Shambles
Junior Guinea Pig
Feeling left out due to not having my own thread 
so here goes!
I basically became a guinea pig mum by accident. I went to see a friend who's boyfriend had been breeding Pigs. I saw Nala and instantly fell in love with her. I was told the rest of her litter had died and that she was losing weight and had scurvy and they could not sell her. Little Nala just sat on me for ages and I decided I couldn't leave her. She was so tiny, she needed a lot of love and attention, but I was ultimately told she would get better. She didn't have much mobility. Her living conditions weren't the best.
I spent most of the night researching what guineas needed and went out the next day and brought everything I would need. I brought Nala home. Little did I know I'd been recommended the wrong food, the wrong size cage and also falsely told that she would be just fine on her own. When I took her home she was supposedly 8 weeks old and weighed only 145g.
I watched lots of YouTube videos and found this forum. I ordered the right sized cage. Went and brought proper pellets, ordered vitamin c liquid to give her through a syringe and monitored her weight daily. I got her a friend so she wasn't lonely. She gained weight and got up to 225g. Her mobility got better and she started being able to run. She loved to snuggle with her new friend Storm.
I spent countless nights hand sowing cage liners and pee pads. I just wanted to give them the best that I could. Nala, still being weighed daily began to lose weight and I noticed she was off her food. Turns out she had lost a bottom tooth. After a chat with the vet she went on to critical care. I was syringe feeding her day and night. It seemed to be going okay.. 5 days after getting Storm I woke up and Nala didn't seem right. Something felt off, I booked her in at the vet for the same day. She started going downhill quickly, struggling to breath and not taking her critical care. I rushed her into the vets as an emergency appointment.
Sadly, I had to do the last thing I could to help her and have her PTS. The vet said she didn't have a chance. Her breathing was bad and she was too weak. Giving her medicine would've been unlikely to make a difference and also too risky.
I was broken. I felt like I'd failed her.
So now I had the issue of Storm being alone, so my partner came home with Pippa. I struggled with the idea of loving another piggy. I struggled with deciding if I should quarentine her or not. The vet said Nala probably didn't have anything contagious and that it was genetic/down to previous poor care, but I didn't want to put Pippa at risk. I got some advice on here and due to their young age bonded them quickly. The bonding was eventful. When I bonded Nala and Storm it was easy. It was Storm who was the dominant one for obvious reasons. They just spent lots of time huddled together.. now I wonder if that's because Storm knew Nala wasn't okay.
Introducing Storm and Pippa they accepted one another pretty quickly but there was alot of dominance behaviour which I'd never experienced before. I spent hours perched on the edge of the sofa with my oven glove at the ready It was 2.30am when I finally decided I was comfortable to put them in the cage together. Where they quickly fell asleep next to each other.
They still have their moments but spend alot of time cuddled up in a hidey (even though they have separate ones). There is lots of zoomies and popcorning going on. So I'm guessing the odd moments are still dominace behaviours.
It's crazy to me.. how they are is beautiful to watch but also makes me realise how poorly nala must have been. I never saw her RUN, I never saw her Popcorn. When Storm first came home I thought she was crazy.. when Pippa came home I realised that behaviour is normal baby pig behaviour and it made me feel more sad for Nala. Its a mix of emotions. Her behaviour in hindsight tells me she was obviously not doing well - despite what I was led to believe - from the off. But it also makes me wonder if I could've done more to help her. All this has happened in under a month.
So I am now a piggy mum of two beautiful girls who I love dearly. Pippa and Storm❤
so here goes! I basically became a guinea pig mum by accident. I went to see a friend who's boyfriend had been breeding Pigs. I saw Nala and instantly fell in love with her. I was told the rest of her litter had died and that she was losing weight and had scurvy and they could not sell her. Little Nala just sat on me for ages and I decided I couldn't leave her. She was so tiny, she needed a lot of love and attention, but I was ultimately told she would get better. She didn't have much mobility. Her living conditions weren't the best.
I spent most of the night researching what guineas needed and went out the next day and brought everything I would need. I brought Nala home. Little did I know I'd been recommended the wrong food, the wrong size cage and also falsely told that she would be just fine on her own. When I took her home she was supposedly 8 weeks old and weighed only 145g.
I watched lots of YouTube videos and found this forum. I ordered the right sized cage. Went and brought proper pellets, ordered vitamin c liquid to give her through a syringe and monitored her weight daily. I got her a friend so she wasn't lonely. She gained weight and got up to 225g. Her mobility got better and she started being able to run. She loved to snuggle with her new friend Storm.
I spent countless nights hand sowing cage liners and pee pads. I just wanted to give them the best that I could. Nala, still being weighed daily began to lose weight and I noticed she was off her food. Turns out she had lost a bottom tooth. After a chat with the vet she went on to critical care. I was syringe feeding her day and night. It seemed to be going okay.. 5 days after getting Storm I woke up and Nala didn't seem right. Something felt off, I booked her in at the vet for the same day. She started going downhill quickly, struggling to breath and not taking her critical care. I rushed her into the vets as an emergency appointment.
Sadly, I had to do the last thing I could to help her and have her PTS. The vet said she didn't have a chance. Her breathing was bad and she was too weak. Giving her medicine would've been unlikely to make a difference and also too risky.
I was broken. I felt like I'd failed her.
So now I had the issue of Storm being alone, so my partner came home with Pippa. I struggled with the idea of loving another piggy. I struggled with deciding if I should quarentine her or not. The vet said Nala probably didn't have anything contagious and that it was genetic/down to previous poor care, but I didn't want to put Pippa at risk. I got some advice on here and due to their young age bonded them quickly. The bonding was eventful. When I bonded Nala and Storm it was easy. It was Storm who was the dominant one for obvious reasons. They just spent lots of time huddled together.. now I wonder if that's because Storm knew Nala wasn't okay.
Introducing Storm and Pippa they accepted one another pretty quickly but there was alot of dominance behaviour which I'd never experienced before. I spent hours perched on the edge of the sofa with my oven glove at the ready It was 2.30am when I finally decided I was comfortable to put them in the cage together. Where they quickly fell asleep next to each other.
They still have their moments but spend alot of time cuddled up in a hidey (even though they have separate ones). There is lots of zoomies and popcorning going on. So I'm guessing the odd moments are still dominace behaviours.
It's crazy to me.. how they are is beautiful to watch but also makes me realise how poorly nala must have been. I never saw her RUN, I never saw her Popcorn. When Storm first came home I thought she was crazy.. when Pippa came home I realised that behaviour is normal baby pig behaviour and it made me feel more sad for Nala. Its a mix of emotions. Her behaviour in hindsight tells me she was obviously not doing well - despite what I was led to believe - from the off. But it also makes me wonder if I could've done more to help her. All this has happened in under a month.
So I am now a piggy mum of two beautiful girls who I love dearly. Pippa and Storm❤
I worry about myself sometimes 
