Poorly piggy

[PiggyRazorMalibu]

Last week a rat got in with my Piggies and attacked the alpha one (Razor) since then his skin has got worse, this started off as two bite marks on either side of his back and now it’s all over his back. We’ve taken him away from the other 2 piggies (as well as shut them in so no longer allowed to access outside) but this last week it’s gotten so much worse. I’m currently pregnant (20 weeks) so worried about handling him now as rats can carry diseases that cause miscarriages. The other two are absolutely fine, have no marks on them and are still as friendly as ever. He’s also gotten very nervous since the attack and keeps hiding and won’t let anyone near him when before he was friendly and would come up to you. Much advance would be appreciated, he’s got a vets appointment on Wednesday but hoping for advance before then

 

[Piggies2023]

Poor Razor. What do you mean by his skin is getting worse? Is the rat still getting in to bite him? I would get a vets appointment sooner as Wednesday is quite a long way away to wait.

 

[Piggies&buns]

He should be seen by the vet as an emergency today.
Any rat bite should be properly checked by a vet the day it occurred.
He could well be in a lot of pain and would also require antibiotics.

In the meantime, please switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily so you can more closely monitor hay intake.
Step in with syringe feeding if he is losing weight.

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Ensure the rat cannot gain access to the piggies again and if necessary move them indoors for safety. Rats will continue to get into their enclosure now they know there is a food source there.


A few other points -

when you say outside - do you mean actually outdoors? If so, then do note that piggies should not have access to outside at this time of year.

Also you mention two other piggies. Are those two others both male as well? It’s worth mentioning, while you haven’t stated their ages or how long they’ve been together, boar trios are problematic.
Now you have separated them, if they are all together young boars then so be prepared that they may not go back together again.

 

[PiggyRazorMalibu]

Poor Razor. What do you mean by his skin is getting worse? Is the rat still getting in to bite him? I would get a vets appointment sooner as Wednesday is quite a long way away to wait.

So the bite itself has healed really nicely, no sign of infection and is getting smaller, it’s the skin around it that’s loosing hair and looking sore - almost like mites? I did explain to the vets about it and they put him in for Wednesday but I’ll phone up again and demand one asap. Thank you!

 

[PiggyRazorMalibu]

He should be seen by the vet as an emergency today.
Any rat bite should be properly checked by a vet the day it occurred.
He could well be in a lot of pain and would also require antibiotics.

In the meantime, please switch from the routine weekly weight checks and instead weigh him daily so you can more closely monitor hay intake.
Step in with syringe feeding if he is losing weight.

Emergency and Crisis Care as well as Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
All About Syringe Feeding and Medicating Guinea Pigs with Videos and Pictures

Ensure the rat cannot gain access to the piggies again and if necessary move them indoors for safety. Rats will continue to get into their enclosure now they know there is a food source there.


A few other points -

when you say outside - do you mean actually outdoors? If so, then do note that piggies should not have access to outside at this time of year.

Also you mention two other piggies. Are those two others both male as well? It’s worth mentioning, while you haven’t stated their ages or how long they’ve been together, boar trios are problematic.
Now you have separated them, if they are all together young boars then so be prepared that they may not go back together again.

Yeah all three male, been together since birth and living outside in an insulated shed/piggy house, I was told bringing them inside then outside would put them into shock. We have an outside pen that they go in during the day which is why we saw the rat attack them, they haven’t been out since due to this. Wouldn’t be fair to bring them inside permanently as don’t have the space nor the freedom they do as they have outside, as got told when we got them they had to have plenty of space. We normally keep rabbits so this is new territory for us and been caring for them in the similar manner. He hasn’t lost any weight at all, is eating really well and drinking well. Just nervous around others now which I assume is from the attack. We have set rat traps around the garden and never had this happen before, any more advice would be amazing as I said we’re new to looking after piggy’s l wish I could attach a photo for you guys too see, I’ll phone the vets first thing in the morning and demand a sooner appointment although after some more research it’s looking like it could be mites? I’m not sure

 

[Wheekallweek]

