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Did you just put the new pig in the older pig's cage? Basically, the established pig is defending his turf from an intruder. You need to make introductions during lap/floor time on neutral ground, and before you put them in the cage together, you need to seriously clean it to get rid of lingering scents and completely rearrange all the furniture to prevent territoriality issues. Otherwise, you're in for a lot of the boss pig pushing the new guy around until they work things out for themselves.
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Oct 19, 2011 13:09
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The main reason it doesn't seem that way to me is he isn't attacking him in any way. To me at least he just seems really curious and interested in him. He doesn't try to get in the way of the little guy's eating and drinking habits, plus I've seen them chilling out in the same house at times over the course of the night.
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Oct 19, 2011 13:13
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Oh, in that case, it sounds like you're fine. Whenever you add a new guinea pig, it upsets the social order and they have to work things out. This can range from completely painless to a freaking nightmare, depending on the personalities of the pigs involved. The biggest problem is usually territoriality, where the established pig will try to keep the newcomer from getting food, water, or shelter in the cage, which you can usually get around by rearranging things enough to make it seem like new turf to both of them. From what you're saying though, it's just general "hey there's a new pig here" stuff. Looking back, I see that this is your second pig; of course the older pig is going to be excited, he's got a new friend for the first time. As long as there's no fighting or food/water issues, you can probably just leave them to it. The novelty will wear off soon enough for your older pig and they should get along fine. (For comparison, the first time I tried adding a new pig - when I didn't know what the gently caress I was doing - I put the new girl in the cage with the two established pigs, and the alpha had her backed up under the ramp, terrified and squealing within minutes.) One thing that can help smooth over the social adaptation is adding another food bowl, water bottle, or hide in the cage so there's another option if one of the pigs is feeling antisocial. Also, when you hand out veggies, make sure to drop them in a few spots so nobody feels like they can hog the good stuff.
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Oct 19, 2011 15:05
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Last night, my girlfriend and I were walking home from a friend's house when she saw a mouse on the sidewalk. Not very unusual, except that to my left there was a big pile of woodchips/stuff you would put in a pet cage dumped on the ground...with another mouse sitting there shivering and not really moving much.Somebody had just dumped them off to freeze or get scooped up by a cat/bird  Another little mouse was hanging out a bit farther away on a cement fixture. The first one we saw scampered off into the dark so we couldn't save it, but the two we saved are now warm and doing pretty well as far as I can see. So, now that we have two awesome little dudes to take care of, what's the best enclosure for them? They are temporarily in a big rubbermaid tub, but I'd like to get an aquarium or a cage for them.
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Oct 19, 2011 22:15
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ethan posted:Last night, my girlfriend and I were walking home from a friend's house when she saw a mouse on the sidewalk. Not very unusual, except that to my left there was a big pile of woodchips/stuff you would put in a pet cage dumped on the ground...with another mouse sitting there shivering and not really moving much.Somebody had just dumped them off to freeze or get scooped up by a cat/bird Wow, that sucks. Good on you and your girlfriend for rescuing the poor little things. I know a lot of people keep their mice in converted thick plastic tubs (with most of the plastic in the lid removed and replaced with wire mesh). It's the cheapest option too, though you need to be handy with a soldering iron. My four mice are in a 36'' long x 12'' wide x 15'' tall fish tank. I prefer tanks to the tubs because there's no possibility of them chewing their way out (could be a risk if the plastic wasn't thick enough, for example) and to the standard wire cage because most cages that have a small enough bar sizing for mice (around half an inch) are too small to be adequate for them to live in. Do you have any idea on the gender of your new buddies? If they're male, you might want to think about seperating them - males are often considered unable to live together whatsoever, even if they are littermates. They can cohabit peacefully for months and then start to fight.
