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Last week, our beloved guinea pig Humphrey died   He was only 2, but the vet - a guinea pig specialist - said he had some rare dental disease that she'd only seen one pig out of many survive. The vet did her best, but there wasn't much that could be done I suppose. Our other pig, Jasper, is all alone now, and seems fairly upset. He doesn't like to be handled as much, and if he ever gets near anything that smells like Humphrey (old blankets, etc.) he'll run towards it and tear it apart, looking for him . Since he's so young, I'd like to get him another companion.I've read through this extensive and useful guide, but I'd also like to hear about other's experiences adding a new companion after another passes on. How long should I wait, how has it worked out, any additional tips, etc. would be helpful. EDIT: Also, what do most folks feel about adopting a pair of females (the previous owner had Jasper neutered already)? I was thinking about adopting just one, but there's a really cute pair up for adoption at the local shelter. I'm just wondering if it might be a bit of an overload for poor Jasper, or reduce the chances of everyone getting along or whatever. EDIT2: Well, upon further inspection and a little research, it appears that Jasper is not neutered after all. It looks like we'll be looking for a male companion. Imaduck fucked around with this message at 19:07 on Jan 31, 2010 |
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Jan 31, 2010 17:48
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 05:44 |
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Humphrey avoided oranges like the plague when I first put them in his cage. I kept trying, putting a slice in every day for a few weeks. One day, he finally got the courage to try it, then BAM, it was his new favorite food. He would squeak and squeak all morning until you brought him his orange. So yeah, don't give up! I've also read that having a companion helps, as food competition makes one pig want to try everything the other one is eating.
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Feb 2, 2010 22:45
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So we ended up adopting this incredibly cute guy, Milo:  He was just at the vet, and everything checked out okay (no mites or anything like that) so we went ahead and introduced him to Jasper. It did not go too smoothly - Milo quickly established himself as the dominant one through nibbling and, uh, "playing leap frog." Jasper was thoroughly freaked out, and wouldn't even eat any carrots for the rest of the night . Oh well, we have them in separate cages right now, and might try to introduce them again in a day or so.
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Feb 4, 2010 22:28
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^ Is it best to do it in a number of "sessions" or just kind of, let them keep going for hours and then plop them back in the same cage together and hope it works out?
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Feb 4, 2010 23:17
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kazmeyer posted:First and foremost, don't just plop one in the other's cage or you will have a fight, guaranteed. All introductions should be on neutral ground, and the longer you leave them together, the better. Before you put them in to cohabitate for real, clean the cage and then clean it again, rearrange all the furniture, make it as different as possible so the home-team pig won't really see it as his inviolable turf anymore.  . I just wanted to know how long I should let the one push around the other one in the neutral space until I say "okay, that's enough" and separate them again. We let them go for about 10 minutes, and basically Milo was still at it harassing Jasper, and Jasper was just really really upset and freaked out .Anyway, we're going to try the cologne trick tonight and see what happens...
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Feb 5, 2010 04:02
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Well, it did not go too well. We washed both of them, and put a bit of cologne on each of them. Then, we placed them both on opposite ends of the bed. They chattered their teeth at each other for about 10 minutes, chased around each other's butts, then launched into full-fledged attack mode. We tossed a towel on them and separated them, but not before Milo got a little cut on his lip and Jasper got a cut near his mouth . We really both pigs, and would love for them to get along, but I'm not too sure what else to try. The Cavyspirit guide suggests maybe giving them a bath at the same time and see what happens, so we may try that. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Feb 5, 2010 07:12
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We tried the bath trick with Milo and Jasper today; we gave them each a bath, then plopped them down near each other, still wet. We then kinda nudged them near each other but still kept them on opposite sides of the room, and then tried to distract them with some food. They were distracted for a bit, but pretty soon Milo noticed Jasper and started running at him. They got close and started teeth chattering like crazy. I was more prepared this time, and as soon as Milo lunged for Jasper, I dropped my hand quickly before they could make contact. It was a good thing I was wearing a thick glove, because in his guinea rage Milo took a bite at my hand pretty hard. We really like Milo and would love for these piggies to get along... is there any hope at this point or is it time to move on? I suppose next we may try to adopt a young male guinea pig and see if Jasper takes to him a bit better. I've heard the age difference can be helpful in these situations. I'm also considering getting him neutered so we can get him a female friend, but I'm pretty reluctant to do so.
