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spiralbrain posted:That looks like a scratch mark after a little fight perhaps? I know you mentioned its a bald spot, but my pigs used to get this too after a throwdown even if it was only for a couple seconds. Problem is that it started out a lot smaller and has grown a bit. The other two have similar but smaller spots, one on the stomach and one on the neck.
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Jan 28, 2011 02:09
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Sirotan posted:The thing I would definitely worry about the most is them going into gut stasis. Luckily it hasn't happened to my pigs in quite a while but every time I've ever had it happen on a pig it has come suddenly enough that if I had been gone for more than a day they would have surely died. (Even when I was there sometimes it was too late.) I am not trying to scare you, and yes the probability that nothing at all will happen if you just leave them enough food and water is probably pretty high, but if they were my pigs I would be sure to arrange for someone to come and check on them at least once a day. Webcam surveillance?
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Feb 8, 2011 00:17
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Having a bit of a problem here. I'm 99% sure that we have a case of mites in cage, on all three pigs. The problem is that the medication isn't available over the counter and the local vet refuses to prescribe it without first examining all three pigs and possibly charing for the injection or application as well. They are pretty much holding my pigs ransom for at least €240. Now what I might be able to do is get some kind of ivermectin or similar product from a bulk pack made for horses or livestock. How would I go about to safely apply this to the tiny furry cows in my cage?
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Feb 8, 2011 14:30
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alucinor posted:Kaz you REALLY have the best stories. I forgot to mention that the medications I've seen seem to have a higher concentration, can it be safely diluted for easier dosage?
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Feb 8, 2011 15:44
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I've been advised against it previously, but do pigs need extra salt in their diet in some circumstances? Winter season here is extremely dry with air humidity frequently below 20%. I've also noticed that the pigs seem really happy to lick my hands and fingers, and sometimes they snack on pee soaked newspaper despite having lots of fresh hay, greens, veggies, fruit and pellets. I know humans need more salt in this climate to stay hydrated, maybe the pigs do as well?
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Feb 24, 2011 14:07
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alucinor posted:No, because they don't lose salt to sweat like people do.  My pigs love to work up a sweat in their tiny gym! No but seriously, there's still some in the urine, right? cat with hands fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Feb 25, 2011 |
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Feb 25, 2011 01:47
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Sirotan posted:One of my pigs will eat the coroplast their cage is made of even if there is a pile of nice fresh hay 6" away. It doesn't mean they like the taste, it means they're kinda dumb and will chew on everything. Indeed, but it's a new behavior (specially the licking hands part) I haven't noticed before. Thought I would ask just to make sure.
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Feb 25, 2011 11:53
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alucinor posted:Young pigs need more calories, as provided by pellets, than older pigs. My pigs have stopped eating pellets all by themselves as they get older. During this winer I still kept a small bowl in the cage cause it's a bit colder inside than it should be. It lasts more than a week between refills.
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Mar 30, 2011 07:13
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Glasgow posted:Things to hide in/crawl through/rip open and pull treats out of. Anything that jingles is just going to scare them. Kind of shopping for cats isn't it? Paper bags, cardboard boxes, things to explore (and find food in) and stuff to push around. My boars love to push things around with their trunks.
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Mar 31, 2011 22:52
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Crackerman posted:It's called Bio-Lapis, it's to help the bacteria in his stomach. I tried putting some of the water with the powder in it on my finger for him to smell and he literally recoiled before running and hiding, so clearly he's not a fine. I've noticed some mild diarrhoea today and he's doing a lot of sitting in the corner. I'm sure someone better will pop in and answer you shortly. My advice for the time being is feeding him some cucumbers or other fresh greens or vegetables with lots of water in it. EDIT: I'm very skeptical against giving him anything that goes into the water bottle. I know my pigs will not willingly touch something they consider contaminated. cat with hands fucked around with this message at 14:04 on Apr 5, 2011 |
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Apr 5, 2011 14:01
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Crackerman posted:
If he's temporarily ignoring the bottle it might help to put water in a bowl instead. Or maybe trick him by adding a low concentration of tomato or rose hip juice (without extra salt and sugar) to the bottle. 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. cat with hands fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 5, 2011 |
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Apr 5, 2011 22:03
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Unsweetened Rose hip juice should still be ok, right? Very little carbs in that. On a lighter side.. Cute: Pig is taking a nap on your chest while you're reading a book. Less Cute: Same pig suddenly snacks on a fecal pellet 4 inches from your nose.
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Apr 6, 2011 16:06
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Diogines posted:Any tips to tell if my guinea pig is happy, tolerating something, or too terrified to even cry out? My guinea pigs never really like "lap" top, so I tried the burrito roll some have suggested. They SEEM calm, but I can't really judge. When I put her back in her enclosure and unwrapped the towel she RAN, seemingly panicking for a moment. A tense guinea pig put a lot of weight on the tip of the paws, ready to scramble. Try making the roll again but make it thin in the bottom so you can feel if your pigs feet. It might take several minutes but the feeling when the pig relaxes and puts more weight on the lags and belly is very distinct.
