piggy losing weight after losing a mate

[poppipop]

i had two male guinea pigs, 5 years old, have been together since they were little.

we lost robin on the 17th of August, he stopped eating two days before then, we rushed him to the emergency vet who thought his teeth may be overgrown, had his teeth done, they gave him anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and steroids shots, wormed him but whatever was wrong (we never found out), we caught it too late.

reece, the other piggy, has been losing weight. his weight was steady for about a week after robin's death but since then he'd lost 90g. he seemed to be eating ok until a couple of days ago when i've noticed he's not really into his hay (he gets oxbow timothy hay).

he went to the vets last wednesday, they checked him over and couldn't find anything wrong. he was wormed a couple of days before robin died (they were both wormed).
they have sent his poo away for analysis, i brought samples in - he was in the carrier & vets for nearly two hours and didn't have a single poo. so they're testing for salmonella/e.coli/any other nasties - the tests should hopefully be back tomorrow. they also recommended putting some vitamin c in his water just in case his vitamin c requirement peaked for some reason.
if the tests don't show anything, we'll look into treating infections etc.

but, we're wondering whether he's just grieving. i really don't know what to do. i would love to get him a new friend but he is not exactly the easiest piggy to get along with, he has proper attitude. also i'd have to quarantine the piggy and by then it may be too late and they may not get on.
also, if reece actually has something contagious, i wouldn't want the new piggy to be exposed to it.

the thing is, i can't even cuddle him because he doesn't like to be handled. when him and robin were little, they were so scared of me i didn't want to stress them out and because it was always two of them, they were perfectly happy as long as you gave them everything they needed and left them alone. but now it's not two of them anymore...

has anyone been in a similar situation?

sorry this is so long. any suggestions welcome! i really really don't want him to die

 

[Becky92]

Hi!

Is there any rescues near you that are good at bonding?

A baby boar sounds like your only option

Otherwise you may loose him through despession

 

[poppipop]

hi becky,

i live on the isle of man and we only have one rescue - the mspca (manx equivalent of the mspca)

we went to have a look but they only had bunnies - it's not a very big rescue, they usually have quite a lot of cats, a few dogs and they have less than 10 small pet units... and it's usually bunnies.

we also have chinchillas and one of them is quite friendly with him, goes see him when she's out, they sniff faces and are quite happy to see each other. but of course they can't be housed together.

there is a pet shop that sells piggies but there's the issue of their health and reece's and whether they get along or not...

my boys have never been neutered - there were never any fights so there was no need to put them under anesthetic. i don't know if this effects potential new relations?

 

[Chshipley]

Once he has recovered, is there a possibility that you could have Reece neutered then he could be put with a girlie? I had my piggy of six years neutered, so it can work - although we all know the risks.

 

[Suzygpr]

Personally I would consider rehoming a pair of guinea pigs so that he can live next door to them and have their company without danger of infection or agression. I find single males that haven't bonded with anyone but are miserable on their own respond very well to having a neighbour they can see and talk to through the bars.

Suzy x

 

[poppipop]

thanks guys,

i spoke to the vet today, the salmonella & parasites came back negative, they're still waiting for other bacteria. as he's lost more weight since she saw him & is not really eating hay (he's eating spinach, carrots, nuggets ok), she's put him on some pain relief and see if it changes, in case he's experiencing discomfort.

i am not so keen on having him neutered.. i would prefer not to put him through anesthetic & surgery. i am quite annoyed at myself for not doing it when they were little but i guess you don't think about them dying...

suzy,
does this work with recently 'widowed' piggies too? i'm a little worried it would make him sad to see a 'couple' when he's just lost his 'other half'.

i will make a trip to the mspca tomorrow and see if they have any piggies (they didn't a couple of weeks ago). if they do, maybe i could do some meets and greets...

 

[poppipop]

well, i just gave the mspca a ring, they don't have any guinea pigs in BUT they are expecting some, they don't know what gender they are yet but they'll call me when they arrive.

they're happy for me to come and do introductions too!

 

[Suzygpr]

suzy,
does this work with recently 'widowed' piggies too? i'm a little worried it would make him sad to see a 'couple' when he's just lost his 'other half

This is when it's most beneficial - I have newly widowed piggies come in to the rescue and sometimes it can take a while to find their next perfect partner so having some neighbours can really help them. They behave more normally having the stimulation of piggies around them to talk to and I find the eat more and move about the cage more too.

I have a couple of seriously aggressive males that live quite peacefully next door to each other that would want to kill each other if the divide came down.

HTH

Suzy x

 

[poppipop]

that's brilliant suzy! thank you so much, it's definitely something to explore! see what the mspca comes back with.

reece is not really aggressive but he does have attitude and he is quite dominant. he never tried to hurt robin, there were never any fights between them, that's why they were never neutered. they did go through a short phase of trying to mount each other but it never got past that.

he is bizarrely very friendly with one of my chinchillas! when robin was still around, she used to jump on the plastic bit of their cage and sniff their faces and when robin died, she went into reece's cage to see him, even went into the house (i guess she was trying to find robin). i now tend to let them have out of cage time at the same time and they sniff faces and she grooms his ears a little.

i was really surprised at first because i did chinchilla intros and they were certainly not friendly on the first meeting (or two months later!) but they genuinely seem to like each other!

 

[Wiebke]

If you are worried how your boy is getting on, you could always try to keep him next door to one adult boy or a couple of younger girls and boys; preferably where he can interact through the mesh. Just the company of other piggies will cheer him up no end!

 

[Beautifulmess]

GIVE HIM LOTS OF ATTENTION Africa moaned Leo for a while, he was quiet, losing weight, even self harmed, give him lots of attention, everyday, few times a day, maybe a cuddly toy asap. Even a new pig eventually... if he's not picking up within 2 weeks seek more vet advice. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[poppipop]

thank you, i'm definitely going to explore the option of having him near other piggies. i would prefer to adopt to buying but we'll see how soon the mspca gets these expected piggies.

so sorry to hear about africa! that's awful. see, with reece, he seems to be pretty much himself (although he's not trying to bite me which he normally would if you offered a finger or tried to hold him) apart from this weight loss - and now eating less hay.
he did let me pick him up and cuddle him for a week after robin's death and then went back to 'DO NOT like to be touched woman! how many times do i have to tell you?'
he does have a cuddly toy, i put some in as soon as robin died, he was rather scared of it at first, now i think he just ignores it rolleyes

i am in constant touch with the vet, i know her quite well as she treats my chinchillas, if there is something medically wrong, we will find out and get him better if there is a treatment.

 

[poppipop]

good news!

guys the mspca contacted me to say there's someone they know who has two three months old male guinea pigs and they want to give them away. they gave me their details and i got in touch and arranged to take reece round to meet them.

today was the day and i was worried he would not like them but thought we'd at least try.

well i couldn't have been more wrong. one of the boys was cuddling underneath reece and later on, reece groomed an ear! he never actually did that to robin, it was so so cute! there was absolutely no hostility whatsoever!

so it's three of them now they little ones are actually four months old as they got them in july. reece seemed genuinely happy to see them!

here's a picture