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Serella posted:Interesting guinea pig story to share here, if sad. My parents recently had to put down their 5-6 y.o. guinea pig because he had cancer. Poor folks, they've had an obscene amount of pets with cancers and crazy things like gout/renal failure. In any case, what makes this so odd is that the male pig apparently had BREAST CANCER. Poor lil guy. Not actually all that odd in rodents in general. Females tend to be more likely to get them but I've taken a lot of mammary tumors off of male foster pigs. Generally mammary cancer in guinea pigs is benign and/or well contained so it's pretty treatable as a general rule.
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Jan 28, 2011 02:22
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I foster small animals and I can give you a list of calamities as well: - I've had multiple pigs randomly decide one day to jump out of the cage. The last one had fostered with me for nearly a year. The one before that leapt into his neighbor's cage and got the ever loving crap kicked out of him. - Each of my cages has two water bottles; I've had pigs jam one and break the spout off the other (flooding the cage). - Pig with head in hay rack choking to death (my husband heard her rasping at 3am). - Dumb pig managed to wedge pigloo into the corner and block all food - Various issues of pigs down with stasis, bite wounds, UTIs, etc, at the last minute.
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Feb 7, 2011 19:16
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Nereid posted:This is cute but I avoid lettuce as a snack all together because of the risk of wet tail. There's not actually a lettuce that will give a hamster wet tail. Wet tail is an infection that often presents most commonly as diarrhea. Eating tons of veggies can cause diarrhea, but typically it'll resolve on it's own without antibiotics (unlike wet tail).
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Mar 24, 2011 04:12
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Bastard Tetris posted:Is there any specific reason to not feed my pigs wheatgrass? We get it absurdly cheap and the pigs love to sit on the flats and chew tunnels. Nope, they'll love it. Like all green stuff, overdoing it can lead them to have very loose stool but if you build up to larger amounts gradually you shouldn't have any issues.
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Apr 4, 2011 14:14
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Crackerman posted:How dilute can I make this powder so that it still works? How likely is it that he can smell something coming from the direction of the water bottle that he doesn't like? As it is now the water is a quarter full and fairly cloudy - the vet advised me to only fill it so he's likely to drain it in less than a day. What exactly is the stuff that you're putting into the water?
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Apr 5, 2011 04:43
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cat with hands posted:EDIT: Is there no way you can get healthy pig-poo? Even if you don't know anyone I don't think a store or zoo would mind you taking a fecal pellet or two. Yeah but pet store pigs come right out of mills and infecting an already sick pig with giardia or coccidia might be the nail that does them in. 
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Apr 5, 2011 23:21
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Basketofpancakes posted:
So, there are several things going on here. 1) not eating is sometimes a sign of tooth problems. Its also sometimes a sign of cancer, infection, injury, stasis, ear infections, eye infections, abscess, well.... You see where I'm going with this. Your vet checked for one thing (visually) which doesnt even really rule out the tooth problems since the roots can overgrow and they can't be seen without an x-ray. You need to find a vet that will do a more aggressive diagnostic. 2) to handfeed a guinea pig you've got to literally force it into their mouth. Very few sick pigs will eat willingly. It doesn't matter how sick or how minorly sick they are. http://www.guinealynx.info/handfeeding.html That page has a guide to hand feeding. Skip the peanut butter, even if he eats it it can make him worse in the long run by putting him further into stasis. His primary problem at this point is how long this has gone on. Even if his problem is minor and easily treated, it becomes a possibility that he may end up dying essentially from starvation.
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Apr 9, 2011 16:04
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Nereid posted:Honestly, you can try to rescue a hamster or get one from a breeder, but the problem with those is that they're more likely to have issues. Like not wanting to be touched or biting problems (or oddly, fear of being picked up, but Rocky was a weird bird.) Even if you rescue, the hamster is probably raised in mills and the females could be pregnant because of incorrect sexing (although how you could do that with giant hamster balls is beyond me) but they're generally healthy and more friendly at pet stores. It's really very area dependent. Here in NC, the shelters get a metric fuckton of hamsters because they were bought from pet stores, missexed. One of the shelters we cover got about 80 hamsters last year, 60+ of which were either too young to separate from mom or born at the shelter and handled daily by the staff. Most of them got euthanized too, because nobody will adopt a hamster from the shelter, because, yanno, they all "have issues" (like shelters dogs, amirite?) Pet stores hamsters are, in my experience, equally likely to have ~*~issues~*~, be pregnant, and/or be sick, because they also come from mills but don't have the benefit of having been in a home environment, ever.
