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very poorly baby piggies :,(

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Katierosesmum

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Hi everyone,

I became the owner of two gorgeous baby piggies on wednesday, we bought them from pets at home, before I realised that this was completely the wrong thing to do, in so many ways. I'm so sorry, please please don't hold this against me. I'm desperate for help, I already love these little babies, and want to do everything in my power to get them better.

I settled them in to their new cage, with newspaper, hay, food toys etc, as the shop suggested on wednesday. We then left them alone to settle in, and on thursday morning i went to check that they were ok. One of the piggies seemed to have a sticky eye. I rang pets at home who suggested removing the sawdust from their cage, and bathing her eye with cooled boiled water, both of which i did. I lined their cage with towels and fleece which i found out about after then finding info on here. So i settled them down again and left them be, and checked again on weds eve and her eye was still sticky, so bathed it again.

On friday morning, I checked in on them again. Now both piggies had sticky eyes, and the one who's eye was sticky first (Freda) looked properly unwell and one of her eyes was stuck shut. She had become very quiet, and looked to be breathing quite heavily. I rang petsd at home again for their advice, as my receipt said to inform them if any animal became unwell soon after purchase, and they said i could have an exchange :( After a bit of discussion they agreed that I could take them to my vet, and they would cover the cost.

I then hot footed it to the vets, who were great. He had a good look, and said that Freda had "spondylosis" (although i asked him to repeat the name, i still didnt get it properly) (now added, having looked this up, i realise its a form of arthritis, i obviously have remembered wrong...sorry) and they both have conjunctivitis. He gave Freda an injection of antibiotics and gave oral antibiotics for both piggies. He said Freda was feverish and was gasping 8...

Freda seems to have picked up a bit since then, but Flo has gone downhill today. I'm so worried about them. I'm only handling them to give them their medicine, and today I also weighed them Freda weighs in at 416g, and Flo 307g. Seems a big difference for two piggies who are apparently both "around 7 weeks". Is there anything at all I can do for them tonight? I'll obviously be taking them back to the vets tomorrow.

I'll do whatever is needed for these two gorgeous babies. x
 
Are both pigs still eating and drinking well, are they pooing ok too?

The weights you have given (for average sized pigs)
300g = 4 weeks
400g = 6 weeks

Please weigh daily while they are ill to assess how they are doing and if they need supplementary feeding.

Suzy x
 
No one is going to judge you its ok. There are plenty of us on here who have pet shop bought piggies, but after being on here, you'll find that the majority of us are converted to the rescue way.

Your poor little babies. Please write a complaint to the Pets at Home main office about this because its not on and happens so so often. As Suzy has said, they sound around 4 and 6 weeks old, in which case far too small to be sold in a pet shop and the smaller of the two is barely old enough to be away from mum.

Please weigh them on a daily bases to ensure that they are gaining and not losing weight. Make sure that they are eating well, and if they stop please syringe them some mushed pellets and give your vets a call straight away. Make sure they get plenty of vitamin C rich veg such as red pepper and good quality pellets and hay too.

x.
 
Don't worry, you wont be judged.

As has been said, monitor your two piggies very closely, weighing them daily. Also, keep a close eye on their pooing, peeing, drinking and eating.

From what you've said, it sounds like they possibly have a respiratory infection.

What kind of antibiotics has the vet given you for them? Also, if you aren't already, you need to be giving them probiotics after the antibiotics. The antibiotics are harsh on their little tummies and the probiotics will help to counteract this.

Also, if you are unsure of how cavy savvy your vet is, let us know your location and someone will hopefully be able to recommend a cavy savvy vet for you.

Sending healing vibes for your piggies! x
 
Thank you so much for your messages. I've just got them up to give them their medicine, and decided to weigh them again. They took the syringe well (Baytril) and little Flo is 312g this eve, and Freda is the same as before at 416g. Glad they haven't lost :) It's Flo that I'm currently more worried about, so the fact that she seems to have put on a little i hope is a good sign. I also forgot to point out, that those are not their true weights...i forgot to take off 56g for the teat towel they were sitting in, so Flo is only 256g, and Freda is 360g...surely both too tiny? Flo is quite fluffy so looks bigger than she is. I'll weigh them every day. Is twice a day too often?
Thanks so much for the tip on pro-biotics. I always take them in some form or another after antibiotics myself, so makes perfect sense to do the same for the piggies. What is the best way to do this, and what should I use?
There is plenty of poo needing scooping up, which I'm really pleased about. I've kept their cage in the sitting room but have covered the front to give them some piece. I just heard them potter about and one of them had a drink. I've filled up their water bottle so I can assess how much has gone overnight; but I'm not sure whether both of them are drinking or just one.
I made a cosy thing for them which I saw on here which is fleece inside and jean material on the outside, made into a snuggie type of thing. They absolutely love it. I've just taken it out of the wash, so hoping it will be dry in the morning for them to snuggle up in again. I expect they need all the comfort they can get, especially if they are missing their mummy :(
Thank you so much for your reassurance, I really really appreciate it. x
 
Welcome to the forum. The poor wee things that is very small :( Weigh them at the same time each day. They were probably too small to be sold :( Antibiotics can upset their tummies so be careful with too much veg, please provide plenty of fresh hay, alfalfa is good for piggies under a year & unlimited pellets. It may be an idea to soften some pellets with boiled water & leave to cool before popping them in the cage. They can eat those easily so hopefully will gain some weight quickly. Also provide normal pellets. Hay should be topped up daily & removed to give fresh every day. A guinea pig should never be without hay.

