cashewandpeppa
New Born Pup
- Joined
- May 5, 2020
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 8
- Points
- 155
I have two 5-month old female guinea pigs: Cashew and Peppa. I adopted them on the same day from Petsmart (note: I never intended to become a piggie parent, they were the last two left in the store, and were sleeping on top of each other in the cutest way - I'll never buy from a major pet store again), and they seemed inseparable. Peppa is shy, while Cashew is outgoing and has always loved running up to the side of the cage to greet us. Peppa's shyness was helped by Cashew being more willing to branch out and explore, because she made Peppa feel safe.
However, my girls established dominance quickly. After lots of chasing, teeth chattering, and mounting, Peppa deemed herself the dominant piggie and Cashew submitted. This was how it was for a few weeks.
Now for the hard stuff...
When I adopted Cashew and Peppa, Cashew had ringworm. No surprise to me now since she came from a major pet store. The outbreak had already hit her nose and one ear. She was losing hair quickly, and that infection would spread to Peppa within the next day or two. Peppa lost hair, too, but the infection was never as bad for her. Peppa had noticeable whistling from her nose and would sneeze pretty often. They immediately saw a vet, who was horrible in caring for them, misdiagnosed them, and insisted they did not have ringworm - they also claimed Peppa was perfectly healthy and "maybe just allergic to hay." I got a second, a third, and finally a fourth opinion before we stumbled upon the right vet.
The exotic vet found two large abscesses on Cashew's body that all other vets had somehow missed. One was on her shoulder, and one was attached to a lymph node. While one could be lanced, the inflamed lymph node would require surgery. Peppa is being treated for a URI and GI issues after an x-ray showed gas pockets in her intestines and one cloudy lung (though she still sounds completely healthy to vets without x-ray).
Both of my girls are in a 20 sq ft flat C&C cage. They use GuineaDad liners, have tons of tunnels, hidey huts, two water bottles, two food bowls, multiple hay piles, varied hay, etc. They were perfectly happy babies prior to Cashew's surgery. The cage is now divided and, since Cashew needs strict cage rest to recover from the surgery and lancing while so young, she is in a 2x2 section while Peppa has a 5x2 section.
Cashew's abscess removal surgery went really well. She was hospitalized for two days afterward (our choice), and she's been home for one week now. Peppa and her have been separated since Cashew came back home - vet's orders due to URI in Peppa and wound recovery in Cashew, but they've been alone for longer since Cashew was hospitalized for a few days total and Peppa was home alone.
After thousands of dollars gone and nearly three hours each day spent on syringe feedings - Cashew is on 7 medications, Peppa is on 4, and both of them receive 20ml of Critical Care daily + ChildLife vitamin C + ProBi probiotic - it'll be time to allow them to live together again in about one more week.
When they go to the vet and can see each other in carriers next to one another, they talk to each other (and I'm sure they're confused - like, 'wait a minute, you're still here? I thought I lost you!'). I tried letting them see each other today on my lap, and I don't think it went well. They seemed fine and stayed close together, but chased in one circle a lot in what looked like a dog chasing its tail. Peppa began to make clicking noises at Cashew and put her mouth near Cashew's surgical wound. Peppa continued those noises after we threw a towel on top of them, separated them, and put Cashew back in her section of the now-divided cage. The noises continued for about a minute or two, then Peppa calmed down. I was just so afraid of Peppa hurting Cashew's wound since the sutures haven't dissolved fully yet and the wounds are still very visible and prominent.
I've read tons of re-introduction information on this forum and elsewhere. Nothing goes into depth on post-op re-bonding procedures. What should I do? My girls love each other, and they're so young - I want them to be able to love each other like they used to again, but they can't take being hurt any more than they have been at such a young age.
