tiny pig

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sarah20

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hi i got a call of a friend saying one of her friends guinea pigs had had babies only one survived so they rang me knowing i cant say no to see if i would take her i was told she was 4 weeks ( never had a guinea under the age of 2 before ) shes tiny i have just weighed her and shes 230grams is this average and is it safe to introduce small amounts of veg now i will post picks when my phones charged
 
that sounds about the same as mine were at that age but i'm no expert! i started them on veg before 4 weeks and they have been fine. they are 8 weeks now and growing well. can't wait to see a photograph by the way:)
 
baby Alice
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aw she is absolutely gorgeousx)x). i think i'm going to have to do some pig-nappingrolleyesrolleyes
 
That's a bootiful pig! The weight sounds about right for 4 weeks, just need to check it keeps going up!
 
i will weigh her regulaly she is absolutey terrifeid though i hate thats shes so tiny and scared on her own :(
 
OMG - Alice is adorable x>>
How come she is not with mum any longer...bit confused why she's been separated at 4 weeks :{
 
i admit i know nothing about baby pigs i thought they were like rabbits and couldnt leave til 8 weeks is she away to young?i was told mum passed away a couple of days ago i dont know the people but my friend said if i couldnt have her the pet shop they got the parents from would take her back and i didnt want that
 
Aww that is really sad, poor Alice must be missing mum. I have no experience myself, but was she still feeding from mum up until then? Someone with more experience will be along shortly, but maybe you could offer her goats milk fro m a teaspoon for a couple of weeks, as I thought they were with mum until at least six weeks or 250gms in weight. Suzy at the glyneath rescue has lots of experience, you could do with sending her a message.
 
thankyou i really dont know anthing about her background with mum the owners sound like they just wanted to get rid of her my friend said they rang her up and said your friend has rabbits dosent she it wont take up much space in there hutch :S shes the same as one of my rabbits feet :( i will get goats milk if thats what she needs and try her with eat she has just had a tiny bit of parsley which she let me hand feed her so am happy about that
 
mine had to be seperated from mom at 13 days old due to mom being ill. the boys never went back to her as they have to leave the females at 3 weeks old. the girls have gone back to her now and they are all thriving. so long as she is eating (i think they need plenty of pellet food to bulk them up) she should be ok. they should be ok to eat veggies too at 4 weeks old. she is a real beauty and i'm sure she will thrive too. btw mine never had extra milk and they are absolutely fine. i wouldn't think she will need the extra milk at 4 weeks old been as the males have to be seperated at 3 weeks. hope this helps
 
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i hope she does i have had her less than 24 hours and i am in love with her already :)
 
In an ideal world a baby girl would stay with mum until a minimum of 6 weeks, and a weight of 400g, before being rehomed.

Weaning can be done from 3 weeks and 200g at the very earliest, a weaning weight of 250g is the ideal but as long as the baby is over 200g then there should be no developmental problems.

To help a baby gain weight at this stage there is no need to provide milk, good quality nuggets softened with a little water will be best - this way they get all the nutrition they need to build body mass and bone.

Daily they should have dry food, softened nuggets, hay, a little alfalfa hay (for calcium), a small quantity of veg or grass. You may find that she will eat the poo of a cagemate - babies do this to get the correct gut flora they need for a healthy digestive tract.

HTH

Suzy x
 
Have you got a piggy you can put her with? She will be missing her mummy ever so much! If not please give her a cuddly toy to snuggle up with while you are looking for a companion (rescues are a good place for finding one with suitable temperament).

Start veg by introducing only one new one at any time (cucumber would be a good one to start), give her unlimited hay and pellets and see whether she is drinking. Otherwise, you treat her like an adult.

Please weigh her weekly, as you should with all healthy piggies.
 
no i havent had piggies for a while luckily had a spare cage i have nuggets she has been eating them do i still need to add water she has a lovely fluffy teddy to snuggle up to :) also a nice dark hide i will deffo get intouch with my local rescue

i will keep an eye on her weight
 
Hi Sara. Love your new piggy. She is absolutely adorable.

