Companion for skittish piggy

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Gpigsrock

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:34 pm


I recently went through the loss of one of my pigs and am ready to adopt another for my girl, Roxie. She's almost 5 years old (I'll have had her for 4 years this March, and her previous owner had her for 8 months) and hasn't ever really "mellowed" out over time. Her previous owners had a bunch of other animals and the main problem with Roxie was the house had a kitten that was quickly growing up and noticing the prey animal, effectively harrassing her. Despite having had her for 4 years, she still winces when I pet her, and is extremely skittish, but that's not what I'm here about.

For about 2 years she was sharing a 2x5 CC cage with my girls Guinea and Velvet, but honestly the 3 never got along; Velvet clearly wanted to be Alpha, but Guinea wouldn't allow it since she was the oldest, while Roxie wanted to challenge anyone she could when she was in heat but would squeal whenever she was dominated and ran away. In October 2016 Guinea passed away at age 5-6ish, her vet noticed a growth on her neck a few months prior and she slowly deteriorated. Velvet passed away suddenly in March of 2017 at age 3, and Roxie has been alone since. Velvet always "bullied" Roxie so she never really got a break, and I've been tied up with Cal's medical problems for the past few months, not to mention my own.

Anyway, since Roxie is the last one left, I wanted to give her a chance at having a cagemate again. She seemed content being near Cal's cage, but with him gone she's been sitting in one or two spots in her cage. She's still eating and drinking and hasn't lost any weight, but I'm still taking her to the vet on Friday just to make sure she's still okay. My hunch is she has now noticed Cal's absence in the household and is depressed, but honestly she's always been anxious.

There's a young guinea pig I found on petfinder that has given birth to 2 litters, so she's definitely a female, and since she's young I have a feeling they may be able to get along. She was abandoned late last year and last gave birth on December 2nd, so she's okay to be separated from her pups; also, when she was abandoned she was already pregnant, it didn't happen at the shelter. Tomorrow I'm going to visit her at the shelter to see how she is, and I'm wondering if it's a good idea to bring Roxie with me? The thing I'm concerned about is she hasn't been to the vet yet (Roxie), but I could always go there by myself, get the pig and keep them apart for a few weeks (what I would do anyway) and then try to introduce them, but at that point I'll have had the new pig for 3 weeks and still have no idea if they'll get along. Is that the best way to do things? I don't think my last herd ended up going well despite doing buddy baths, slow introductions in large areas, and providing food distractions, so I'm sort of looking for where to go with this. I've heard very young/older pig combos can go well, so I'm hoping it works.

I'm really fond of the new pig, she's an Abyssinian - a breed which I have always been taken with - and she has similar markings to my beloved boy Cody whom I lost over 10 years ago. The shelter also has another non-bonded female who is about Roxie's age and also lives alone (and she also happens to be a crested piggy, just like Roxie haha) so if the Abby girl doesn't work I could try the crested one with her.

Tl;dr - Should I bring my guinea pig to a shelter to try and "matchmake" her with a cagemate? Is that a good idea? And of course all piggies have different personalities, but do young/old pairs really work out better, in general? I don't know where I read it but it sounds like it may help boost Roxie's mood, if anything at least provide stimulation for her. She has no interest in toys or anything, and just seems scared constantly.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:43 pm


How long has the shelter had her? Has she been treated for parasites? (mites?) Do they have rabbits?

You could commit to adopting her, quarantine, and try to match them (good ideas from links on this page: www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html ).

I am guessing they will get along - and worst case scenario - you might need two cages. For a guinea pig, even knowing there is another guinea pig in the area is comforting.

Gpigsrock

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2019 12:23 am


The shelter seems to have had her for over a month, I didn't ask when I called earlier today but in her listing it said she was already pregnant (again) when they receiced her and she gave birth in early December. I will ask tomorrow when I go to meet her if she's in good health and has been treated for mites. There are rabbits there as well.

If all goes well I'll be content having another pig in my home, and she could hopefully have a cage nearby Roxie if they don't bond. I do have some coroplast and extra grids at my disposal if they can't be cagemates, but I'd prefer it didn't come to that.

Tomorrow after lunch I'll be going to the shelter, and I really hope she's not too shy of a pig.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:56 am


You can ask them how good their quarantine procedures are and evaluate how tough it is for the two of them to be alone. Mostly the risk is parasitic but can also be bacterial/viral. Ask about illnesses in rabbits and guinea pigs in their shelter.
www.guinealynx.info/quarantine.html

Gpigsrock

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2019 2:41 pm


I didn't ask about the quarantine procedures, but she was at a foster home from 11/10/2018 to 1/5/2019. She was abandoned on 10/4/18 and had a medical checkup the next day by a vet tech (the volunteers are all vet techs). After she returned to the shelter she was sharing her enclosure with her two 5 week old female pups (brother was seperated), but the room they're sharing contains about 20 guineas and rabbits in total, and the rabbits tend to escape their personal enclosures.

The vet tech I spoke to recommended quarantining her for 3 weeks which I planned to do anyway, but I plan to take in both Roxie and Cosette (new girl) to the vet on Friday for checkups. If they both have a clean bill of health would it be okay to start introducing them, or should I still wait the 3 weeks? I could also just wait until Cosette is used to her surroundings, but then I'd be shaking it up soon after by her meeting Roxie. Cosette was likely not handled at all by her initial owners that abandoned her, but after her foster family worked with her she is very calm and friendly, I have a very good feeling she and Roxie can get along well.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Wed Jan 09, 2019 10:48 pm


The safest thing to do is quarantine. If you had gotten them directly from the foster, I would be more comfortable without doing so.

You will have to make your own decision on this.

Gpigsrock

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:11 pm


Just got back from the vet, they both have clean bills of health but my vet still recommended keeping them apart for at least a few more days just to see if anything pops up in Cosette. She said the same thing you did Lynx, with Cosette having been in the shelter she could have picked something up but if she were coming straight from the foster it would probably be fine to start introductions.

I'll wait until I've had her for at least a week or week and a half before they meet. With them both appearing healthy for now I did place them in the same room so they can hear each other, albeit it's a very large room.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:19 pm


Well, if you've got them in the same room, you might as well put them together. There's absolutely nothing protecting them from airborne diseases.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:00 pm


Very true.

Gpigsrock

Post   » Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:18 pm


...Oh. That didn't even occur to me.

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