Quarantining A Newcomer

[dearbarbie]

Hi there guys

Feeling way bad for looking at new pigs only 2 days after Jesse went to Rainbow Bridge on an extended vacay, but we're still a rescue baby tonight. If our remaining piggie gets on with him and we bring him home we'll keep him in our spare hutch for quarantine. I just have no clue how to do it. What do I look for. Do I let them meet at floor time or completely separate them until quarantine is over? The hutches are next door to each other so they can still hear and smell each other. Any tips welcome x

 

[Pebble]

For any private "rescue" piggy - it's important to
a) know as much as possible about the history of where they have come from. Alarm bells would ring for me if they recently came from
a pet shop,
somewhere where they had been kept with a rabbit
really poor conditions
b) then check them over first before letting your piggie anywhere near.
Check eyes are bright, check there is no fungal bloom (white dusting) on their ears, check in their ears (look for yellow/white pustules) check there is no nasal discharge or head tilt, listen to their breathing, feel underneath the armpits and in the groin area for lumps

If you find something untowards, don;t introduce but make the decision whether to either take the pig anyway and seek vet treatment or walk away. Don;t then handle your own piggie until you have washed your hands thoroughly.

If you find nothing untoward, you may wish to introduce the two. However in doing so you are effectively dispensing with the purpose of quarantine.

Quarantine should be conducted in separate air space (ie separate rooms not side by side) for a minimum of 2 weeks. Some pigs carry respiratory bugs/fungal/mites but show no signs until either they are put into a change of environment (and then develop symptoms) and/or pass them on to another pig that comes into contact.

In all probabilty, the little piggy you are seeing tonight may be perfectly healthy - however please be aware that this is a much high risk approach than involving an approved rescue.

Good luck
x

 

[dearbarbie]

Thank you @Pebble for your ongoing support. We're not ready to name him yet with the ghost of Jesse still around but as knowing we had to quarantine a newcomer AND single boars seemingly hard to come by, we went to check this little dude out so our remaining piggy Chets may only be alone for a few weeks. In my mind in the car I expected to not bring him home but he was such a nervous sweetheart born on 31st March who has lost 2 cagemates in his short life (one through sudden fighting, the other being PTS due to bladder stones).

When we introduced Chets to Jesse we didn't know about quarantine (this forum is an oracle!) so this is all new to us but is the best for our little boys. Chets has smelled him nearby and gets all excited - they're living in next-door hutches so can chat to each other perhaps if they're loud enough.

I'll be monitoring him daily and checking for all signs of fungal infections etc. We're wondering about getting him checked by a vet but the huge journey to Seers Croft again is quite long and we have now lost faith in our local 'conservative' neighbourhood vet - we're not sure she'd realise anything wrong even if there was!

 

[sport_billy]

When we introduced Chets to Jesse we didn't know about quarantine (this forum is an oracle!) so this is all new to us but is the best for our little boys. Chets has smelled him nearby and gets all excited - they're living in next-door hutches so can chat to each other perhaps if they're loud enough.

I'll be monitoring him daily and checking for all signs of fungal infections etc. We're wondering about getting him checked by a vet but the huge journey to Seers Croft again is quite long and we have now lost faith in our local 'conservative' neighbourhood vet - we're not sure she'd realise anything wrong even if there was!

I wouldn't worry to much regarding a health check for your newbie, just keep as you are doing watching for any skin issues etc... Sorry about Jesse once again, the first few weeks are the hardest x

 

[dearbarbie]

Hi all, thank you. All seems well, he's a shy little chap but we've provided a few hideys and last night he was running around his hutch chirping to himself. He did rumble at me for trying to move something though, OCD Pig! It will two weeks on Saturday since he was solo so think we'll introduce him Sunday. The boys have been near each other but not close enough for air contact although my other half made the mistake of having them share a water bottle at first as we only had one, and two hutches! Still, our bereaved piggy squeaks loudly to himself a lot (never did this when he lived with Jesse) so hoping he chills out when he has a cage buddy.