New Member of the Family - Little Rescue who was left to die

[Mystic_Willow]

Before i start this is Thimble, who is the newest member of the guinea pig family. . . she is only 5 weeks old

I currently came into the hands of a little guinea pig called Thimble who she is extremely thin, loosing hair and was not looking too good. She and her two sisters were left outside of a pet shop and all had some hair loss but Thimble was the one who was looking extremely emaciated. They were taken to the vet and were found to have no mites, there teeth were fine but had some urine burns on them from obviously being in a urine soaked cage, probable from when they were born.

I decided to take Thimble home to fatten her up and get her on the right track and try to save her precious little life. She is doing good so far and has ate some nuggets, veg and is drinking water with extra vitamin C. She also is on critical care so that she can hopefully gain some weight. She was weighed when she was at the vet and only weighs 180 grams. You can feel every bone in her little body but her two sisters, apart from the minor hair loss were a lot fatter and were double her size if not triple.

So i thought i would introduce use all to her and hope and pray that she gains some weight and makes it through her big ordeal.

Has anyone had experience with emaciated baby guinea pigs before, if so any tips on caring for her of foods that i could give her?

 

[Claire W]

Aw what a sweet little girl who's had such a rough start in life. Thank goodness she is now safe with you. What happened to her two sisters?

I'm afraid I can't help with your question as I haven't been in your situation but I imagine to keep giving her the critical care and start her on veggies but only start her off with a new veg at a time. If course, give her lots and lots of hay. She's young enough to have alfalfa hay which is high in calcium and calories

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Aw what a sweet little girl who's had such a rough start in life. Thank goodness she is now safe with you. What happened to her two sisters?

I'm afraid I can't help with your question as I haven't been in your situation but I imagine to keep giving her the critical care and start her on veggies but only start her off with a new veg at a time. If course, give her lots and lots of hay. She's young enough to have alfalfa hay which is high in calcium and calories

Thanks, her two sisters have went with another girl who is taking care of them, her two sisters were not letting her eat any of the food due to her size so if was the better option to split her up from them.
I will defiantly try to get my hands on some alfalfa hay and give her that, she never seems to stop eating haha

 

[Aubrey&Lup'sMum]

No advice as I am pretty new to the game myself, but I am sure this little one will start to flourish with you taking care of her!

Though, one thing I have recently noticed with my girls (babies less than 3 months) is that, since we have opened the hay loft in the last week they are eating a lot more hay and drinking a lot more water (they had plenty of both before though!) - but they definitely like the novelty of new hay. Even with so much still in their cage, if I put more on top they will immediately start eating it again. I know this isn't the case with all piggies, but could be something to keep in mind to encourage eating.

Good luck to both of you! Please keep us updated

 

[Merab]

Well done for taking Thimble in and giving her a lovely caring home.
Hope she pulls through with all the care you’re giving her.
She’s a cutie

 

[Sophie B]

Beautiful!

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Well done for taking Thimble in and giving her a lovely caring home.
Hope she pulls through with all the care you’re giving her.
She’s a cutie

My fingers, toes and everything else is crossed to make sure she pulls through this She is pop-corning and calling out to the two males i have, Darwin and Echo.
She is so small but has the biggest personality i have ever seen in a guinea pig.
I guess when they say the best things come in small packages, they are true

 

[Bill & Ted]

Such a little cutie with a character to go with it. Well done you for taking her in.I’m sure she will thrive now she has a loving home x

 

[Flutterby]

What a cutie!

 

[HeatherRose]

Aw poor thing, good for you for trying to help her!

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Thought i would give a little update on Thimble. She has been with me now for a couple of days and has went from just over 180 grams to 205 grams. She is starting to show what a little character she is and has started to finally wheek and popcorn all around the cage.

 

[Sophie B]

Aww!

 

[DMS260820]

She will be fine , if shes wheeking and popcorning thats showing happiness, glad to see shes doing good.