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Feb 15, 2010 03:05
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kazmeyer posted:Have you seen what they do if they can see each other but not get at each other? Put them on either side of a divider, perhaps, and see if they settle down, show interest, or try to kamikaze through the bars. How many introductions have you tried, and how much time have they spent in each other's presence? I don't think you're SOL just yet, but the fact that they keep going at each other is kind of worrisome.
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Feb 15, 2010 04:25
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Slight update on the Milo / Jasper introductions: We put there cages next to each other last week. We also switched their pigloos and other things back and forth between the cages throughout the week so they'd get used to each other's smells. Now when we pick them up and they see the other's cage, they don't start getting to feisty. Last night we took them to the living room and placed them near each other. They didn't immediately run at one another and start fighting, so that was an improvement. We were able to distract them with food as well, which we weren't able to do before, so that's good. Eventually, when they got close enough, they started chattering at each other nonstop. I went ahead and got a little water spray bottle and sprayed them when they started chattering, which seemed to work in that they instantly became more mad at the bottle than at the other pig. They still seem a bit aggressive towards each other, and after what happened the first time, I'm trying to be pretty cautious. I figure hostilities may improve after a few more sessions like this, so we'll see what happens.
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Feb 22, 2010 19:37
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Amorphous Blob posted:It's a big cage, but it's not gigantic. I'll have to measure it later. And I should probably adopt, right? What should I ask them about the pig? I know mite checking is important, but not much else aside from making sure it's a male like my current pig. Adopting is the best option for sure. Not only does it lower the risk of mis-sexing and/or getting a pregnant or sick animal, but it also keeps you from supporting the pretty terrible pet store system in the US. That being said, you still should be super cautious when getting a new pig; quarantine it for several weeks, if possible (this will require multiple cages), and never introduce two pigs until you're absolutely sure of their genders ( http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm ). The introduction process can be tricky. Read through these guides: http://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm http://www.guinealynx.info/records/viewtopic.php?t=37 It's important that you try and pick a friend for your piggy that will have the best chance of getting along with him/her. If it's a female, get another female. If it's a neutered male, get a female. If he's not neutered and he's an adult, consider getting a baby male. This is a very important thing to do for your pig, so best of luck! Post here some more with any updates or questions.
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May 23, 2010 04:47
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We adopted a new baby piggy yesterday (more pictures forthcoming). One thing that concerns me is a small bald patch he has right on the top of his head. The person we got the pig from said that he'd had this since birth (he's currently 6 weeks old), although she didn't seem like the most observant person in the world so I wouldn't take it for granted. The patch is right on the top of his head and is maybe a few millimeters wide and about a centimeter long. The person we got it from suggested that was just where his hair is growing from, which is possible, but it seems bigger than I've seen on other pigs. He doesn't seem to be missing hair anywhere else, and I haven't seen him scratching or anything like that, so is it possible that this is just natural? We're quarantining him from the other pigs for now, just to be safe (hopefully it's not mites). We also noticed what appears to be a small scar on his face, so we figure it's possible he may have been involved with some scuffles with his cage-mates. Anyway, any insight on this would be helpful.
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Jun 7, 2010 21:03
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killerwhat posted:Well, the reason our hamster wasn't coming out of her nest became clear. She was seriously ill, and we didn't realise. . But seriously, you did everything possible and then some. Very few hamster owners would be vigilant enough to catch any of this, let alone go through the great lengths to make Pipistrelle better. You did a great job.
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Jun 12, 2010 05:22
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My landlord just told me she wants a $350 pet deposit for our pair of guinea pigs when we renew our lease. This sounds absolutely insane to me - when I've mentioned caged pets to previous landlords, they've always just shrugged and said "we just care about cats and dogs." Since our lease is up, I suppose they can do whatever they want, but I was just wondering what other folks' experience has been with pet deposits on caged animals. I'm also trying to figure out how the hell a couple of guinea pigs in a cage are going to cause $350 worth of damages.
