Considering a piggy for a pet

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EARPS Indy
Supporter in '11

Post   » Thu Feb 05, 2009 5:18 pm


TwoWhitePiggies, thanks for the info on Fast Signs. I also appreciate you putting feelers out for foster families. I had come across your friend's information on PetFinders.com but saw that they aren't accepting new rescues. Your friend was the only rescuer I found close by.
This means that they are not taking any more animals into their rescue, but does not mean that they are not adopting out. Do they not have any guinea pigs at all for adoption right now?

Regular vet care for guinea pigs consist of a yearly exam. Guinea pigs do not need vaccines or anything like that. If there is a medical problem then you can expect to pay anywhere from 200-300 on up to 500+ depending on the situation.

TwoWhitePiggies

Post   » Thu Feb 05, 2009 7:04 pm


Also, how often do you take your piggies to the vet for checkups?

After adopting our pigs, we took them to the vet once to introduce them to the vet and get a quick check up. After that, we only took them on an as-needed basis. Some of my pigs have been to the vet several times. Linus and Frost have never needed to see a vet since I've brought them home. *knock on wood*

This means that they are not taking any more animals into their rescue, but does not mean that they are not adopting out. Do they not have any guinea pigs at all for adoption right now?

Last I checked, he didn't have any at his own home - he decided to make his last two rescue pigs part of his own herd. But he had been finding foster homes for a few others, so there might be others out there who still need forever families.

The Lawrence Humane Society frequently takes in guinea pigs, too.

eileen2theright

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:52 am


I'm going to definitely agree that a vet fund is a must have.

You can check my recent vet activity in the, "My Boys Have Lice," medical forum post.

I am, at least, $400 in for the last couple weeks of treatment.

I am not recommending anyone treat their pigs at home, as a wrong choice can be deadly, but even the medical treatments I have given them, in the past, like the recurrent sebaceous cyst, are not cheap.

They become like your kids. You make sure they are treated because you love them. Just remember that, unlike your kid, they are not covered by health insurace, LOL.

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Dawnc

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:20 pm


Pellets I only go through a 5lb bag every few months because I only give a few tbsp. a day to them as their main diet should be hay and veggies, I look at pellets as a supplement personally.
I agree. When we took Saku in for a checkup a few months ago, the vet said that he was looking a little too plump. She said we should limit the pellets, since the piggies tend to fill up on pellets at the expense of their hay and veggies.

I fill up the pellet dishes with few tablespoons every morning. By the next morning the pellets are mostly gone. I feel that if the piggies are hungry during the night and there are no more pellets, they can always nosh on hay until morning.

My boars are looking nice and fit on the limited pellet plan.

willowbeads

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:21 pm


I've been looking at the Emergency and Medical forums and I am wondering how often you all experience health issues with your piggies. It sounds like there are a lot of things to worry about. I can afford the occassional trip to the vet for a check up and some antibiotics, but some of these things sound rather serious and expensive. Do piggies get sick more often than other pets? Also, do they get lice very often and is it easily transferred to kids?

I'll be honest with you all, my husband has been battling cancer for the past three years. Many, many trips to Houston for surgeries and check-ups have been hard on the ol' budget. Our son wants a pet so badly, but if I start racking up big vet bills my husband will kill me. I couldn't never sit idly by and not take a sick animal to the vet, though. Should I be so worried, or are piggies generally healthy if proper care is given?

Thanks!

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Bugs Mom

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:39 pm


Most piggies are very healthy. My little one went 5 years before her heart problem and the only thing she needed the vet for was well piggy checkups and to get her nails clipped.

I won't lie, occasionally a piggy will develope an "expensive" problem but I think that's very rare.

Good diagnostic abilities and proper treatment are one of the main reasons you want a cavy-savvy vet. It saves you money in the long run.

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dellybean

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:40 pm


Willowbeads, there are many on this forum with a lot more experience than I have, but here are my thoughts on the subject:

Many posters on this forum rescue a lot of pigs, and many of these pigs have health issues due to poor care before they went into rescue, or even ended up in rescue because of their serious health problems.