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Oct 19, 2011 22:52
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Fraction posted:Wow, that sucks. Good on you and your girlfriend for rescuing the poor little things. Thanks, we couldn't just leave them there. gently caress that, especially the little guy hardly moving and just shivering I was thinking of picking up a fish tank for them. I can probably find one on the cheap on craigslist or at Value Village or something. I'm not a fan of wire cages, so this tub will do until I get a tank, it's pretty big. As for the gender, I'm not sure! I haven't looked at their junk yet. They're sleeping now, but I'll check once they wake up. And take pictures of them 
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Oct 19, 2011 23:55
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ethan posted:Thanks, we couldn't just leave them there. gently caress that, especially the little guy hardly moving and just shivering You're good people. The people who ditched them are total shits. One thing about the tub is make sure it has HIGH sides. Mice can jump surprisingly well. If you do go for a tank, look at adverts especially for tanks with leaks (though not cracks unless the cracks are very high up) - they're usually cheaper on places like craigslist, and since you won't be holding water in it you don't need it to be perfect. Pics pics pics pics pics. Kinkajou demands them: 
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Oct 20, 2011 00:13
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ethan posted:As for the gender, I'm not sure! I haven't looked at their junk yet. They're sleeping now, but I'll check once they wake up. And take pictures of them Make sure you sex them ASAP; one of the leading causes of dumped small animals is people ending up with males and females in the same cage, either purposefully or by accident, and not being able to deal with the explosion of babies.
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Oct 20, 2011 00:15
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Will do on all the above! Definitely don't want a babysplosion, these guys aren't much bigger than babies themselves. Though I've been reading about how early they can reproduce...yeah, waking them up now. EDIT: Doing a bit of research, I think these guys are rats. Bald tails, more elongated noses and smaller ears. ethan fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Oct 20, 2011 |
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Oct 20, 2011 00:27
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Okay pictures are in. Meet Chips:  and Beets:  On first inspection, Chips is a male and Beets is a female. Crap.
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Oct 20, 2011 02:23
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Definitely mice! Beets is probably pregnant. 
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Oct 20, 2011 02:30
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CompactFanny posted:Definitely mice! Beets is probably pregnant. That fast huh? I mean, we have the time/space to look after a litter...but do we want to? I don't think so.
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Oct 20, 2011 02:32
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They look so sweet, I don't know how someone could just ditch them. You and your girlfriend are really awesome for doing this, ethan. Thanks for taking time out of your day to notice the little critters. I don't know a lot about mouse care, so I can't offer any advice, but good luck.
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Oct 20, 2011 02:40
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Ack! They are so cute! I'm so glad you rescued them, please keep us updated with lots of pictures
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Oct 20, 2011 03:46
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ethan posted:That fast huh? This probably sounds really horrible, but I bet you could find someone willing to humanely euth the babies for some small snake or something to eat. Because rehoming them is probably going to be difficult. Here's to hoping that you mis-sexed them!  Gestation is around 20 days, so after about 3 weeks if she hasn't popped she's not going to. You'd probably be looking at like 5-10 pups.
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Oct 20, 2011 12:41
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CompactFanny posted:This probably sounds really horrible, but I bet you could find someone willing to humanely euth the babies for some small snake or something to eat. Because rehoming them is probably going to be difficult. That's not horrible, really. It happens all the time whether I do it or not. I'd probably try to look after all of them until they are at least 4-5 weeks old, then see if any of my friends want one. I don't have a job right now, so I have the time!
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Oct 20, 2011 22:27
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If you need any (generally) good advise on rearing baby mice if Beets is pregnant, you should check out the Fancy Mice Breeders forum. If you put photos up they'll be able to 100% identify the mice genders if you're not totally sure. There's a lot of show breeders on there who know their stuff.
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Oct 20, 2011 23:40
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Generally how big and fast does a skin tag turn into a tumor? My hamster has a weird little skin tag in the inside one of his ear folds. Its a little smaller then one of his digits (dwarf hamster). Its about 2 months new and looks pretty soild despite its size, how big/fast should it be before I get worried. Working on pictures.
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Oct 21, 2011 05:15
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My Cheekie brand Jones soda My g/f got me a case for my bday.
