A new friend for Lily

lilyandluna

lilyandluna

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
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Location
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As I've said in a thread before, Luna, one of my two girls passed away yesterday.
Lily is definitely grieving the loss of her sister. Luckily, she is still munching away on hay, veggies, and I've spent the day with her. I can tell she misses her friend very much though.

I live in the US in a very deserted area. I adopted these two girls from craigslist. I glanced on craigslist today and saw a listing that says

"Guinea needs a good home. Cage w/accessories, toys, ball, food, hay, bedding included. "

I texted her and she said she has a one-year-old pig who she says she thinks is a girl and lives in a small cage. She said the piggie is to much work.

I have a few questions to ask the forum.
#1- Once I get the pig, I could not bring her back, so if she turns out to be a he I'm not sure what I could do.
#2- The pig has never been with another piggie before, so how could I introduce them. Should I put the pig in a quarantine?

Am I rushing too quickly into this? I want Lily to be happy and safe but I want to make a good choice.
 
I want to say "don't do it". You probably know where I'm coming from there. That said, I have zero idea about rescues or anything like it in the USA, so until someone comes along later who does know...

In answer to #1 - you can let them live side by side if they'll put up with each other that way. Neutering is also an option if you have a vet you'd trust to do it. Otherwise having them side by side where they can interact with each other, see each other etc but the male couldn't get at the female physically is something a few of the members here do.
In answer to #2 - quarantine. Ideally in a different room from Lily. If they're coming from a neglectful home in a tiny cage I suspect there's going to be health issues, just ask @PigglePuggle about when she brought Blodwen home. Ringworm, tooth issues, overgrown nails, neglected coat, you name it. Introductions may have to wait a good bit longer than you'd originally plan for if it was a pig from a rescue. Especially with ringworm, because it's such a nightmare to get rid of and it spreads so easily.
 
Lorcan said:
I want to say "don't do it". You probably know where I'm coming from there. That said, I have zero idea about rescues or anything like it in the USA, so until someone comes along later who does know...

In answer to #1 - you can let them live side by side if they'll put up with each other that way. Neutering is also an option if you have a vet you'd trust to do it. Otherwise having them side by side where they can interact with each other, see each other etc but the male couldn't get at the female physically is something a few of the members here do.
In answer to #2 - quarantine. Ideally in a different room from Lily. If they're coming from a neglectful home in a tiny cage I suspect there's going to be health issues, just ask @PigglePuggle about when she brought Blodwen home. Ringworm, tooth issues, overgrown nails, neglected coat, you name it. Introductions may have to wait a good bit longer than you'd originally plan for if it was a pig from a rescue. Especially with ringworm, because it's such a nightmare to get rid of and it spreads so easily.
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I have been in contact with the lady. She says that although the piggie has never been to the vet that she is healthy. Again I really don't know.
I think I'm going to call my vet in the morning and see if they would let a pig come in for a general health check-up. If she says yes I think I will go forward with it.
I have an extra midwest cage that would work for quarantine and if they somehow did not get along.
 
lilyandluna said:
She says that although the piggie has never been to the vet that she is healthy.
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I would take that with a big pinch of salt. I mean chances are the guinea pig is absolutely fine, but if she's never been near a vet for a check up, how would you know? I mean if she's saying the guinea pig is too much work, then I'm guessing that she's not been keeping a particularly close eye out.

But again, those are my assumptions. Speak to your vet, see what they say. I still think @PigglePuggle and Blodwen is/are a great example of not only how badly treated a Craigslist/Gumtree piggy can be, but how easy it is to lie about why you're getting rid of a pig in the first place.
 
Lorcan said:
I would take that with a big pinch of salt. I mean chances are the guinea pig is absolutely fine, but if she's never been near a vet for a check up, how would you know? I mean if she's saying the guinea pig is too much work, then I'm guessing that she's not been keeping a particularly close eye out.