 

[YvonneBlue]

You are doing an amazing job with this poor little baby. She is so lucky to have found you.
The critical care and alfalfa hay will help her put on weight, with a good balanced diet she will hopefully catch-up with her siblings.
I'm sure @Wiebke will be along to offer some great dietary advice.

 

[Molly3827]

What a lovely little pig! It's so amazing she's been given a second chance, an amazing thing your doing!

 

[Wiebke]

You are doing an amazing job with this poor little baby. She is so lucky to have found you.
The critical care and alfalfa hay will help her put on weight, with a good balanced diet she will hopefully catch-up with her siblings.
I'm sure @Wiebke will be along to offer some great dietary advice.

I agree with @YvonneBlue. Since your baby is now weaned, a bowl with critical care, porridge oats and extra alfalfa hay in addition to the normal grass hay can help to feed her up but a good general diet will hopefully help. Please be careful with veg in case they haven't had any.
Please have her vet checked to exclude health problems.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

 

[David Piggie Lover]

Great lucky little piggie.
Well done and keep up the great work.

 

[Mystic_Willow]

I agree with @YvonneBlue. Since your baby is now weaned, a bowl with critical care, porridge oats and extra alfalfa hay in addition to the normal grass hay can help to feed her up but a good general diet will hopefully help. Please be careful with veg in case they haven't had any.
Please have her vet checked to exclude health problems.
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight

Thanks, i have her on a mix of crit care and oats at the moment and the have only introduced one variety of veg into her diet.
She had a vet appointment when she first came in but i have another one booked for Friday to make sure everything is going well.

 

[Betsy]

What a lovely little girly she is! She is lucky to have found you.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks, i have her on a mix of crit care and oats at the moment and the have only introduced one variety of veg into her diet.
She had a vet appointment when she first came in but i have another one booked for Friday to make sure everything is going well.

You are doing well. What a lucky little piggy to have found you! I sincerely hope that she can pull through with your good care - at least you are giving her the best chance possible!

 

[DMS260820]

Are you going to have her two sisters back with her when shes more fit and settled?

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Are you going to have her two sisters back with her when shes more fit and settled?

Unfortunately not, however her two sisters have just got a home , Thimble on the other hand will have the company of my two males (by that i mean hearing each other from across the room and then when she is healthy enough she will be getting a little piggy friend of her own

 

[Seven7]

What a wonderful rescue story and I am glad Thimble was able to find you. Please keep us posted.

 

[YvonneBlue]

Unfortunately not, however her two sisters have just got a home , Thimble on the other hand will have the company of my two males (by that i mean hearing each other from across the room and then when she is healthy enough she will be getting a little piggy friend of her own

Hope little Thimble continues to thrive with you. Do keep us updated on this thread it will be lovely to see her growing into a healthy piggy.

 

[Mystic_Willow]

Hey everyone, so i wasn't sure whether to start a new thread as this one was a good lot of days ago but i just though i would give a little update on Thimble.
As use all know I wasn't sure whether Thimble was going to make it as she was only 180g, well skip ahead a good few days and she is now whizzing round the cage, pop-corning and squealing for food when i come in through the door. She is now a healthy 323g and still growing and getting stronger. Woo!
Just though i would update use all on her progress and post a little pic of her now...

 

[Sappyshelly]

Hey everyone, so i wasn't sure whether to start a new thread as this one was a good lot of days ago but i just though i would give a little update on Thimble.
As use all know I wasn't sure whether Thimble was going to make it as she was only 180g, well skip ahead a good few days and she is now whizzing round the cage, pop-corning and squealing for food when i come in through the door. She is now a healthy 323g and still growing and getting stronger. Woo!
Just though i would update use all on her progress and post a little pic of her now...
View attachment 100923View attachment 100924

Great to hear!

 

[piggieminder]

She is so beautiful, you are working wonders with her, well done.

 

[Seven7]

She is darling, so lovely.

 

[Merab]

Sheba beauty and you are doing a wonderful job with her.
She’s a very lucky girl.

 

[flowerfairy]

She looks so bright and beautiful. Good work.