My piggy the escape artist!

[Guineapigluver2]

Hey my pig Charlie just went on a little adventure. He was having floor time while I was washing his fleece and he went to visit my new pig that is still in quarentine, Parker. I was wondering since they have alredy been in the same room can I go ahead and introduce them tonight. I havent taken Parker to the vet yet so I'm not sure if its such a great idea but he seems healthy, eating and dinking normally and just acting like a normal pig. I think quarentine had gone out the window and I really want to introduce them but I thought that I should check here first. Parker was seen by a vet at the shelter and given the injection for mites (sorry I forgot what its called) and they didnt find anything wrong with him. He was there for a little less than a month if that helps. Also I dont think he had mites but they give it to all the pigs just in case. What do you think, can they meet?

[Jenni_Feathers]

How close of contact did they get?

[Guineapigluver2]

They were in the same room and I'm not really sure how close they got because I dont know when Charlie escaped. He could have been out for an hour (not likely) or 5min. I found him in the hall when he made a mad dash for my sisters room (where the new piggy is. It took us probably 10 minutes to catch him and its a small room. He was under the bed which is kind of close to the cage and then he went to the corner which is really close to the cage. So I think I will introduce them sometime in the next hour. I will just take both of them to the vet. I will make the cage extention and I think I have enough fleece for it and I will ask my mom for some towls untill I can get some more matress pads.

[clotho]

I would highly suggest you finish the quarantine!! Yes they were in the same room - but still!! There is still a possibility that your new piggie may have something that hasn't already been passed on.

Also, you should be prepared when you do quarantine - as in, have a whole day set aside. Start in the morning and do the intro in a neutral place. Then be prepared to watch them to make sure they don't fight.

[Guineapigluver2]

Opps sorry Clotho. We called the vet and they said we could put their cages in the same room. At first they went right to eachother and tried there hardest to touch noses but they couldnt really through the grids. They still want to be with eachother I feel so bad that they cant be together. They seemed to get frustrated when they couldnt be with eachother face to face. Should I introduce them soon? I have a vet appointment next Monday for Parker.

[clotho]

The problem is that some illnesses are airborne and can pass from one piggie to the other. Some diseases take 3 weeks to show up, so a vet could give a clean bill of health but something could still be there and not show up for a while. It's always best to do full quarantine in separate rooms.