So my Swiss girl Twinkle is about a year and 3 months old. We adopted her in April as company for my boar Baxter. They loved each other and were very happy, but he had to be put to sleep at the end of June. I was devastated, and my boyfriend very kindly adopted our baby girl Zinni to try and cheer me up. This was only a few days after Baxter passed, but Twink didn't see him after he died as he was cremated and I was too distraught to take him home with me. I was careful with introductions but they got on fine, dominance was minimal and all from Twink and she seemed to settle into a very motherly role.
I'm not sure if it's just me overreacting but she doesn't seem to be herself recently. Around mid-July she developed a mild chest infection and was on Baytril for a week, but it cleared up fine. She also has been diagnosed with a skin sensitivity which means the skin around her ears and nipples needs treating daily (I use Gorgeous guineas ointment). Zinni is growing into a happy, lively girl but Twink just seems restless? She still eats but has never stuffed herself, she's always been a little bit fussy. But she just seems irritable. I know the signs of an ill guinea pig and she doesn't display any of those. She's never liked being picked up but she won't eat on my lap at all. It's hard to explain
She also hasn't really put any weight on since we got her. We weren't told if she's always just been small but she should be getting on to her full size now and she's still a wee thing. She hasn't lost weight, and the vet was happy with her weight, but that worries me too.
I've had them in a smaller cage recently so I could monitor the improvement of her skin condition better and keep a better eye on her (and also to help Zinni get used to people more, as our smaller cage is up on two tables). Tomorrow I'm going to move them to their larger cage but try and get hold of some wood so I can put it across the tables instead. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice. Does it sound like she's still grieving, or maybe stressed? I'm worried that Zinni is stressing her out but they do get on well, if I could I would have let her have more time to grieve but even if we hadn't got Zinni I would have worried about her being on her own as we work all day.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just worried about my girl it's been a hard few months as we got Rufus the house bunny just before Baxter died, so it's been quite stressful trying to grieve and help him settle in. If anyone could help it would be much appreciated.
I'm not sure if it's just me overreacting but she doesn't seem to be herself recently. Around mid-July she developed a mild chest infection and was on Baytril for a week, but it cleared up fine. She also has been diagnosed with a skin sensitivity which means the skin around her ears and nipples needs treating daily (I use Gorgeous guineas ointment). Zinni is growing into a happy, lively girl but Twink just seems restless? She still eats but has never stuffed herself, she's always been a little bit fussy. But she just seems irritable. I know the signs of an ill guinea pig and she doesn't display any of those. She's never liked being picked up but she won't eat on my lap at all. It's hard to explain
She also hasn't really put any weight on since we got her. We weren't told if she's always just been small but she should be getting on to her full size now and she's still a wee thing. She hasn't lost weight, and the vet was happy with her weight, but that worries me too.I've had them in a smaller cage recently so I could monitor the improvement of her skin condition better and keep a better eye on her (and also to help Zinni get used to people more, as our smaller cage is up on two tables). Tomorrow I'm going to move them to their larger cage but try and get hold of some wood so I can put it across the tables instead. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice. Does it sound like she's still grieving, or maybe stressed? I'm worried that Zinni is stressing her out but they do get on well, if I could I would have let her have more time to grieve but even if we hadn't got Zinni I would have worried about her being on her own as we work all day.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just worried about my girl
it's been a hard few months as we got Rufus the house bunny just before Baxter died, so it's been quite stressful trying to grieve and help him settle in. If anyone could help it would be much appreciated.