Best of luck!
Make sure the piggies' enclosures are all thoroughly rat proofed

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yeah all three male, been together since birth and living outside in an insulated shed/piggy house, I was told bringing them inside then outside would put them into shock. We have an outside pen that they go in during the day which is why we saw the rat attack them, they haven’t been out since due to this. Wouldn’t be fair to bring them inside permanently as don’t have the space nor the freedom they do as they have outside, as got told when we got them they had to have plenty of space. We normally keep rabbits so this is new territory for us and been caring for them in the similar manner. He hasn’t lost any weight at all, is eating really well and drinking well. Just nervous around others now which I assume is from the attack. We have set rat traps around the garden and never had this happen before, any more advice would be amazing as I said we’re new to looking after piggy’s l wish I could attach a photo for you guys too see, I’ll phone the vets first thing in the morning and demand a sooner appointment although after some more research it’s looking like it could be mites? I’m not sure

How old are they? If young it doesn’t matter whether they’ve been together since birth - chances of a sub adult boar trio surviving together is slim unfortunately - just something to be prepared for, particularly now you have separated. As he has been separated, you would need to carry out a full neutral territory reintroduction to attempt to get them back together. You can’t just put him directly back in the cage with the others as it can now be seen as a territory invasion.

I also keep rabbits (currently have two rabbits and four piggies with my rabbit experience extending back 35 years) but piggies and rabbits cant be looked after in the same way. Rabbits can tolerate outdoor, piggies can’t so adjustments neee to be made accordingly. For example, anything below 15 degrees is too cold for piggies whereas rabbits can tolerate it down to freezing.

Bringing them inside and outside regularly is an issue. If you bring them inside they would need to stay inside all winter, only going back out once the risk of frost has stopped around May time.
It depends how much danger they are in from the rat - only you can assess that.

They shouldn’t be going out in an outdoor pen between autumn and spring. Mine live in an insulated shed also but don’t get lawn time between October and April due to the damp ground.

I’m afraid we can’t comment on whether it might be mites. A vet would need to diagnose.

 

[PiggyRazorMalibu]

How old are they? If young it doesn’t matter whether they’ve been together since birth - chances of a sub adult boar trio surviving together is slim unfortunately - just something to be prepared for, particularly now you have separated. As he has been separated, you would need to carry out a full neutral territory reintroduction to attempt to get them back together. You can’t just put him directly back in the cage with the others as it can now be seen as a territory invasion.

I also keep rabbits (currently have two rabbits and four piggies with my rabbit experience extending back 35 years) but piggies and rabbits cant be looked after in the same way. Rabbits can tolerate outdoor, piggies can’t so adjustments neee to be made accordingly. For example, anything below 15 degrees is too cold for piggies whereas rabbits can tolerate it down to freezing.

Bringing them inside and outside regularly is an issue. If you bring them inside they would need to stay inside all winter, only going back out once the risk of frost has stopped around May time.
It depends how much danger they are in from the rat - only you can assess that.

They shouldn’t be going out in an outdoor pen between autumn and spring. Mine live in an insulated shed also but don’t get lawn time between October and April due to the damp ground.

I’m afraid we can’t comment on whether it might be mites. A vet would need to diagnose.

thank you! I’m definitely going to need to look into reintroducing them a lot more, as I assumed him being the alpha one they would just take him back. Ahhh I didn’t know that they couldn’t go out in the garden during this time - I was just wanting to make sure they had enough space to run around and not get bored but I’ll definitely keep them in now untill it get warmer, luckily the shed we have converted is big so they should be okay, just hate it when you see animals in small cages. We were sold them as a 3 and told they would be fine with each other so I didn’t look into it more

 

[Piggies&buns]

thank you! I’m definitely going to need to look into reintroducing them a lot more, as I assumed him being the alpha one they would just take him back. Ahhh I didn’t know that they couldn’t go out in the garden during this time - I was just wanting to make sure they had enough space to run around and not get bored but I’ll definitely keep them in now untill it get warmer, luckily the shed we have converted is big so they should be okay, just hate it when you see animals in small cages. We were sold them as a 3 and told they would be fine with each other so I didn’t look into it more

How old are they?
Unfortunately we are it a lot - people being told that they’ve always been together so will be fine. Sadly is that seldom true.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

This guide explains reintroduction but if they are young, you need to be prepared that it won’t work.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[PiggyRazorMalibu]

How old are they?
Unfortunately we are it a lot - people being told that they’ve always been together so will be fine. Sadly is that seldom true.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

This guide explains reintroduction but if they are young, you need to be prepared that it won’t work.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Thank you! They’re about 18 months

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thank you! They’re about 18 months

Ok so they’re out of their teens. It’s good they’ve made it this far - you might be one of the lucky ones then.
Please do reintroduce them properly though as now they’ve been separated it changes the dynamic in the group