks of bond establishing as it is a change in environment.

Two weeks it is! Got it! Thanks so much :,) they’ll be seeing a vet shortly

 

[mackenzieluvslife]

It is the thing we dread. You are obviously very very fond of your piggies. Also perhaps still shaken by the loss of Latte as this was one of your first piggies, although I doubt if it ever really gets easier. It sounds like you are having some fun together though and the new piggies have a great home. I would never judge someone for buying from a pet store if there are no rescue piggies available. Perhaps a week of settling in is a good idea and a vet visit for a general check up and to get their baseline info such as weight, teeth check, feet, general condition on record. Congratulations on your new piggies. Very sorry to hear you lost Latte

Thank you so much. I’ve got her cremated remains and paw prints as well. She passed while I was asleep. It was truly devastating, the guilt will never leave. Thanks for your kind words Some pictures of my sweet baby

 

[mackenzieluvslife]

Hi and welcome

I am very sorry for your bad shock. It would be good to have both your piggies vet checked anyway and also to have their gender double-checked in our sexing section as a matter of routine.
New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

We don't judge members where they have got their piggies from. Not everybody has access to a good rescue or knows about rescues in the first place. We just support all members in their very own personal welfare journey to make the best of what they can do and learn as owners in their individual situation once they have joined our friendly and supportive forum.
Welfare is not an absolute concept, achievable for only the lucky (and rich) few; welfare is all the little things we learn in course of our ownership and all the little measures we can each of us take to improve our ownership along the way within our means and our constrictions. It is a life-long learning curve with moveable goal posts that we are all on, never mind how far in our life our ownership goes back.

New piggies can be unpredictable; for sale piggies have unfortunately virtually no friendly human contact and socialisation whether at the commercial chain pet shop breeding supplier or at for sale breeders when they are bought and are by their new owners expected to function as pets in a totally new complex environment. Blind jumps are sadly not at all uncommon in newish arrivals; you in rather good company there.

You may find these very practical how-to guide links helpful in understanding where your piggies come from and how you can work around their prey instincts. Nearly 20 years of forum experience with literally thousands of new owners and their questions and woes have gone into our guides. It may be a bit of a steep learning curve for you right now but it is worth the extra effort for more peace of mind for you! We are here for all the little and large questions and will answer them in a friendly and constructive way. We simply cannot type out all the necessary information in every single post; for this we have created our guides on a very wide range of aspects for all the little things.

New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos) (the first video doesn't work but there are plenty more pictures and tips for avoiding accidents)

New Guinea Pig Problems: Sexing & Pregnancy; URI, Ringworm & Parasites; Vet Checks & Customer Rights

Here is our full and much wider very helpful New Owners collection that specifically addresses all the most commonly encountered unforeseeable little problems and questions and that aims to set you on the right path from the start.
You may want to bookmark the link, browse, read and re-read at need as you will pick up on different things at different levels of experience.
Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners

Please never hesitate to ask any 'silly' questions (which usually aren't anything but) or ask for advice; that what this forum is here. We are all a community helping each other.

Thank you so much for the links! I’ll be reading them all immediately! Thanks so much for writing so much as well! I appreciate it a lot!

 

[Truffolo]

Thank you so much. I’ve got her cremated remains and paw prints as well. She passed while I was asleep. It was truly devastating, the guilt will never leave. Thanks for your kind words Some pictures of my sweet baby

She was a beautiful piggy I'm glad to hear that things are going well with your new piggies