It would be great to get her a friend or 2! ha ha. I'm sure your local rescue will be only too pleased to help you get her a little friend.

As long as she has a good quality guinea pellet she will be fine. You could start introducing some veggies in small quantities - just not too much to start with - I am sure that will be fine. I have often seen really tiny baby piggies nibbling on veg at a very early age. I use Burgess Excel nuggets for my girlies and they love it. You dont need to add water to this, but just need to make sure that they always have fresh drinking water.

Welcome to the Guinea Pig Club! You will be addicted to piggies in no time!

Lots of luck and love to you and Alice x
 
She's gorgeous - when shall i collect her ;)

One of my girls was supposed to be 6wks of age when i got her but she only weighed 200g - so was more like 2-3wks old.

In terms of veg i would take it very slowly since she is so tiny - my girl had soft poops on and off for 7wks - even though we introduced VERY slowly and only 1 at a time. I would try 1 type of veg giving it daily and see how things go for 3-4 days, then if poops are ok add another veg type - continuing to this method until she's on a good variety of veg daily.
 
ha belinda a friend or 2 is right i started off with one rabbit and ended up with four :). can see me falling inlove with pigs i have Burgess Excel nuggets for her am looking forward to her being abit more comfortable with me and stop looking at me like am going to eat her
 
thanks sodapops i tried her with abit of parsley today she enjoyed it
 
What a beautiful little guinea pig, i love her colour and fur. x)
 
sarah20 said:
thanks sodapops i tried her with abit of parsley today she enjoyed it
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Ah parsley - that's like drugs for guinea pigs - have yet to know of a pig that doesn't like parsley - you know that's a good bribe food for getting her used to you, offering her a tiny amount every time you approach her/her cage and she'll come out of her shell in no time!!
 
sarah20 said:
thanks sodapops i tried her with abit of parsley today she enjoyed it
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Welcome to the forum - it's a great place to learn and pick up tips. I got my now four year old boar when he was only three weeks old and smaller than yours by the looks of it. He was only about four inches long, small enough to sit on the palm of my hand and not touch the top of the little finger (long story). If you have a lone piggie for a while, you might like to get a fleece cosy (members on here sell them for rescues' benefit) as this is a warm place for a little one to hide and snuggle down and keep warm. I would definitely get a friend as piggies should be kept in pairs or small groups. It will take quite a while for trust to develop, but it is defo worth persevering, as they make lovely pets.

Well done for taking her on!
 
thankyou i get paid tomorrow so i am off shopping :) i will deffo get her a friend just been looking at my local rescues website there are some nuterd males on there would that be ok or am i best going for a female
 
Ive got a neutered male living with 5 girls - he absolutely loves strutting his stuff around the cage :))

Personally if it was a neutered male you wanted i would wait a few wks until your girl is a little bigger - i would advise at least a 2-3wk quarantine period anyway with a new piggy, just to ensure they are settling in/thriving and that they are free from any nasty illnesses.

You do have plenty of options with females as they are perfectly happy to live in larger groups as well as smaller ones - a neutered male certainly helps keep the peace ;)
 
OMG, i tell you what, if she needs a new home and you dont keep her, I'm very very tempted (if your not the other side of the country) ive got the space for just one more sow in the herd so let me know. She needs piggie company if your keeping her for too long.

x.
 
thanks for the offer abi nurse but think i have fell in love with her to much to give her up :) your about 4 hours away anyway i think :) i have already started looking for a friend looked on freshfield animal rescue they arnt far and have lots of piggies needing homes
 
she is breathtaking! I know I certianly wouldnt have been able to say no! Good thing you came to her rescue. I'm sure you will have years of happiness together! i like her name to...alice..."mustve been after alice ate the "shrink me" tablet eh? lol
 
ha yeah my daughter is obsessed with the film :) i have just had her out she was giving me kisses thought she was trying to bite me at first but she was licking me :)
 
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