What to do for the best?

Shambles

Shambles

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all. Didn't know where to put this so I hope it's okay here.

I'll give a back story so that the situation makes more sense. I rescued a guinea that wasn't being well looked after. The rest of the litter and her mum died (not in my care). She was my first and she had scurvy when I got her. She was also very underweight. She lost her teeth and so I was syringe feeding. 3 weeks after getting her she took a turn for the worst and went downhill very quickly. Sadly the vets said nothing could be done and she had to be PTS. This was only 4 days ago so quite raw. The vet said without post mortem we wouldn't know but he thinks there were multiple issues. Her breathing had gotten really bad and she was very weak.

In the time I had her I done research, brought a bigger cage, got her a friend and they were lovely together. I didn't quarantine them prior to bonding them due them them being under 4 months.

My dilemma is, Storm is on her own. She seems to be doing well, coming more out of her shell, I've caught her popcorning a couple of times which is lovely. She is eating and drinking normally and gaining weight. She lives in the front room so always has people around.

My partner brought home another baby as he knows they shouldn't be on their own. She is currently upstairs in quarantine. This isn't ideal for her as she is only 9 weeks old. I don't know if Nala had something contagious. Her and Storm lived together for 6 days. As as mentioned so far Storm is doing really well.

Pippa, is very shy and scared at the moment. Could just be down to the new environment. She is also eating, drinking and popping well.

I wonder if anyone with more experience than me could advise on what they would do in my situation.

If you've made it this far, thank you. I'll add some photos.

I wondered if anyone
 

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I would bond them both as soon as possible as they are so young. Have a read of the bonding guides. Good luck.

Also double check their sexes just to make sure they are the same. 😊
 
I’m sorry for your loss. Please don’t put new piggy in quarantine, she’s too young to be on her own. Same with your girl. If newbie comes with anything, you will have to deal with it as it shows up. So bond them now. All the best 🙂
 
I’m sorry for your loss.

Was the vet able to give any indication of whether Nala’s issues were likely to be contagious or was it more likely to be due to poor care before she came to you/genetics. I know without the post mortem it’s probably difficult to answer.

Storm has hopefully got a good immune system and won’t have caught anything from Nala, and won’t pass anything to Pippa.
You can’t worry about Pippa passing anything on to Storm.

As she is young she needs the companionship and of course quarantine isn’t recommended for young piggies, I think I would bond them but I do feel for you with the unknown over what happened with Nala.
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m sorry for your loss.

Was the vet able to give any indication of whether Nala’s issues were likely to be contagious or was it more likely to be due to poor care before she came to you/genetics. I know without the post mortem it’s probably difficult to answer.

Storm has hopefully got a good immune system and won’t have caught anything from Nala, and won’t pass anything to Pippa.
You can’t worry about Pippa passing anything on to Storm.

As she is young she needs the companionship and of course quarantine isn’t recommended for young piggies, I think I would bond them but I do feel for you with the unknown over what happened with Nala.
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Vet said without post mortem no way of knowing but I couldn't afford the £500 for it.
He also said it's likely been going on a long time so prior care/genetics. *(the fact the rest of the mums & mum all passed before Nala makes this seem likely) The previous owners (breeders) also smoked in a closed room with them. In hindsight being my first piggy, I wasn't too aware of how they should behave/act. She was so docile, never ran. VERY SMALL. Also just happy to sit and have lap time/be groomed. This makes me think she's been unwell for a long time but there were so many issues it was hard to pin point.

The other two are so fast which I thought was unusual when clearly its very normal for young piggies. I'm hoping that if storm had anything it would be showing by now. I'm happy with the fact she is gaining weight despite losing a friend.

I'm not too fussed about Pippa bringing anything in. More concerned about Storm possibly having caught something from Nala and the cycle continuing. I just want to do what's best for them and if that means bonding then that's that's needs to happen. I also don't want to feel like I'm risking the life of either piggy.
 
