rescue piggie underweight?

[carolinelovesguineas]

i got an alpaca piggie on saturday. he has a fungal skin infection, hardly no fur and seems underweight. he is about 7 weeks old and only weighs 240g. i thought they were supposed to weigh over 400g at this age...

 

[crazygal330]

I pressume he is a rescue from some idiot breeder? If they are badly looked after it's not unlikely for him to be in such a condition. Although horrible. A vets visit for the infection and a proper diet should perk him up. It may take weeks before he looks healthy again though.

 

[carolinelovesguineas]

i am successfully treating the infection and his fur looks like it is growing back already he was not rescued from a breeder but from someone who had too many to look after and did not know how to care for him properly he has been eating lots of healthy food and has been successfully bonded with an older boar. he is now happy living in his forever home have you had any piggies of this age and how much did they weigh?

 

[Amanda1801]

i am successfully treating the infection and his fur looks like it is growing back already he was not rescued from a breeder but from someone who had too many to look after and did not know how to care for him properly he has been eating lots of healthy food and has been successfully bonded with an older boar. he is now happy living in his forever home have you had any piggies of this age and how much did they weigh?

You have put a pig with a fungal infection, by the sounds of things, quite a bad one, in with another pig?

Oh dear.... mallethead

 

[iluvguineapigs4]

Yeah, have you? It might spread, won't it? Not an expert but yeah...mallethead

 

[MishImpossible]

One of my pigs had fungus first, it took a week before the other began to show any symptoms.

 

[MerryPip]

You need to keep your baby boy, and now his new friend in isolation as fungal infections can be very contagious.

I brought home such a baby and within weeks all four of my pigs needed treated. So to save yourself some work, keep them apart from others and wash all their stuff and your hands thoroughly when finished dealing with them. Also remember you can catch fungal infections from them so use gloves and take precautions to keep yourself safe... Having had ringworm from my piggies it's not fun.

As for weight. Weigh your baby daily to check he is gaining, make sure to ahve two food bowls so there's no chance the older one is keeping him from his food and above all definately get a vet check.

 

[Abi_nurse]

You shouldnt really have bonded him until he was completly well. Fungal infections are highly contagious. You should be quarenteening all new piggies to you and ensuring that they are completly well before rehoming them. Be careful.

x.

 

[carolinelovesguineas]

the pig was kept separate from the pig he is was bonded with as obviously he could have easily spread the infection.

 

[carolinelovesguineas]

i dont re home. all my piggies are in their forever home

 

[Whispa5]

How did you know he was an alpaca if he had barely any fur?

 

[NatalieMT]

He's not 'successfully bonded' if they're not living together, either way if they have met at all then there is a high chance that the older boar will indeed too have caught the fungal. It is very contagious!

Really you need to be treating any visible lesions with creams or preparations and the guinea pig as a whole with anti fungal shampoos. The cages also need to be thoroughly disinfected with a cleaner effective against fungal. When I got a young boar with fungal I treated each lesion total 4 weeks to be sure. You can also catch it so be careful about the guinea pigs touching your clothes and thoroughly wash hands/wear gloves in between handling them. I suggest you take this guinea pig and the older boar to a vet to get some proper advice.

The weight of the guinea pig could be indicative of an underlying health problem or lack of proper nourishment. You should increase the amount of hay in his diet along with pellets and decrease the amount of vegetables. That will he will fill up on the food that is more beneficial at this stage. Again you should take him to a vet so you can rule out more worrying causes and get him a proper health check.

It also sounds to me like this was some backyard breeder. If you have too many guinea pigs to care for why do you have 7 weeks old babies on offer... Something doesn't add up there. Perhaps in future rehome from a reputable rescue who will ensure you take home a healthy animal.