The Snowdonia pigs

[Agnes]

I recently posted a bit about my pigs in the intro section so I thought I'd start a thread for them. There always seems to be some sort of drama so I thought I may as well share it! Most of the pigs are doing well- I'm still worried about Wilma though- we rehomed her recently through Facebook and I don't think she's had a good start in life. She is slowly gaining a bit of weight but she looks so thin- you can still see her hipbonesShe is also absolutely terrified of people- I've only picked her up a few times for health checks and she thrashes about in my arms and won't settle- you can literally feel her jolting with fear. I'm hoping we can make some progress with her! Also Hilda has started tilting her head again so she's back on metacam. Every 3 months or so she has an episode where she starts twitching and shaking her head. She's been treated with antibiotics for a possible ear infection a couple of times and the symptoms generally clear up within days. Last time it happened we just treated with metacam and it was a success. The vet thinks something in her ear just gets inflamed every now and then so just to treat with metacam when it happens. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? If the episodes get more frequent/ don't clear up quickly they said to book her in for X rays.

 

[Ramia]

My boy has CBS and is on metacam for life. Maybe that's what it is?

 

[Agnes]

I was wondering about CBS. The episodes are pretty infrequent though and clear up within days. I guess you can only find out for sure with X rays? Minus the head twitching she behaves normally, keeps eating, doesn't lose weight etc. when it happens.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

You may find this these guides here helpful in dealing with Wilma:
New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In (see the first chapter about a welcome in piggy language)

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips (how to avoid behaving like a predator, respecting their instincts and using guinea pig body language to communicate with them)

Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

It is not instant but it can speed up the process. Trust is a tender plant that needs to make deep roots before it can grow upwards but by telling her that you are a friend in her language you have much more of a chance.

Here is our information on neurological issues. E. cuniculi (if you have rabbits as well) may be also something to consider although it tends to be progressive).
Neurological Issues (Seizures, Strokes, E.cuniculi etc.) - Symptoms and Care
CBS Syndrome (Calcified Bulla Syndrome/Walled-in Otitis Media - Symptoms and Care

I hope this helps you. CBS syndrome is comparatively rare here in Europe as the US/Canadian wave was caused by bad breeding and pet shop/sales conditions in huge pet shop chains; here in Europe is mostly diagnosed as a walled-off middle ear infection which happens as an isolated incident. Increasing calcification of the middle ear capsules in older piggies is fairly normal and is usually not connected to an infection.

 

[Agnes]

Hi

You may find this these guides here helpful in dealing with Wilma:
New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In (see the first chapter about a welcome in piggy language)

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips (how to avoid behaving like a predator, respecting their instincts and using guinea pig body language to communicate with them)

Guinea Pig Behaviours in their Context

It is not instant but it can speed up the process. Trust is a tender plant that needs to make deep roots before it can grow upwards but by telling her that you are a friend in her language you have much more of a chance.

Here is our information on neurological issues. E. cuniculi (if you have rabbits as well) may be also something to consider although it tends to be progressive).
Neurological Issues (Seizures, Strokes, E.cuniculi etc.) - Symptoms and Care
CBS Syndrome (Calcified Bulla Syndrome/Walled-in Otitis Media - Symptoms and Care

I hope this helps you. CBS syndrome is comparatively rare here in Europe as the US/Canadian wave was caused by bad breeding and pet shop/sales conditions in huge pet shop chains; here in Europe is mostly diagnosed as a walled-off middle ear infection which happens as an isolated incident. Increasing calcification of the middle ear capsules in older piggies is fairly normal and is usually not connected to an infection.

Thanks so much for this- I didn't know that about CBS. I am pleased to report that Hilda is completely back to normal this morning. I've been nebulising her with saline solution so maybe that helped to clear some inflammation? Let me know if that was a bad idea though. I'll take all your advice for settling Wilma. I've never had a pig who seems so traumatised before- it makes me sad. I thought she'd take some comfort in having lots of friends but that doesnt really seem to be the case yet. I guess it'll take time. Going to try and pick her up and check her weight again today- will wait for her to go in a tunnel! I'm really glad I've found somewhere to talk about the pigs- I'm obsessed but I realise most people in my life don't care that much haha

 

[Agnes]

Hilda and her beautifully straight head this morning!

 

[Agnes]

I took Hilda off the metacam today and she seems absolutely fine- not really sure what's going on there! Wilma has been out and about a bit more too In less good news 5 of the pigs have lice so I've ivermectined them which they were not happy about.

 

[Agnes]

Wilma is getting braver She is also gaining weight very slowly- going on the right direction at least. I think she might be a bit fear aggressive with the other pigs- she really hates Barbara for some reason (poor Barbara) but hopefully that will settle down. And I think I'm on top of the lice situation- I've done the second ivermectin dose now and couldn't find any on any of the pigs Had to give Clayton pig a bum bath yesterday- he is a very disgusting pig and gravitates towards filth haha he didn't seem to mind too much though and his grease gland etc is looking a lot better now!

 

[Truffolo]

They are very sweet, enjoying their lovely home

 

[Roselina]

Ah that’s great news about no lice !
Hopefully Wilma will be ok with Barbara in time
They have a 5* home lucky piggies

Come on Wilma be nice to Barbara

 

[Agnes]

Poor Barbara- she does nothing wrong besides being very fat

 

[munchmonster]

Paws crossed that they will be friends very soon

 

[Roselina]

Poor Barbara- she does nothing wrong besides being very fat

Err we can’t have that word TGPU will be on to you @Agnes
Barabara is simply plump, big boned or superlicious - she’s a gorgeous piggy

 

[Agnes]

Haha poor Barbara! In other news my sister sent me some surprise vegetables from Rabbit boxes and now my fridge looks like this- we have no space for human food!

 

[Merab]

What a lovely gift from your sister.
You have clearly learnt that the fridge belongs to the guinea pigs

 

[Agnes]

Fennel greens and a very sleepy Clayton pig

 

[Agnes]

And Wilma and Barbara is semi peaceful coexistence (we won't call it a bond)

 

[Agnes]

So in good news the lice are gone And Wilma has gained 100g she's still pretty vicious but we can work on that! I did make a post on another thread about potentially getting a second neutered boar and creating two herds but that idea has been shelved for the time being. We ended up rescuing a lonely (female) gumtree pig instead and I've now reached my limit of 10! Miranda is nearly 2 and looks like a tiger I don't think she's in the best shape- she sort of lumbers around but she'll be getting more exercise and a better diet now so that should help! Photos of Miranda, hay guzzling, Enid being lazy and Mouse ascending the great guinea pig bridge