Cute note: The night before we knew we had to hospitalize Cashew, she was in immense pain from her abscesses (even on Meloxicam). Peppa went and laid right next to her, they cuddled on a fleece lumbar pillow that can fit both of their heads, and they spent the night under the hammock, with Peppa making sure Cashew was okay. It was the first and only time I had seen Peppa leave her dominant bully behavior behind haha! (Also- funny that Peppa is our little bully when she's terrified of everything and needs Cashew to calm her down)
However, my girls established dominance quickly. After lots of chasing, teeth chattering, and mounting, Peppa deemed herself the dominant piggie and Cashew submitted. This was how it was for a few weeks.
Now for the hard stuff...
When I adopted Cashew and Peppa, Cashew had ringworm. No surprise to me now since she came from a major pet store. The outbreak had already hit her nose and one ear. She was losing hair quickly, and that infection would spread to Peppa within the next day or two. Peppa lost hair, too, but the infection was never as bad for her. Peppa had noticeable whistling from her nose and would sneeze pretty often. They immediately saw a vet, who was horrible in caring for them, misdiagnosed them, and insisted they did not have ringworm - they also claimed Peppa was perfectly healthy and "maybe just allergic to hay." I got a second, a third, and finally a fourth opinion before we stumbled upon the right vet.
The exotic vet found two large abscesses on Cashew's body that all other vets had somehow missed. One was on her shoulder, and one was attached to a lymph node. While one could be lanced, the inflamed lymph node would require surgery. Peppa is being treated for a URI and GI issues after an x-ray showed gas pockets in her intestines and one cloudy lung (though she still sounds completely healthy to vets without x-ray).
Both of my girls are in a 20 sq ft flat C&C cage. They use GuineaDad liners, have tons of tunnels, hidey huts, two water bottles, two food bowls, multiple hay piles, varied hay, etc. They were perfectly happy babies prior to Cashew's surgery. The cage is now divided and, since Cashew needs strict cage rest to recover from the surgery and lancing while so young, she is in a 2x2 section while Peppa has a 5x2 section.
Cashew's abscess removal surgery went really well. She was hospitalized for two days afterward (our choice), and she's been home for one week now. Peppa and her have been separated since Cashew came back home - vet's orders due to URI in Peppa and wound recovery in Cashew, but they've been alone for longer since Cashew was hospitalized for a few days total and Peppa was home alone.
After thousands of dollars gone and nearly three hours each day spent on syringe feedings - Cashew is on 7 medications, Peppa is on 4, and both of them receive 20ml of Critical Care daily + ChildLife vitamin C + ProBi probiotic - it'll be time to allow them to live together again in about one more week.
When they go to the vet and can see each other in carriers next to one another, they talk to each other (and I'm sure they're confused - like, 'wait a minute, you're still here? I thought I lost you!'). I tried letting them see each other today on my lap, and I don't think it went well. They seemed fine and stayed close together, but chased in one circle a lot in what looked like a dog chasing its tail. Peppa began to make clicking noises at Cashew and put her mouth near Cashew's surgical wound. Peppa continued those noises after we threw a towel on top of them, separated them, and put Cashew back in her section of the now-divided cage. The noises continued for about a minute or two, then Peppa calmed down. I was just so afraid of Peppa hurting Cashew's wound since the sutures haven't dissolved fully yet and the wounds are still very visible and prominent.
I've read tons of re-introduction information on this forum and elsewhere. Nothing goes into depth on post-op re-bonding procedures. What should I do? My girls love each other, and they're so young - I want them to be able to love each other like they used to again, but they can't take being hurt any more than they have been at such a young age.
Cute note: The night before we knew we had to hospitalize Cashew, she was in immense pain from her abscesses (even on Meloxicam). Peppa went and laid right next to her, they cuddled on a fleece lumbar pillow that can fit both of their heads, and they spent the night under the hammock, with Peppa making sure Cashew was okay. It was the first and only time I had seen Peppa leave her dominant bully behavior behind haha! (Also- funny that Peppa is our little bully when she's terrified of everything and needs Cashew to calm her down)