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Jun 16, 2010 22:27
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Yeah, I can understand getting a chin from a shop if there are literally no other options... maybe, but it's just this mentality:Aquatic Giraffe posted:The way I see it is that the little guy was still going to be for sale in the store no matter what. Might as well have him go to a home where he'll be taken care of properly instead of continuing to live in a tiny cage in a store by himself or be adopted by people who have no clue what they're doing.  . Like, how do people think stores work? Do people understand why there are mills in the first place? They're there because the stores make money. The stores make money by pumping out and selling pets. If you keep giving them money, they will keep pumping out pets. If they are no longer getting money, they will no longer have any reason to keep pumping out pets. Your purchase of one chin equals an additional chin that they'll have to bring into the world to replace it. And if crappy pet owners would adopt him, they'll just-as-likely adopt the next chin that the store pumps out as well.Yes, you can then make the "drop in the bucket argument." Mind you, that argument is the same reason half of America doesn't vote. Imaduck fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jun 23, 2010 |
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Jun 23, 2010 20:23
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Merope posted:However, I've moved to a smaller place, and if I get a pet its cage will be in the same room where I sleep and spend most of my time. The water bottle and and just running around the cage, however, would be incredibly annoying to have in your room. I've had to move them in my room for a night or two once or twice, and it's definitely impeded my sleeping. It's fine if they're one room over, but unless you're a very heavy sleeper, it's probably going to bother you. Also, as the other poster said, the hay can definitely be a nuisance. The cages are also kinda big and typically have open tops, so you don't want to trip over them at night. They're amazing pets, and yes, you're much less likely to lose them if they run around the house. Just find a better spot for the cage, if you can.
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Jan 19, 2011 18:17
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On Habitrail: I owned a bunch of gerbils as a kid, and I hated all of the plastic cages. They figured out how to chew out of every single one of them. Plastic tubes were terrible too. For awhile we tried to do things like reinforce all the little edges they could get out in with various materials, and weigh down any vertical facing doors (since the latches always broke). In the end, we finally went to aquariums and they ended up being infinitely better - both for us and the gerbils. YMMV, but I'd say don't even bother with the plastic cases, unless you like digging through every nook and cranny of your house, trying to find your little friends before they wedge themselves into somewhere unsafe .
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Jan 31, 2011 06:11
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One of our piggies is sick . He's about 3 years old, and we noticed he was losing weight (2.5 lbs to 2 lbs in about 2.5 weeks). We noticed he was eating a bit, but only nibbling. We took him to the vet, and they said that his teeth are overgrown and are making it hard to eat. They need to grind them down. They also said since he hasn't been eating much, he probably has GI issues, and we need to hand feed him with a syringe for a bit with the critical care food. She also gave us some painkillers to give him (Metacam), and a $350 bill. Since we started giving the painkillers and hand feeding him, he's only seemed to get weaker and more out of it. He moves very slowly, has a hard time pushing things around, and seems to have a bit of a hard time seeing or making his way through the cage. Sometimes he just sits in one place outside of his pigloo and stares. He's started pooping again, which is good, although it's pretty watery. I hope the little guy is just getting adjusted to eating again, but he really doesn't seem happy at all. The vet is closed today, so I guess we'll just have to call back and give an update on Monday and see what the vet says from there.
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Feb 19, 2012 18:04
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The prescribed 2.5cc of Metacam twice a day. No other drugs, just vitamin C stuff and the Critical Care food. He's definitely peeing and pooping, as we see him do it a lot when we take him out to feed him. In his cage though he sits in one place and just kinda twitches every few seconds, which doesn't look good and my best guess is some sort of stomach pains or something since he's not used to eating so much. His stool is watery and he's not really happy to eat the food. He fights us when he tries to feed him, and the vet recommended 60cc of the critical care stuff a day. We're just trying to make it through and feed him every few hours.
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Feb 19, 2012 18:35
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Ack, no, I double checked. My wife said 25 cc but she meant .25, which I double checked on the bottle and the syringe, so we're all good there. Thanks for picking up on that - I've had vets prescribe the wrong amounts of medications before, to not-so-good ends.