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Oct 22, 2011 16:32
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I realize this may be a waste of a post but any suggestions are helpful to me at right now. I've had a pig (Chuck) in gut stasis for what seems like a week and a half at this point. She stopped eating completely 5 days ago, but the symptoms started 9 days ago. I've been force feeding her around the clock and pumping her full of antibiotics, Simethicone, Prednisone, and Reglan since going to the vet with her last Thursday. Her weight has remained stable, and she shows varying levels of interest in food, going so far as to take things from my hands, but she never eats them. About two days after I started the force feeding and medications, she started to have discharge from her eyes and nose. Cause?: 1) Gut stasis. Seems like a really classic case, vet also agreed. 5+ days of force feeding should have started to resolve this. She is passing through food, stools are present even though they are smaller and dryer than normal 2) Teeth problems. Vet checked her teeth, said they looked wonderful 3) URI. Has been on antibiotics going on week, seems like I would have seen some improvement. Gut stasis really doesn't explain nasal/eye discharge though. 4) Combo of #1 and #3? I guess its possible. My vet has no new treatment to suggest for her, and wants me to bring her in to be hospitalized. I talked to her about this yesterday and had decided to give Chuck one more day to see if I could see any improvement, and this morning I saw none. The problem is the only thing they may do while she is hospitalized is exactly what I'm already doing now, except they would give her the meds through injection and not orally to the tune of $150+ a day. Anything obvious that I've missed here? Edit: I should note that I'll be bringing her in to be hospitalized either tonight or tomorrow. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 14:26 on Oct 25, 2011 |
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Oct 25, 2011 14:22
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This may be a side result of antibiotic intolerance. Even though you're forcing food in, the antibiotics can be destroying the gut bacteria and preventing things from starting back up. Maybe stop the antibiotics or switch and add probiotics and keep up the good work to see if you can turn things around?
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Oct 25, 2011 14:27
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Rodent Mortician posted:This may be a side result of antibiotic intolerance. Even though you're forcing food in, the antibiotics can be destroying the gut bacteria and preventing things from starting back up. Maybe stop the antibiotics or switch and add probiotics and keep up the good work to see if you can turn things around? Yeah, I thought about this as well. When her symptoms first started, I put her on some Baytril (generic form). Symptoms seemed to become worse after that, so when I went to see the vet I had her give me the non-generic Baytril that Chuck had been on once a year ago that had not caused any complications. This possibility has definitely been in the back of my mind though. Better to get some kind of prescription probiotic or just make up a poop soup from my other pigs?
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Oct 25, 2011 14:39
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With regard to the tooth check: did he do a thorough exam where he was able to visualize both tongue and cheek surfaces of all molars, or did he just kinda peek in there? I've had vets who weren't experienced with pig dentals tell me that the pig is fine when it ends up being severe cheek spurs. Also, have they checked for stones and/or ovarian cysts? Pain from either could be causing her anorexia which is causing the stasis. At this point I would seek a full body x-ray to check for stones, tooth root problems, and I don't know if cysts would show up but maybe that too. I wouldn't bother with a prescription probiotic; they aren't really formulated for pigs so there's no telling whether they'll work or not. Poop soup is fine. Try to get a cecal in there if you can. Keep us posted and good luck!
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Oct 25, 2011 14:53
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Sirotan posted:Yeah, I thought about this as well. When her symptoms first started, I put her on some Baytril (generic form). Symptoms seemed to become worse after that, so when I went to see the vet I had her give me the non-generic Baytril that Chuck had been on once a year ago that had not caused any complications. This possibility has definitely been in the back of my mind though. AB intolerance is kind of a pig by pig thing, and even if one pig didn't react to one type, another may. I've had some that had come to me having been on really harsh stuff like Zithromax and been fine, and then some that I'd give Bactrim and they'd get all stomach upset. I've also had some that were destroyed by Baytril and did fine on really really big gun stuff like Cipro. It's kind of a crap shoot (pun intended). It might not hurt to switch up at this point. Generally (and IANAV) you tend to see improvement in 2-3 days after starting an AB. If you've got the cash around doing a nasal swab can be very helpful because they can culture the goo and see exactly what antibiotics can hit her infection the hardest.
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Oct 25, 2011 14:59
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The vet is a lady I've been seeing for years, she is experienced with guinea pigs so I'm pretty confident she knows her stuff re: pig teeth. Haven't done an x-ray though so its certainly possible its teeth-related. Gonna start the poop soup when I go feed her again around lunchtime.Rodent Mortician posted:It's kind of a crap shoot (pun intended). hehe
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Oct 25, 2011 15:02
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Ok, so apparently my vets office definition of 'hospitalization' is different from mine, since now that I'm home again and wanted to bring in Chuck, I was told they don't have anyone working throughout the night, and the soonest they can get me in tomorrow is 10am, where they can keep her until 8pm giving fluids, etc as needed. My only other choice is bringing her to an e-vet, and really I'm not confident that I could find one here that has a competent pig vet on hand. She probably has as much or more of a chance with me than some generalist who could end up feeding her amoxicillin. I've stopped the AB for now, giving poop soup and will continue to hand feed. She does not feel particularly bloated or gassy, so while I haven't seen much new stools since 8am (she made quite a few overnight) I don't think I'm worried yet. Gonna just be extra vigilant on what goes into her tonight, and will hope for a better outcome by tomorrow morning. I think that's the best I can do.