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Apr 27, 2011 13:21
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What you describe is pretty consistent, typically whenever I do an introduction the pigs spend 20-30 minutes basically palling around on the ground before somebody decides that maybe this isn't just a casual social get together and then the fur yanking and teeth chattering start. I don't think the carrier did anything but give them the reason to start the poo poo. Commit yourself to a day of pig humping, let them loose together in a kitchen or bathroom (just somewhere big and neutral) and step back unless someone starts bleeding. They'll hump their way to harmony or a bar fight.
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May 2, 2011 16:05
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HappyKitty posted:My fiancée and I just got two degus (Jacob and Wilhelm). I know that they tend to nibble on your fingers, but Jacob especially takes it too far. He starts off with light nibbles, but then starts to nibble harder and harder. He's drawn blood from my fiancée's roommate. Is that something that can be discouraged? When he starts nibbling, move your fingers? 
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May 9, 2011 19:34
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Cassiope posted:We just got a guinea pig at work today! We have animals we keep for education purposes (three snakes, a bearded dragon, and a salamander) and my boss had been on the lookout for a guinea pig. I'm not sure if we will actually have her in any programs though, it doesn't seem to be a piggie kind of thing. That makes me sad, it never fails that places will get "educational" animals and then basically proceed to educate people on how to keep them the worst ways possible. If at all possible, an open cage, even a small one, is going to be better than an aquarium. Aquariums restrict airflow and will cause more short-term health problems like respiratory infections and liver damage. (Tiny cages will cause long term issues as well, but at least we can get him out of the worst of danger). I don't think the cage liners are necessarily bad, but they may end up eating them. I'm not familiar with the product but I'm thinking it's just a plastic sheeting? ideally if you could get her into a cage meeting even the bare minimum and give her a friend she'll be a lot better off and you'll actually be educating people about treating small animals humanely rather than picking them up as "filler" pets because there's a spare aquarium.
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Jun 8, 2011 19:36
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Bean posted:She's had them a while, maybe a year. I don't know for sure, but I think she did get them from a pet store. She thought they were all dudes. I don't know how old they are. (Evidently old enough to reproduce!) Mom is probably already knocked up, they'll generally try to remount pretty much as soon as the baby falls out. Pigs are jerks.
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Jun 20, 2011 00:11
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Serella posted:Seriously, that's one of the most basic things about guinea pigs. Even *some* hay would be better than none. I know shelters don't specialize in small animals, but they can't just Google it real fast? Food sources observed in shelters for guinea pigs/rabbits: cat food dog food bird seed rat food rotting vegetables straw (as in, landscaping straw) dog biscuits nothing terrible guinea pig pellets Meanwhile animals like rats that could eat cat or dog food short term until they could get something better, they will feed alfalfa blocks, hay, and guinea pig pellets. It's the damndest thing.
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Jul 10, 2011 20:01
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We had a similar WTF moment with a shelter down here doing rabbit spays and neuters. They killed a female rabbit and then gave me two male rabbits bleeding and half neutered (yep, each one had a testicle left.) They continued to insist their vet was rabbit savvy and refused to let me pay out of pocket to have our vet train their vet.
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Jul 10, 2011 21:45
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Sirotan posted:So squeaking while peeing, that could totally be a sign of something other than another bladder stone in a 6yo pig who just had bladder stone surgery 2 months ago right? Right? FWIW, I had a 3 year old have a hellacious stone removed and then like 2 years later was crying while peeing due to a UTI coupled with surgical adhesions. It could happen!
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Jul 21, 2011 15:01
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Sirotan posted:Yeah she struggled quite a bit so I think to do them I would need another person to help me, which could get complicated (I live alone). That and I'm just not sure the amount of stress it would put her under every other day would be worth it. She is getting pretty old. I haven't written it off as an option though. You'd definitely be able to do this. The way I do it is to stick the pig in a cuddle cup (with their head facing one of the "tall" walls and then kind of wrap it around them and leave their shoulders exposed. Then grab 'em and stab 'em.
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Jul 22, 2011 01:58
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I've seen pics from other rescues, but it seems to be mainly west coast rescues getting these things (thank God).
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Aug 5, 2011 21:24
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They're cute and usually also polydactyl, but they're bred for meat and not docility so they're wild as crap and terrified of everything.
