Getting a new piggy

[willowfaery]

I will be getting a new guinea pig in the next couple of weeks and I have a few question. Should I take my new piggy to the vet before I take her home just to check her out? Also, I read about quarantining new pigs from old ones in a separate cage and room for three weeks. I can do the cage, but I don't know about separate rooms because of where my heater is (I have a VERY small apartment with a space heater)? Anyways, can't I just put them in separate cages in the same room? They would have to be a few feet from each other though. I don't know what to do.

[TX_2_Pigs]

The only problem is that the reason you are quarantining in the first place is so that your new piggy doesn't pass an illness on to your old piggy. And since a lot of those things are airborne and not just passed on by actual contact, keeping new pig in the same room with old pig will still expose old pig.

Be on the safe side and put new pig in another room. Get a small $10 space heater to put in there. You would be surprised how well even those little bitty personal size space heaters work. It doesn't have to be toasty warm in there but it will keep it warm enough that the piggy doesn't get cold.

Go ahead and take new pig to the vet for a base line exam but don't think that just because he says new pig is in good health you can forgo the quarantine because there is a possibility that new pig just isn't showing any symptoms at the time of the exam.

good luck and as usual........PICTURES!

[willowfaery]

Thank you so much. I 'm going to put the newbie in another room.