Lily & Rose
Junior Guinea Pig
Today we have unexpectedly picked up a new guinea pig, named Poppy, from a family who are moving house. The guinea pig has been living on her own in a hutch outside and I was told that her companion died over a year ago. One of our guinea pigs died three weeks ago, so we have been wanting a new friend for Lily, our other guinea pig. We found out this morning about Poppy and rushed over to their house to pick her up.
I thought I had read before that to quarantine a pig, that you can divide the hutch and then they can also get used to each other's smell, before they meet. We have a 2x6 c&c cage, so I have put two grids in to divide it in half. Since we put Poppy in there about an hour ago, Lily has seemed so happy. She hasn't met her through the bars properly yet though, as Poppy has been hiding in hay. We have checked Poppy and she seems healthy, except she needs a bath, her nails need clipping and some of her hair has matted near her bottom. I'm really worried as I've just read on another thread that to quarantine, the hutches need to be in separate rooms or at the other side of the room from each other. However, I don't think this will be possible for us, as we don't have anywhere else suitable for another hutch.
I have some Ivermectin Xeno 450. Would it be advisable for me to use this on both Lily and Poppy as a precaution? Or should I arrange to go to the vets with Poppy tomorrow for a health check. We wouldn't be able to take her until the evening though.
I thought I had read before that to quarantine a pig, that you can divide the hutch and then they can also get used to each other's smell, before they meet. We have a 2x6 c&c cage, so I have put two grids in to divide it in half. Since we put Poppy in there about an hour ago, Lily has seemed so happy. She hasn't met her through the bars properly yet though, as Poppy has been hiding in hay. We have checked Poppy and she seems healthy, except she needs a bath, her nails need clipping and some of her hair has matted near her bottom. I'm really worried as I've just read on another thread that to quarantine, the hutches need to be in separate rooms or at the other side of the room from each other. However, I don't think this will be possible for us, as we don't have anywhere else suitable for another hutch.
I have some Ivermectin Xeno 450. Would it be advisable for me to use this on both Lily and Poppy as a precaution? Or should I arrange to go to the vets with Poppy tomorrow for a health check. We wouldn't be able to take her until the evening though.