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May 13, 2011 08:06
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How close to the pad can you snip a spur or foot growth on an pig without risking bleeding and infection?
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May 21, 2011 10:07
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I suspect my pigs have broken the laws of thermodynamics. What happened to all that food I put in your cage while I was at work?! Half a grocery bag of fresh timothy with a bit of clover, dandelion and bell peppers.
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May 22, 2011 00:40
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I've noticed that when the pigs get a lot of fresh greens the poop come out looking normal but quickly deflates and shrivels. They don't seem to have any trouble passing it but I've switched to mixing regular hay and fresh grass just in case which made things normal again. The hay and fresh grass have roughly the same make up, mostly timothy with a dash of dandelion, blue grass and burdock. I suppose it could just be the early spring grass being more moist with less long fibers compared to the later crops?
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May 24, 2011 11:35
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alucinor posted:It's the moisture content of the fresh grass, which is lost during the haymaking process. Immature/young grasses also have less dry matter weight and more moisture weight than harvest-ready uncut grass, but the long fiber content should be nearly the same. Can it be harmful? I haven't had these problems previous years, but then I started to give the fresh stuff later during the summer. I know that in the winter when humidity creeps into single digits I have to give them extra wet foods like cucumber, otherwise the poopsicles come out dry and brittle. Probably painful to pass as well.
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May 25, 2011 00:35
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[quote="Sirotan"] Tonight Fuji was popcorning around in her little cage. She's probably happier being confined in there alone versus living with her two nutcase cage mates. Glad to hear shes ok. I'm beginning to suspect that most pigs doesn't really give a gently caress about their pack mates, they just get stressed out if there's no one else around to get eaten first when the big scary condor sweeps out of the sky.
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Jun 6, 2011 08:31
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I think I just found a secret pig "off" button. This morning I lightly poked one of them in the shoulder and he just made a grunt, rolled over on his side with his legs out and eyes rolled back. Then he went to sleep. Attempts to replicate the event has failed so far.
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Jun 25, 2011 11:25
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I don't know how common it is but my boars have stopped caring about high Ca greens that they would wolf down like there was no tomorrow when they were growing up. I know it's not something you should rely on them doing themselves, but are pigs good at eating stuff that is healthy and avoiding poisonous foodstuffs?
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Jul 9, 2011 22:45
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Guinea pigs must have some interesting brain chemistry. I don't think I even once in my life will experience the kind of joy a pig feels every single time they get food.
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Jul 12, 2011 21:58
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Huge Liability posted:Wow, that is one huge pig. I guess it's cute and all, but owning one sounds like a really stupid idea. I wonder if people are just selling them as babies and not disclosing how unsuitable they are as pets. Hopefully they don't become a trend. They've just recently started to be bred as pets, it will probably take many years until they are domesticated on the level of a regular pig. Once they are there though I don't see a problem? Provided of course they will come from a diverse genetic stock.
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Aug 6, 2011 01:36
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kazmeyer posted:What's your second guess? Yeah. Considering what has happened to dogs (and cats to a lesser extent) for the past 50 years I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up.
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Aug 6, 2011 02:10
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thefullmetal999 posted:Edit: One quick question. What is a good way to help your piggie get used to anything? Food
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Aug 9, 2011 14:57
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How do people here pick up their pigs? Mine freak out if you touch the soles of their hind feet. Cupping the rump with one hand (leaving the hind legs free) while the other supports the chest and front feet seems to work best.
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Nov 9, 2011 02:51
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Sirotan posted:Eh. As much as I love guinea pigs and other little rodents/critters, their brains are about the size of raisins. Most of them are really just quite stupid. ^ Dude, guinea pig brains are like four times the size of a raisin! 
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Dec 13, 2011 00:04
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Sometimes when we've just gotten a batch of fresh hay the larger one of my pigs will just go wild and stuff his face. After pigging out he'll sleep like a log and then later he'll stand in a corner making a slightly distressed sound while building a mountain of poop. I used to  at this behavior but then I realized I do the exact same thing at taco night.
cat with hands fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Feb 27, 2012 |
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Feb 27, 2012 11:40
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My pigs have really slimmed down (don't worry, they have stabilized) since I dropped pellets altogether from their diet. Energy levels are up, now poo poo actually happens during floor time. Fur looks better too and they shed less. Thanks PI! (Should potential before and after shots go here or in YLLS?)