Imaduck fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Feb 19, 2012 |
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Feb 19, 2012 18:53
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Thanks! Yeah, after my post yesterday, Jasper started being a bit more lively, but it was pretty clear he was having jaw pain. He kept biting onto the side of the cage and just holding his jaw there to fight the pain, I think. Otherwise he was moving around alright, and pretty effectively running away from us when we tried to feed him. We're taking him to a different vet today since the one we saw on Friday said they couldn't trim his teeth until at least Wednesday (plus they're known for charging way the hell too much for visits). We contacted another vet who specializes in exotics and said she has done teeth trimmings many times on guinea pigs. I'm not sure which teeth were overgrown, but I do know that the new vet mentioned taking a look at both the molars and the incisors and trimming both if necessary, so she seems to know what she's talking about. Thanks for the feeding advice! I guess I've been told previously that pellets aren't really necessary anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem taking them off of those. He already likes bell peppers, so that's good. Any other foods you recommend? In your experience, how often do they need to go back to the vet for future trimmings? Is there an easy way to tell when their teeth are getting bad again?
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Feb 20, 2012 18:21
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Thanks again. I talked to my wife and she said the vet said his teeth were bad enough that they were restricting is swallowing, so definitely a bad issue. We'll have to get a better scale, because the error on the food scale we use is large enough that there's no way we'd notice a 10 g drop. They should be trimming him right now, so hopefully it all goes well. Can we expect to see him get back to eating immediately, or will it take him a bit to get over some of the pain and adjust?
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Feb 20, 2012 20:42
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The vet said that the molars were the main problem, and the incisors only needed a slight trimming. The molars were apparently bad enough to prevent him from swallowing. She also feared he might have a respiratory infection, and prescribed some antibiotics. They did the trimming, and she said that Jasper should wake up and start eating pretty soon afterwards. Well, he's woken up, but he still doesn't seem to want to eat. He tried chewing on some lettuce and an orange, but he acts like his jaw is still pretty sore. We tried feeding him some of the critical care manually, and he hated it and spit a lot of it out, so I'm not sure if it's worth it to try and keep forcing it on him, or just wait and see if the soreness wears down and he starts eating again. I'm also worried he's not drinking enough. The hydrated him at the office, but he's not really using his water bottle (we saw him once or twice). I guess the plan is to see how he does overnight, call the vet in the morning, and hope he starts eating again .
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Feb 21, 2012 04:27
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This morning Jasper is looking a bit better. Previously, his eyes had been a bit droopy and he was breathing more slowly / harder than he normally would have, presumably from the respiratory infection. Today his eyes look better and he's breathing at a normal rate, so that's a good sign. He's also trying to nibble at some soft fruits and hay, although he's having a bit of a hard time with it. We called the vet and she said he probably was still sore and to keep supplementing with the critical care. I still worry about the syringe feeding, as he really just seems to pack it all into his cheeks and spit it out, so it's hard to say if any of it is getting swallowed. He poops occasionally, but not as often as he should be. I guess all we can do is keep trying.
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Feb 21, 2012 18:30
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Well, it's been a not-so-good day. Jasper wasn't eating or pooping, so my wife took him back to the vet. After looking at him for a bit, it was clear that he was bloated, and the vet also feared intestinal torsion. She took some X-rays, and sure enough, he was very bloated and his organs were a bit twisted and in disarray, making it impossible for digestion. She said she could try to relieve some of the pressure by inserting a tube down his throat, or go nuclear and cut him open and try and fix things in a very invasive, expensive, and risky operation. We went with the tube, and she was able get rid of some of the gas. She said she really couldn't be sure if the torsion would be able to work itself out. We brought him home, and after an hour we fed him and gave him a tummy massage as prescribed by the doctor. Almost immediately after that, there was a poop, followed by a couple more a few minutes later. It's been a few hours now however, and nothing since the first few. We're gonna keep feeding him and massaging and hope for the best, but at this point we're not very optimistic .
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Feb 22, 2012 04:51
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This morning there are still no poops .alucinor posted:How's his hydration levels? Did you discuss subcu fluids with the vet? What about simethecone for the gas? Is he still on reglan for motility? quote:Does he show ANY interest in food? Can you try offering some fresh grass or wheatgrass? What was his reaction to fragrant herbs? One of my vets swears by dill which I forgot to mention. This is when alfalfa may work, too. quote:I've also had resistant cases of stasis where the critical care seemed to be causing gas and I had to alternate with ground pellets. I got a $10 coffee grinder at the supermarket and after grinding mix it just like CC. It's a lot harder to push through the syringe so it has to be made more watery.