I've had several pigs over the years, and by and large I've been very lucky. My current pigs, Wishes and Wendell, are a bit over two years old. They go to the vet once a year for well-pig checkups, and other than that, Wishes has been to the vet once for an abscess that he got from a bite from Wendell.

Just like with humans, it seems older pigs experience more health issues, like kidney stones and impaction, but there are also many senior pigs on this board who are lucky to be in great health and have not had to have many vet visits.

Really, I think it depends on the pig. If you adopt young, healthy pigs and give them good care, I don't think you should *expect* too many vet visits, but it's important to have funds available in case something does go wrong.

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GuineaPinny

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:50 pm


A lot of people here also come to the board by the rescue route (which means they are taking in pigs from a questionable background and possibly a life of ill care) or the pet store route for their first pig (which means the pig will most likely have URIs, mites, etc.). Rescuers take in pigs with very serious conditions so that skews the reports on the board. Also the medical thread doesn't show the healthy pigs :)

Two of my pigs have never been sick, and when the others have been sick the board has always helped me sort of narrow what it could be so I don't run any extraneous tests. Plus finding a cavy savvy vet is the biggest money saver of all.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:00 pm


Mites and lice are easy to treat, and I think that mites are a little more common than lice. Lice are species-specific, so children should not be able to catch a guinea pig's lice.

Ringworm can be passed around from pets to people, though.

Some members have mentioned having an allergic reaction (red, itchy bumps) from handling a guinea pig with mites. Wearing long sleeves can help.

Timothy hay can also cause allergic reactions for some people. Bluegrass is a great alternative.

Guinea pigs are prey animals, and tend to hide any signs of illness until it becomes serious. Proper care will certainly help to prevent many things.

My vet charges more for an exotics examination than she does for our dog's checkups. Some vets will insist on using anesthesia for a blood draw, which can increase your bill. X-rays are a common diagnostic tool and can be expensive.

Do you live near a guinea pig rescue? Sometimes fostering a pair of guinea pigs can be a good way to find out if they are the right pet for your family.

I hope your husband stays strong for his cancer battle, and my best to you and your family.

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rshevin

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:19 pm


It's very important to remember that the medical board is exclusively for sick guinea pigs. So when you read through there it sounds like they all get sick but it's a statistically skewed population. This board in general is going to be statistically skewed because many of us found this place when a pet was ill. People who don't research before adopting or who never have an ill pet are often never driven to do much searching and therefor aren't members.

I don't feel they're ill any more than any other pets, but captive, well cared for guinea pigs survive considerably past their "expected" lifespan in the wild (which would be 1 maybe 2 years). It's not unusual then that they develop minor issues over the years. One of my guinea pigs developed an expensive medical issue (bladder stones) and the other has hardly been sick. In the two years he's lived with me he's had a goopey eye that required a round of $10 antibiotic drops. That's it and he's 6+!

In the long run proper care at home typically will save you in vet bills. Learning how to do things like treat with ivermectin at home correctly and safely will also save, weighing regularly helps identify problems before they become severe and expensive. Guinea pigs are eligible for VPI pet insurance but we recommend putting the same amount of money in an interest bearing savings account instead. The insurance requires you to pay up front and be reimbursed so you may as well have the money and interest yourself right? It is important to be honest with yourself though (and you don't have to post about it).

Lice and mites are the most minor things you can even imagine. They give us humans the heevey-jeevies but are definitely NOT contagious in any way and are easy an inexpensive to treat. 99% of cases are readily treated at home for <$30.

willowbeads

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:32 pm


Oh, thank you, thank you! You've all eased my mind considerably. And that knowing their lice isn't transferrable it a big relief. You can imagine I was a little freaked out reading about lice when I have a five-year-old preschooler at home :)

I just located two sisters at a shelter that were brought in by a parent whose kids wouldn't care for them. They are real cuties, but we're not quite ready for them yet :(

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sammianne

Post   » Fri Feb 06, 2009 4:36 pm


You have gotten some great advice here and I think it is fantastic that you are doing your research beforehand. Don't fret too much over the sows in the shelter that you are not ready for. Chances are when you are ready there will be piggies in need of homes. I wish I could say that was not true, but it is. There are always pigs within the rescue/shelter system that need homes.

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