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Oct 25, 2011 22:24
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If they're basically hospitalizing her to give her fluids, it's totally doable by yourself at home. The bag and T-set are probably going to run you about $30 with vet markup. I hang mine from a lamp by the couch when I have to stick pigs. It's not the greatest thing ever, but you'll get the hang of it pretty durn fast. Make sure to get lots of extra needles. Pigs have skin like armor.
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Oct 26, 2011 03:09
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This is the bizarrest question but, I used to have a hamster yeeeeeeears back as a kid but Ive never been able to google an image of what it is... had a pair, one was an all white dwarf I think (small, round, more furry) but the other was this thinner, longer bodied, sleeker, longer tailed blue hamster. Definitely 2 separate species. Google is telling me its a chinese hamster but Ive not been able to find a photo of a blue one. I guess I could call it grey too but ..it really wasn't. And they only come in 2 colours, agouti with a stripe or b+w and the photos don't look like it at all. And apparently they are rare. I had gotten the pair in a Petland. GIS 'blue hamster' and the photos dont look like anything I remember. It COULD possibly be my memory failing me but I really liked him (the white one was a meanie ), he was super gentle, and just very....very mousey. Any suggestions, PI? Its just one of those things thats always been on my mind but has never gotten an answer
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Oct 26, 2011 05:11
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ethan posted:That fast huh? How's everything going with these guys? Do any of you rodent folk have any idea how to stop biting? Three of my mice are awesome - whilst one likes to run up, shut her eyes, bite HARD and then run away. It's very frustrating because she's fine once I have her out of the tank, she just likes to be a little bitch inside it.
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Oct 26, 2011 11:59
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Poor Chuckie. Was at the vet again today, she thinks its still gut stasis but also now a nasty URI/pneumonia(?). Was given some doxycycline, told to discontinue the prednisone. Vet wants to see her back in 24 hours if there is still no improvement. I thought things were starting to look up, when I picked her up to give meds I saw she had passed one almost normal looking stool! Then, when force feeding her, she started to spit out a mixture of critical care and blood. I'm hoping that I just nicked the inside of her mouth with the syringe or something, or its just gotten raw from the repeated feedings from the past week.... And I took the day off from work to minimize the wallet rapeage (hahah yeah right) that would have occurred if I had left her at the vet office all day. My vet told me she thought I'd be able to take care of her and pay attention to her better than some vet tech anyhow. Edit: Meanwhile, back on the ranch  "Well we COULD sleep on the fleece which is soft and clean......nah lets lay in our own poop and hay." "Great idea!" Sirotan fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Oct 26, 2011 |
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Oct 26, 2011 20:06
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Fraction posted:How's everything going with these guys? Good! Thanks. I found out they were both dudes after taking another look (and the fact that they were constantly fighting gave it away). I swear I didn't see any little mouse balls the first time.  So, they are kinda bummed to be in their own pads for now (they have their own rubbermaid tub each, pretty swank ) but I am in the process of finding a nice big aquarium for them so they can each have a lot of room. Hopefully that will stop the fighting and let them socialize should they feel the need!They are both pretty social, no problems with us just reaching in and putting our hands out for them to crawl up onto. So drat cute, I'll take some more pictures soon.
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Oct 27, 2011 10:26
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If they're both males you're probably better keeping them apart, unfortunately. Some people have luck keeping groups together - but generally only in very small areas, with no toys (just food bowl, water and a wheel basically) and with removing bullies whenever they crop up. It sucks but male mice are just asses with each other generally. You could try getting a divider for a big tank though so they are separated just by mesh or something, then possibly let them share the space when you're there to watch if they seem to want o interact. Post photos though yes
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Oct 27, 2011 10:36
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Fraction posted:If they're both males you're probably better keeping them apart, unfortunately. Some people have luck keeping groups together - but generally only in very small areas, with no toys (just food bowl, water and a wheel basically) and with removing bullies whenever they crop up. Yeah, I've read all sorts of conflicting stuff about male mice living together. If giving them enough room so they both have their own nesting space in one big enclosure doesn't work then yeah, some mesh down the middle will do!