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Jun 14, 2012 10:14
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alucinor posted:I wanna see, post em here! Cool, you have swole pigs.  Mine are not quite there yet, no space for a large cage atm. But at least skinny-fat is better than fat-fat. Big one is down from 1300g to 1100g, middle from 1250 to 1000 and the tiny black one went from 1200 to 900. Now they actually climb, skip and jump. I'll see if I can get some pics up after the weekend. Get that cavy to the squat rack, stat. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv cat with hands fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Jun 15, 2012 |
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Jun 15, 2012 21:04
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It's awesome when they start to appreciate you. It has reached the point where the black one (who likes me the most) will rumble and bite the other boys if I start to pet them before he's had enough.
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Jun 28, 2012 01:44
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Hexacrodium posted:Which part is the craziest part? With a little more concern for the well-being of the pigs it actually sounds like a pretty awesome setup.
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Jun 29, 2012 00:31
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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. 2 months! But my snake's hungry now! 
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Oct 14, 2012 22:16
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alucinor posted:PS if you want to drive down to Chapel Hill this week I'll give you a pair of intact, unbonded rear end in a top hat males who like to climb out of their cages to terrorize one another. That sounds adorable. I miss my pigs' fussy rear end in a top hat period 
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Oct 16, 2012 12:45
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Almost lost a pig to digestion issues over the past weeks as the black one started to lose weight at a rapid pace. Teeth was fine, just poor appetite and inability to put on/keep weight. No impaction. Avoided a lot of his normal favorite foods altogether. I changed up the diet and made sure there was a surplus of everything. The other pigs were fine and packing on weight like crazy. Stools got worse and worse, from soft pellets to diarrhea. Vet prescribed medicine did nothing and feeding him caecal pellets from the healthy ones didn't seem to reverse his condition. Even though I'm not sure that I could get him enough considering how difficult they are to 'harvest'. At best it temporarily made him pass solid mini pellets (solid but tiny, like mouse droppings) before reverting back to loose stools. At this point he has very little energy, lowered body temperature and he's pretty much just skin and bones. Labored breathing and no 'voice'. Still eating though, just barely enough to hang on. It's heart breaking to see him just waste away and I'm getting desperate. Then it hits me, whats the easy, natural way to cure diarrhea and stabilize the gut in humans? Eating charcoal! Since guinea pigs are also carbon based life forms I figure it's worth a shot. I burn three wooden matchsticks, break off the sulfur tops and mash the ashes together with half a slice of orange. I was a bit worried that he wouldn't touch it but he happily eats it all up. I do one more feeding like that in the evening and BAM!, normal poop the morning after!  It's been a few days now and his energy and appetite is back to normal. Slowly putting on weight again and passing pellets normally. While I can't really recommend this treatment, as the local vet wasn't experienced enough with piggies to do a proper diagnosis, it worked when all else failed. Thank you army survival training, you saved my guinea pig. 
cat with hands fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Nov 6, 2012 |
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Nov 6, 2012 14:31
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Kuro didn't make it. He was pooping normally and putting on weight but this morning I found him flat on his stomach in the cage. Looked like he had just keeled over when eating, maybe heart failure? He drew his final breaths in my hands. I'm sorry your life was short and you didn't get to die fat. At least you got to live with your brother and didn't get fed to a snake when you got too old for the petting zoo. Death is inevitable but it might have been delayed in this case if I had a more experienced vet within reasonable distance that could have spotted any problems ahead of time. There's talk about one opening up nearby that will have expertise outside just cats and dogs.
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Nov 13, 2012 12:24
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Captain Invictus posted:Guinea pigs die real bad. Real bad. It's like nature doesn't have an exit plan for them beyond getting eaten... Got some closure today as I made him a kick rear end funeral pyre at sundown down by the beach. Had a beer and watched the stars as the fire burnt out before putting the remaining bones and ashes in a small grave. I have to say that taking care of his remains in this way brought a nice sense of finality to everything. Guess putting a body in a grave or getting handed a box of ashes is more abstract. I miss the little bugger terribly though, more than any pet I've had before.
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Nov 15, 2012 00:47
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Man the cage is quiet with Kuro gone. There's no (loud) wheeking, chewing on the bars or fighting at all. Just two very chill boars getting along. I guess he was the herds designated troublemaker? 
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Nov 16, 2012 00:18
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Chewing on the bars... because you overslept by 3 minutes and I'm hungry goddamit.
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Nov 24, 2012 23:21
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kazmeyer posted:(If you've never seen a furball -- and if you haven't, count yourself lucky, you never want one -- you'd be amazed at the transformation. Guinea pigs are cute and burbly and bumbly but when they get proper pissed off and decide to have a go at each other it's like Tasmanian Devils. I nearly ended up needing stitches.) You have to wonder why that's not the default reaction to a threat instead of the standard guinea pig defense, aka the 'huddle up and hope my pal looks tastier' technique. I do remember reading about a pig that killed a rattlesnake in self defense but I can't remember if it was posted here or someplace else.
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Dec 14, 2012 01:01
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You did what you could and gave them a new, better start. I'm sorry you didn't get to spend more time with the Doc
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Dec 29, 2012 02:08
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