Our young female, Piggy, recently gave birth to 4 babies yesterday and we moved our young male, Peanut, from the cage immediately after as recommended by our vet as Peanut was trying to mate with Piggy.
We tried putting Peanut in his own cage right next to Piggy and the babies, but he just went crazy. Running around the cage, trying to climb up the sides, trying to chew the bars. This went on for about an hour. We removed Peanut from the cage and tried cuddling with him and offering treats, but he tried biting us a couple times, which he never does.
We placed him back in his cage, but moved the cage to another room. He calmed down but now he looks depressed. He isn’t making noises, he just lays about and hides in his tube. This is breaking my heart, what should I do?
Peanut is due for neutering July 6th, but I’m worried about having him separated that long from Piggy. They are a bonded pair, Piggy being 6 months old and Peanut being 5 months old and they have been together for 3 months. We originally brought Peanut home thinking he was a girl but that obviously wasn’t the case.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Post Pregnancy Separation
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bpatters
- And got the T-shirt
I hate to tell you, but Piggy is likely pregnant again already. They can get pregnant within just a few minutes of giving birth. And if your vet didn't know to recommend that you remove Peanut BEFORE the birth, then I'd be looking for another vet ASAP. Especially if this vet is the one who's scheduled to do the neutering. And you need an exotic vet.
You'll have to treat her as if she is pregnant until you know. Back-to-back pregnancies are extremely hard on both sows and the second litter of pups. Make sure she's getting a very high quality pellet (the only ones we recommend are Oxbow and KMS Hayloft), good quality hay and veggies, and supplement her with vitamin C. Given that she'll need extra calcium, I'd recommend alfalfa pellets, or supplement her with sprigs of parsley every day.
He's just going to be lonely for a while. You're going to have to keep him separated for four weeks following the neutering anyway, so another week or so isn't going to make much difference. If any of the pups are males, they can go in with him at three weeks of age.
You'll have to treat her as if she is pregnant until you know. Back-to-back pregnancies are extremely hard on both sows and the second litter of pups. Make sure she's getting a very high quality pellet (the only ones we recommend are Oxbow and KMS Hayloft), good quality hay and veggies, and supplement her with vitamin C. Given that she'll need extra calcium, I'd recommend alfalfa pellets, or supplement her with sprigs of parsley every day.
He's just going to be lonely for a while. You're going to have to keep him separated for four weeks following the neutering anyway, so another week or so isn't going to make much difference. If any of the pups are males, they can go in with him at three weeks of age.
You will have to be Peanut's cage mate until you get this resolved. Keep giving peanut all of the extra love and attention you can in the meantime. Extra floor time helps too. If you have the means to safely take him out to eat fresh grass, that would be huge.
Safety when going outside can't be stressed enough. Only take him outside in the morning or evening or if the temperature is cool enough; and then make sure he's in the shade. Don't take him outside if there are birds of prey flying overhead, stray cats or dogs running around regularly or if you can't guarantee he'll be safe. Don't leave him unattended even for a second. Don't put him in any part of the yard close to the road, where animals do their business, pesticides are used or fresh fertilizer is. I'm making it sound harder than it is, but you can't be too careful.
He can eat his fill and he'll probably love it. Even if you can't get him outside or if you don't feel comfortable doing it, you can hand pick or clip fresh grass and bring it to him. Don't use lawn mower clippings. Grass is a very good treat. All seven of my piggies love it. I usually give them the grass treat while they're in the floor pen or in my lap. On the floor, I spread it around so they get the exercise while they eat. On my lap, I feed them one or two blades at a time.
Here's a setup I use. As you can see, the barrier provides shade as well as a block of the nearby road and sidewalk. It was early evening and the temperature was about 78.
Safety when going outside can't be stressed enough. Only take him outside in the morning or evening or if the temperature is cool enough; and then make sure he's in the shade. Don't take him outside if there are birds of prey flying overhead, stray cats or dogs running around regularly or if you can't guarantee he'll be safe. Don't leave him unattended even for a second. Don't put him in any part of the yard close to the road, where animals do their business, pesticides are used or fresh fertilizer is. I'm making it sound harder than it is, but you can't be too careful.
He can eat his fill and he'll probably love it. Even if you can't get him outside or if you don't feel comfortable doing it, you can hand pick or clip fresh grass and bring it to him. Don't use lawn mower clippings. Grass is a very good treat. All seven of my piggies love it. I usually give them the grass treat while they're in the floor pen or in my lap. On the floor, I spread it around so they get the exercise while they eat. On my lap, I feed them one or two blades at a time.
Here's a setup I use. As you can see, the barrier provides shade as well as a block of the nearby road and sidewalk. It was early evening and the temperature was about 78.
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daisymay
- Supporter 2016-2021
You may wish to give Peanut activities to do. Like put things in his pen like beds, pipes etc and hide treats in his pen. Let him have fun searching for them. Give him a stuff toy to snuggle with. Wash your hands when you handle mum and babies maybe where an apron and remove when you handle babies and mum.
When watching TV or on PC have Peanut with you, if feeding grass give blade by blade and give gentle tugs. Get his mind of Piggy and babies. Thank goodness babies were too young to get pregnant. Separate baby males from mum and girl babies at 3 weeks of age when they become sexually active. Got all crossed piggy not pregnant again and all goes well at the vet!
When watching TV or on PC have Peanut with you, if feeding grass give blade by blade and give gentle tugs. Get his mind of Piggy and babies. Thank goodness babies were too young to get pregnant. Separate baby males from mum and girl babies at 3 weeks of age when they become sexually active. Got all crossed piggy not pregnant again and all goes well at the vet!
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