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Oct 27, 2011 12:05
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ethan posted:Yeah, I've read all sorts of conflicting stuff about male mice living together. If giving them enough room so they both have their own nesting space in one big enclosure doesn't work then yeah, some mesh down the middle will do! Just be careful with this. When I was younger and stupider we had two male hamsters who got along great. They were littermates and never squabbled so we kept them in the same tank. Then one day we came back home from school and one was dead and the other had wounds he later died of. It was gross and gory and very, very sad. We should have just kept them in their own tanks from the start, it's not a fun lesson to learn firsthand.
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Oct 27, 2011 12:37
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Chuck ate a bit of tomato yesterday on her own. Yay for the small victories. I think she is starting to turn the corner. The doxy seems to be helping, her wheezing/congestion has decreased quite a bit, and she is no longer making this horrible strangled/choking sound every time I have to force feed her something. I've had her separated for the past five days, and while alone so she pretty much sat in the same place 24/7, and as a result now seems to be having some trouble moving around. I put her back with my other pigs before I left for work today, I hope they will bug her a bit and get her back on her feet. I imagine I'll be force feeding her for a few more days until she is off the antibiotics, hopefully she will regain her appetite at that point. I can't wait for her to get better because oh god does she need a bath. Peruvian + critical care + sitting in her own pee = 
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Oct 28, 2011 14:09
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Chuck's small victories were short lived, and after making the previous post her condition continued to deteriorate. This morning when I got up she could barely move and was in obvious distress. I stupidly told myself a while back that since she was kind of a misfit of a pig who didn't like being held or touched, that I would somehow be less upset when it was her time to go. That wasn't true at all, and I am missing her already. RIP Chuck 
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Oct 30, 2011 17:25
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I'm so sorry to hear that. She sure was a cutie. Are you having a necropsy done? I find it comforting to know, especially when it proves there was nothing more I could have done.
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Oct 30, 2011 20:32
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alucinor posted:I'm so sorry to hear that. She sure was a cutie. I'm not, mostly because I just don't have the cash to spare to have it done. I don't know if it would make me feel better about the situation, in the past I had a necropsy done after a mysterious death and it proved inconclusive. Not that that's saying the same thing would happen here, but even knowing the exact cause I would probably still be doubting myself and wondering if I could have done something different.
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Oct 30, 2011 21:22
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Hi there! First, pictures! Sorry they're terrible, they're still adjusting and a little stressed I think.  That's Christopher! He's older, about 3 years and a little more shy. But better with people.  That's Vincent! He's a younger, 6 months to a year. We adopted these guys off Craigslist. Christopher is by far tamer than Vincent but they're very well bonded. We have a lot of work to do to get Vincent to bond with us. And there are other problems. The cage is too small, I think the bedding is cedar (which is messing with my allergies) and they never seem to have had any hay ever given the way they responded to us putting timothy in the cage. I have some new bedding, food and cage on order. We're buying an air conditioner, we discovered last night that even though the temp in our house stays between 65-70, it's too hot for play time. Vincent started overheating last night. I need some temporary tips to cool off the little guys so they can play. I read that putting ice cubes in the cage is good so they can lick them. Is that ok? Will it crack their teeth? Is putting the cubes in terracotta ok? We also put them in the carrier and took them outside for a few minutes, which got them cool pretty quickly. (Outside temp was 53) I read everything on this page http://www.chincare.com/ which I both hate and love (is it 1998 with your right click thing? Jesus.) What would you recommend for cleaning their water bottle or the floor in the bathroom? I know they have sensitive little bellies and respiratory systems. I think I might be a little neurotic but I want to make sure they have a good home  . I don't think they've had everything they need in the past. They were left in a barn with a heater. I do know they seem love it when I move anything in their cage. They freak out for about 15 minutes checking every little thing .And if there are any Portland area Oregoons here with chinchillas a good vet would be great! The one near us has dealt with small animals before. I don't know how they do with exotics though. Any advice? SmellsOfFriendship fucked around with this message at 22:34 on Oct 31, 2011 |
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Oct 31, 2011 22:24
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| # ? May 17, 2024 00:15 |
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I found some piggy pictures! Mo when we just got her.  And this is her now.  I haven't gotten her a new buddy yet, still making sure my little Mo is fine. She's getting a TON of loving and attention though!
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Nov 3, 2011 06:26
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