If you are going in there anyway to reclaim your vet bills you can pick probiotic up at Pets at Home:

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/proc-probiotic-100gm-by-vetark-15796

Make some up according to the back or sprinkle some on their veg. I hope they are better soon :)
 
Not much to add to the excellent advice you have had already. If you need help or advice on syringe feeding, sexing (yes just to make sure!) or any other aspect of piggie care, you will always find it on this forum.

Don't beat yourself up about buying your piggies - as a previous poster said, most of us have done this before; the important thing is to make sure your little ones get the care they need. You will find a warm welcome and friendly advice on here./

Sending healing vibes to your little ones!
 
Hi and welcome to you, Freda and Flo to the forum :)
I'm really sorry that your first posts are about your poorly babies :(
Whee will keep our paws crossed that they respond quickly to the meds! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
You've done the right thing in dashing off to the vets, well done :)
Please keep us updated, if you have any doubts at all with either of them go straight back to your vets.
HUGS for you and the littlies XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Glynis, Velvet and Onyx x
 
You've good advice already - I don't need to add to it.

Given your revised weights, 256g = 3 weeks old; 360g = 5 weeks old.

The standard for rehoming is 6-8 weeks, minimum of 400g. This is set out by the British Cavy Council. All reputable rescues also follow this standard.

Suzy x
 
this is exactly why every one should never set foot in that store, how many othe infected animals have been sold from that same pen? only for it to be filled up again with more animals ,
 
Hope your piggies are feeling much better very soon. Its such a worry when they are ill. Great bunch on here though with fabby advice.

Chantelle
 
Nothing to add to the advice already given on here.

But did want to say you are doing a fantastic job caring for your new Piggies, looks like they have landed in good hands.
Sending healing vibes and piggie huggles.
 
Poor guineas! I got my oldest boy was from pets at home. I was just looking around the shop and when i spotted him, i couldnt leave without him! I then got him home and realised that his eye was similar to how you explained and thought it may just be cold because it didnt seem to be bothering him at all. But so much for the "health check" theyre supposed to give before selling the pig! I thought that it may just go away as i was providing lots of vitamins an bathing it etc. Days later it was still no better so i called pets at home and they said they would exchange him. EXCHANGE MY PET! NO WAY! I then decided to take him to the vets and was given eye drops which should have cleared it up within 4 days. This didnt work so i went back a week later and the vet then told me that his eye had not formed properly meaning that his eye lid rubs on his actual eye-ball causing his eye to water constantly and he should not have been sold to me in the first place!

Lesson Learned! Stay away from pets at home! :()
 
Thank you so much for all of your replies and support and advice. We are doing ok :) vet said I'm doing all the right things and to carry on. I have put softened pellets in a bowl and that went down well. I weighed the, again today, and these weights are from sun am, sun pm, and mon am...Freda; 360, 360, 362. Flo, 251, 260, 267. So although it was Freda who was originally more poorly, the I was more worried about flo, but although she is so much smaller she is gaining better than Freda. At least neither of them are losing, I'm very thankful for that. Continuing to do my best for them. They are definitely more perky today :) I'm going to go and get the probiotics today too. Am I doing the right thing by only handling them when really necessary? I presume they are both feeling quite stressed and although in my head a cuddle should help, the babies probably don't think that?
I'm sorry to hear about your boy "piggy family" is he doing ok now?
Thanks everyone. I do know I've done the wrong thing by buying theses babies, just now doing what I can for them to get them well again. X
 
So glad to hear your piggies are a bit better today! Poor little cuties :) My piggy is fine now. I dont think he really knows any different because the vet said his mis-shaped eye is just something he must have been born with. I will put some pictures on as soon as i get used to the forum because I'm not so great on computers lol. The pics really are worth waiting for though, Ive got some really cute ones! :(|)
 
Just wanted to update you on how my gorgeous girls are doing. I'm so proud of them ;) flo is now 292g and Freda is 382g so they have both put on loads of weight and are doing brilliantly. They are getting quite used to the sound of my voice and flo seems to be chatting back to me at times. They have both eaten green beans from my hands too :D our new hay arrived today which I ordered from Hay for pets, and both piggies are delighted and have been running in and out of it and been munching away non stop :)
My next job is to order a run for the garden... Should the be a particular age/size before they can go out in a run? Can anyone recommend a good place to go for a run or anything I should bare in mind?
Thanks so much for all your advice andnsupport x
 
Just to add quickly....I'm so glad I found this forum; I'd be worried I was losing my mind a bit otherwise, being this totally besotted with these two little babies who I've known for only a week....I've had so many looks this week as if to say "they're only guinea pigs for goodness sake woman, get a grip"....but they are so unbelievably scrummy! And seeing them today with their new hay...heart melting stuff!
 
wow you sound like a good Mum. I am so pleased the babies seem to be doing ok now, so scarey for you. Fingers crossed they continue to gain weight xx
 
I'm so glad these piggies are living with someone who cares about them so much, it sounds like you are doing a great job with them! Well done for coping with such a difficult start, I think they got lucky with such a lovely mum x>>
 
so glad your piggys are doing better and putting weight on nicely, you sound like a great slave for your piggys. i think alot of us on here get the phrase,' its only a pig', i know i have, but they are our piggys, and we wouldnt let anything happen to them, our babies, people just dont understand :)):))
 
With regard to putting them out on in a run (I learnt this the hard way) make sure you first accustom their tummies to grass as too much too soon can lead to diarhorrea (sp) which is not good.

I would hand cut them a handful say a day and let them get used to it then build it up a bit and then when they go out only let them out say 30 minutes to start and then build it up slowly.
 
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