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Aug 6, 2011 00:14
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Huge Liability posted:My current gerbils are the pickiest eaters I've ever had. I've tried giving them multiple kinds of pet store food mixes and they snub almost everything, picking out select seeds while almost entirely rejecting pellets, corn and fruit. I can't find a decent seed mix around here anyways, so I'm thinking of switching to rodent pellets with occasional seeds and fruit/veg. Is this a good idea? If so, how should I make the transition? They're not picky, they're fatties. The seeds are like the marshmallows in Lucky Charms. Generally a pellet of some sort or a block is a better idea since they can't only eat the awesome stuff!
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Aug 15, 2011 19:09
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Chin Strap posted:Awesome. I read on some message board people were saying occasional treat, but I think what they were meaning is that "grass is not a replacement for hay" which I know. It will only be a little amount every day. Honestly, if you could grow enough for it to replace hay, it likely could be a replacement, but the issue is twofold: 1.) you'll probably never be able to grow enough to provide it in the same quantities 2.) you'd have to gradually work them up to eating that much greenery or they'd basically founder/die from diarrhea. It's doable with work, (and arguably maybe better given the additional moisture and their proclivity towards stone formation), but probably not very practical for most folks.
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Sep 30, 2011 15:29
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Yeah that's pretty much every rabbit and guinea pig breeder who's set up I've ever seen. Actually a little cleaner than most. You know you can't have "giant" cages because they're too hard to clean. 
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Oct 9, 2011 02:54
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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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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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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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furushotakeru posted:Ha, that's why I generally let them run around in the bathroom or some other closed space that is more easily controlled. I had one pry open the toilet lid and jump into the toilet this way. (It was one of those lovely cheap ones, but still). Bastard.
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Jan 31, 2012 22:47
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Imaduck posted:When we called the vet today, she suggested maybe subcu fluids, but we discussed it with her and she said it'd be fine to just give him syringes of water throughout the day, in addition to the other stuff. Otherwise we'd have to keep dragging him back and fourth to the vet, which is a lot of stress (and money, which is unfortunately becoming an issue given the crazy amount we've already spent). She hasn't really pushed for the other meds yet, but she said we could discuss it again tomorrow. The vet should be able to show you how to drop a bag of fluid into him. It's not fun, but it's doable. When my guys aren't eating I generally do fluids 1-2x a day on my own.
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Feb 23, 2012 04:02
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Typically for gerbils, I've found split-tank intros to work best, and that generally takes several days to several weeks. I wouldn't just pop them in together. http://agsgerbils.org/Learn/Gerbil_Care_Handbook/adopt.php
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Jun 2, 2012 17:55
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Nobody is claiming that if you feed your chin fruit every day they're going to catch on fire and then explode. But overall, the guidelines have changed, and it's not really recommended. Plenty of animals live long and healthy lives if you're not going exactly by the most up to date guidelines, and I think everyone here is guilty of spoiling their pets with foods that aren't ideal now and then. But really "I have a chinchilla and it isn't dead yet from what I'm doing" isn't really saying anything other than you have a live chinchilla. I have a six year old foster chin that ate ferret food for three years and didn't die.
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Jun 19, 2012 17:46
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Serella posted:
God only knows. Probably because it was lovely ferret food that was all grainy and useless for ferrets. People are retards. I also got a chin in that was kept in a CAGE with a ferret and was somehow alive and not eaten.
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Jun 19, 2012 21:46
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How.
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Even though he's neutered, he's still trying to scent mark. Intact males rub disgusting smells on everything with their asses. Once you neuter them, the smell goes down significantly, but they still want to be all manly and cover stuff with stink. They're gross because they're roaming herd animals. Like cattle and horses, they don't make nests, so there's no reason for them to devote any brain power to things like toilet hygiene.
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Sep 18, 2012 12:54
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Russian Dollies posted:So I joined the ranks of guinea pig ownership this weekend. Found a bonded pair on Craigslist. The ad was basically along the lines of, "come get these before I give them away for snake food." Now I have two male piggers. I was told they are 3.5, but who knows how accurate that is. Did the original guy mention if the pig had always just had one tooth (probably didn't notice, I guess). There's a slight chance that his tooth may have just recently broken off and will grow back. (Especially given that they likely have mild scurvy from their poo poo diet). Genetically happening, it isn't THAT common, but I've seen it a couple of times. Oftentimes they can lose them permanently due to blunt trauma (like being dropped), and that seems much more common. Thanks for saving these guys. 