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Feb 22, 2012 16:28
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alucinor posted:If you want to go balls to the wall I'd recommend offering a more aggressive variety of foods including babyfood mashed carrots, applesauce, canned pumpkin, and all the fragrant herbs you can put your hands on (cilantro, dill, parsley, fennel, and basil at a minimum), because you never know what's going to make the difference. Also, are you feeding every 4 hours including in the middle of the night? They are most active/hungry around dawn and dusk so I think those nighttime feedings are crucial. quote:I'd also strongly recommend discussing subcu fluids, simethicone, and relgan with the vet. But if she doesn't feel those are warranted there's not much more you can do than you already are. quote:I posted a handfeeding guide many moons ago (clicky) which gives instructions that go along with Sirotan's point - you don't want to squirt in a mouthful each time. The syringe should be delivered in many tiny, tiny mouthfuls - a 10mL feeding can take up to half an hour by my method, but it gets almost the whole amount into the animal's stomach. quote:Here's hoping for the best. I had one little guy pull out of nearly 2 weeks of stasis and go on to live another 5 years so it's not hopeless yet.
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Feb 23, 2012 01:26
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We had to put Jasper to sleep yesterday . When we went to feed him in the middle of the night, he had no strength, and couldn't even stand up. The vet said she thinks the intestinal torsion just never worked itself out, so he couldn't process any food or swallow or anything. Jasper was a great pig. He loved just sitting on the couch with me and watching TV. He had great soft fur that went in every direction. He was a cute bossy pig who loved just hanging out. Thanks for your guys' help. I was glad we at least gave him the best chance we could. He'll be greatly missed.  
Imaduck fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Feb 24, 2012 |
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Feb 24, 2012 23:49
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Now that Jasper passed on, we consolidated the two separate pigs into one cage. Luckily, they got along just fine with minimal fighting and seem to be enjoying each other's company. However, we've noticed after we moved the pigs in together, the pig who was living alone has been gradually losing weight, while the pig who was living with Jasper is now gaining weight. The pig who's losing weight was always a slow eater, and he never lived with another pig so he never had to compete for food. The other pig has definitely become the dominant one, so I'm not sure if the issue is he's just not eating fast enough, or if something else is wrong. He's eating and pooping and peeing and all that, and will eat food when we hand feed him, so it doesn't really seem like anything is wrong, but the weight loss (about 100 g in a month) is concerning. We're taking him to the vet tomorrow just to get checked out, but has anybody else had a similar experience, where one pig steals too much food from the other pig? Is it something to be majorly concerned about? Piggy in question: 
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Mar 29, 2012 22:45
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As an update, we took Milo to the vet last week and they said his teeth needed to be ground, and are doing it tomorrow. He's still eating some things, but he doesn't like to eat Carrots or other hard things right now. We noticed he was still losing a bit of weight, so we went ahead and started syringe feeding him, which appears to have helped him stabilize. It's just so scary since this just happened with our other pig to a not good end, but luckily, I think we caught it early enough this time.Bear Rape posted:Later today I'm buying a pen so they can run around on the balcony a bit. It's screened in and there's no way for them to get out of it normally, but I just want to be super-safe. . They're very sensitive to heat, so just be very careful!
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Apr 3, 2012 20:22
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PsychoMuffin posted:So due to an asthma flare up that left me hospitalized over the weekend we had to remove all possible allergens from the house, including the timothy hay. I can't even go near the hay at the moment, let alone have it in the house. Any suggestions for a substitute fruit or veg with lots of fiber?
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Apr 3, 2012 20:24
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Koivunen posted:I've never heard of stray guinea pigs before, especially one in the middle of the city in north Minnesota... I'm wondering if he escaped or if someone decided they didn't want him any more and put him out. quote:I've been looking around for lost guinea pig ads but haven't seen any. I'm nervous about putting out an ad in case someone claims it's theirs when it isn't just to get a free one. .
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Jun 28, 2012 15:25
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Hexacrodium posted:My girlfriend and I just bought a house and inherited (we think) 15 wild guinea pigs with it.
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Jun 28, 2012 20:21
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cat with hands posted:With a little more concern for the well-being of the pigs it actually sounds like a pretty awesome setup. I mean, I know there are cultures that just feed them table scraps and use them for food... but uncontrollably breeding and mistreating animals because you don't want to mow the lawn? Seriously?
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Jun 29, 2012 06:24
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