Shambles said:
Vet said without post mortem no way of knowing but I couldn't afford the £500 for it.
He also said it's likely been going on a long time so prior care/genetics. *(the fact the rest of the mums & mum all passed before Nala makes this seem likely) The previous owners (breeders) also smoked in a closed room with them. In hindsight being my first piggy, I wasn't too aware of how they should behave/act. She was so docile, never ran. VERY SMALL. Also just happy to sit and have lap time/be groomed. This makes me think she's been unwell for a long time but there were so many issues it was hard to pin point.

The other two are so fast which I thought was unusual when clearly its very normal for young piggies. I'm hoping that if storm had anything it would be showing by now. I'm happy with the fact she is gaining weight despite losing a friend.

I'm not too fussed about Pippa bringing anything in. More concerned about Storm possibly having caught something from Nala and the cycle continuing. I just want to do what's best for them and if that means bonding then that's that's needs to happen. I also don't want to feel like I'm risking the life of either piggy.
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Yes i think as it sounds that she is unwell for a while, before she came to you, and that the issues are less likely to be contagious, that I would bond them. Keep an eye on their weights as normal but try not to worry
 
Quick question.. I think this is probably normal but I'm extra paranoid at the moment. Storm has long hair. Especially round her sides and stomach that pokes up. Everytime I look in on her it looks like it's moving in and out quickly. Probably just her little heartbeat where she thinks I'm a hawk keep checking in on her.

She's absolutely her normal self running around, eating and having weight.. not noticed any differences since she arrived. Just wanted to know if this is okay.
 
If it would help put your mind at rest you could get her seen by a vet for a quick once over. Just for piece of mind.
 
:agr:

You are probably just extra anxious at the moment, but a vet check for your own peace of mind is a good idea
 
Excuse the poop. (I do poop scoop once and full clean daily). Not that you can tell 🤣

 
I've done 2 videos to show. I'd rather avoid vet. Obviously only if I can at this time. If I need to go of course I'll take her.
 
I have just gone and checked Pippa (also long hair) and she's doing it too. Maybe I'm cracking up and it's very normal.
 
I don't really feel I can give you advice but those girls are gorgeous!
 
They are. Jury is still out on this pairing though. They've gone for each other a few times at this point. Still some very loud noises going on. We are coming up for 2 hours. Not sure if I'm going to be able to put them together in their cage tonight. Feel slightly out of my depth
 
I've never bonded sows so I'm afraid I can't be much help. Have you read the guides here
Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides
The rules are different for sows than boars. When I recently bonded 2 boars I left them in the bonding pen overnight as I felt a move might upset things. This gave me more time to observe the following day. I was so nervous about leaving them I slept on the sofa incase things kicked off!
 
I have. I'm currently reading again. No one has actually had a fight at the moment. Just waiting to see if I feel comfortable. Match sticks for my eyeballs tonight. Regretting starting so late but i was at work and know I can't serenade now without very good reason.

I think what I'm looking at are dominance behaviours. Sat here with the oven glove on just in case.
 
Things got quite dramatic. I think from the mountains of things I read, they were going for dominance. No one got hurt just my blood pressure. Neither really wanted to back down (they still ate together and layed next to eachother, groomed next to eachother.. At 2.30 this morning they went in the clean cage together and really settled down. Things have been fine since. I also got a VERY cute video of storm doing zoomies and Popcorns after putting them in. Can upload if anyone wants to see. Thanks for all the help. Massively appreciate it
 
Still some speaking going on but u think storms being assertive and Pippa is being submissive. I know I've got to leave them too it but poor Pippa seems so scared at times.

 
So pleased they got through the night, I've been itching to get on here this morning to see how you were getting on. Things kept getting in they way!
 
Ahh! Well they're laying together in one of the hides at the moment. A few touchy moments but I think they're fine. They're fascinating to watch together.
 
They're both precious. I love the zoomies. That's a happy piggy!
 
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