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Oct 8, 2012 17:26
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Russian Dollies posted:Yeah, he is all white. After looking at that link, I'd say the definition fits him well. Poor thing must be a fairly hardy lethal since I doubt he'd seen a vet before today. He's eating pretty well since his tooth was fixed up this morning, but I'll have to keep a closer eye on his intake. When weighed in this morning he was about half the size of his cage mate. Didn't think too much of it until now. :/ It's not unheard of, I pulled one out of a shelter in VA that was 3-4 years old, completely blind, deaf, jacked up teeth, the works. She was fat and sassy until she died a couple of years later and generally seemed pretty happy. (Also was louder than a airhorn because she couldn't hear herself wheek -- you could seriously hear her outside the house).
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Oct 8, 2012 21:19
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I'll have to dig around and see if I can find the link, but there is a company that will make custom metal pans for Ferret Nations. They're not ultra cheap (like $25/each, I think?) but maybe worth the money if your twerps are eating them.
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Oct 11, 2012 21:52
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Saint Darwin posted:So I applied to be considered to adopt a pair of pigs, and they said it's a 2 month process at least. The literal gently caress? If they want to come do an inspection and talk to me about my previous pigs, that's fine, but what can they possibly be doing that takes that long? It's taken us upwards of 2 months to process applications before, mostly because we're tiny and can only do 2-3 adoptions a weekend (less than that if they're far away). If we get 10 people that want to adopt, and they want to buy cages (and so I consequently have to build for them), and I have to drive pigs out to them or arrange transports, it can be time consuming. With us it's less that YOUR actual process takes 2 months, and more that we have 2-3 people conducting adoptions and cover a big area. They may also be prepping you for a worst case scenario. They're the rescue that fixes all their pigs, right? That might build in the post-surgery recovery if you pick a pair that haven't already been snipped.
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Oct 14, 2012 21:56
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In my mind, chinchillas are basically what happens if you get a ferret and a rabbit to mate. Perpetual energy and ability to deconstruct things combined with more jumping ability and sense of pride which resists cuddling. (That said they are cute as hell and I loved fostering them. Watching them eat hay one piece at a time in their tiny hands is adorable.)
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Oct 22, 2012 14:08
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Saint Darwin posted:I think this place is actively trying to dissuade me from adopting the drat pigs that I want, and by that I mean this place is actively trying to dissuade me to the point of saying "you can't have these two" I can kind of see why they'd bring it up, because pigs are normally fairly easy to groom (being lazy potatoes), but if they, as experienced fosters, think it's hard to do, he may be a nightmare to deal with. It's a kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Mention it: They're dissauding me from the pigs I want, this is so hard, they must not want people to adopt pigs. Don't mention it: This pig is impossible to groom and he's gross. That's what I get for getting rescue animals, they're all broken, difficult, blah blah, they lied to me.
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Nov 6, 2012 17:21
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It also sounds from the description like they may be ultra skittish given their background. I had some nearly ferals like that that just absolutely sucked. They'd thrash the entire time you held them and were incredibly easy to drop. I lived in fear I'd break one of their dumb legs.
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Nov 7, 2012 02:32
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Guinea pigs don't really chew like rats or hamsters. Mine have always vastly preferred noshing out on the hay and have never really paid attention to any chews.
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Dec 9, 2012 00:05
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alucinor posted:Yeah she looks like she has roaning on her butt. Get them all to a pig savvy vet who can determine if they're lethals. If they are, the extent of their disability may force you to decide if you want to care for special needs pigs for 3-5 years, or just euthanize them now. Ditto this. Guinea pigs aren't terribly devoted mothers, in general. The pups can eat solid food as soon as they're born, and they don't tend to coddle and nuzzle and snuggle with them as much as you'd see from species like rats and such. In general, they tend to just wander off and assume the babies are following them. Do you have a small flashlight? Shine it at the babies' eyes to try and get a reflection. Pigs that are blind will reflect silver instead of red.
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Dec 30, 2012 19:19
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Superconsndar posted:This. If hamster ladies are anywhere near as insane and retarded as ratladies, I dunno why anyone would bother. I don't know that there are really that many hamster ladies, but from experience the big shelters here have hamsters all the time because of retarded Petcos and Petsmarts selling pregnant hamsters. They almost never get adopted, and then they're euthanized en masse. Hell, when San Fran was going to ban all pet sales a couple of years ago, it emerged that the most euthanized animal was... hamsters. Nobody wants 'em, there's no big hamster rescue movement. They just hang out until they're dead.
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Jan 1, 2013 22:08
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