But again, those are my assumptions. Speak to your vet, see what they say. I still think @PigglePuggle and Blodwen is/are a great example of not only how badly treated a Craigslist/Gumtree piggy can be, but how easy it is to lie about why you're getting rid of a pig in the first place.
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Yes, I am calling the vet on Monday. If they are not available for appointments I will tell the girl to wait.
 
I agree with everything @Lorcan has said.
You absolutely can get that piggy but you need plans and preparations in place. Quarantine in a separate room for a couple of weeks. A vet check is necessary. You must still quarantine even if the the says the piggy is healthy as there may be something brewing but not yet showing symptoms. Some things come out due to stress and the stress of moving house could cause something that may not be immediately visible. Please still quarantine even if a vet can’t find anything immediately wrong.

Obviously if it turns out to Male (again after quarantine) then they need to live separately. You can then neuter, wait the six weeks post op and then attempt to bond.
If female, after quarantine, then you can attempt to bond.
In both cases a failed bonding may occur so you will need to plan for them to live side by side
 
I think if you are going to take this piggy on you just need to be prepared for the worst, and definitely in this for the long haul, if piggy is sick or injured or has some weird behaviours and anxiety to overcome!
Yes our lovely Blodwen is a classic example of a piggy advertised under completely false pretences, we were told she was a lone pet but actually she came from a big breeders herd and was given away because she needed expensive dental surgery- plus she had ringworm and sort of collapsed into a paralysed seizure like state and acted dead every time we tried handle her!
But now a year and a half later Blod is a lovely happy healthy piggy, in fact 4 of my piggies were from free ads listings, and although only little boar Theo arrived healthy the others are all fine now too, it just took a few months and a fair bit of vet money to sort the others out.
If you have the money for the vet fees and room for a second cage and can do a proper quarantine, and can neuter if it turns out to be a boy, you would be helping the unwanted piggy a lot, and may well find she/he is a friend for Lily- but you should do this to help the other piggy, not because they will be Lily's friend, as they may not get along well!
 
I’m new here but am also no stranger to the craigslist piggies as we’ve took in 1 about 4 years ago. The boy we just took in 2 days ago was a free listing on Facebook. It may have not been the most rational thought process but I knew he was meant to be, call it love at first sight if you may lol. Now we have an extra room he’s being quarantined in and a vet fund saved up as we have other animals. He was not kept in good conditions at all, the only thing his previous owners did well was trim his nails. We’re bracing for any unexpected vet bills heading our way. I’d say if you can weather the storm that may come, then go for it. But do think it through!
 
Thanks for all the responses.
My plan is to call the vet Monday. If she can do a basic check-up on this girl I will go ahead and take her. We have room to quarantine her and will make sure that she is healthy.
I have some money saves up for a "vet fund" and will be able to handle the cost.
If all else fails I can put them in a cage side by side if they dont bond.
 
lilyandluna said:
Thanks for all the responses.
My plan is to call the vet Monday. If she can do a basic check-up on this girl I will go ahead and take her. We have room to quarantine her and will make sure that she is healthy.
I have some money saves up for a "vet fund" and will be able to handle the cost.
If all else fails I can put them in a cage side by side if they dont bond.
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Great planning. Do let us know how things go
 
Well it turns out it’s a boy, the owner did some research and sexed it and said it is definitely a boy. That means back to square one 😔
 
Would having him anyway and neutering be an option? It obviously means a longer wait before they can be actually bonded, but after quarantine could still live alongside in a separate cage until/6 weeks post neuter for company before bonding could happen.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Would having him anyway and neutering be an option? It obviously means a longer wait before they can be actually bonded, but after quarantine could still live alongside in a separate cage until/6 weeks post neuter for company before bonding could happen.
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Probably not. Neutering through my vet I go to is really, really expensive. I think i’m just going to keep an eye out for a girl and I also emailed a guinea pig rescue a few hours away even though they don’t have any pigs available right now.
 
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