Concerned about lax quarantine attitudes.

[thalestral]

I've seen at least a couple of threads recently where people have stated they are deliberately skipping quarantine of new guinea pigs because they are "willing to pay the medical costs". Or because the new pig is from a "trusted" source.

This completely ignores both the fact that some times medical attention simply isn't enough for fragile guinea pigs (especially those just brought into a home from poor conditions) and that it really just isn't fair to deliberately expose a pet to potential illness. Also, it misses the point that quarantine is as much for the new pig to not catch anything undetected from the older ones as the other way around.

The problem is that by the time people post here they've already done it :/ Would it be possible for this information to be made more prominent? A sticky or something similar in the About Guinea Pigs board? I feel that a lot of guinea pigs are being exposed to URIs and mites needlessly as people are not grasping the importance of quarantine time - quarantining should be non-negotiable.

[Jennicat]

I agree, I've seen the threads and the "I'll play the medical bills" part was terribly upsetting.

I had a sick pig this year. I literally had him at the vet's within 12 hours of me seeing his symptoms. And 3 days later, it was obvious he wasn't going to make it. Despite being on antibiotics, being handfed, being given sub-cue fluids. I would happily have paid the medical bills, but vets aren't magicians, and sometimes they're just not meant to stay.

I can't fathom why someone would break quarantine and risk this for anything less than life or death for their guinea pig.

[TX_2_Pigs]

I have been seeing a lot of these kinds of posts too. I am pretty frustrated with it. That "yeah, yeah, I know but I am going to ignore" attitude bothers me. Many times I just read the post and sit here and shake my head. The poster obviously just doesn't get it. Then they get upset when they get called on their lack of judgment. Sure they are willing to accept the responsibility, but why risk it?

A little prevention goes a long way. No one is going to want to hear me complain when I have to have my engine rebuilt because I didn't change the oil. Yes, I know it needs to be done, but it just isn't that important at the moment. I don't have the money. I don't have the time. Whatever the excuse may be that I don't do the PREVENTIVE maintenance will cost me much more than that in the end. So just save myself the time, trouble and money and pay the $35 for an oil change now, instead of having to have my engine rebuilt for $1500 later.

Same concept. The quarantine and introduction protocol was developed the way it was for a reason. To insure that one pig doesn't make the other pig sick and to insure that they will get along and not have to be separated and live alone. I see so many people that don't do the intros right and come on here and post, "Why oh why aren't they getting along?" or "My old pig is chasing my new pig, so I separated them. Now what do I do?" It just frustrates me greatly and I just have to refrain from replying because my first instinct isn't nice and I don't really want to hurt anyone's feelings.

And the other thing that concerns me. Posts saying, "I gave my pig a (insert questionable item). Is it ok?" Shouldn't you have asked FIRST?

Ok, sorry this turned into a long rant. I will stop now because I could go on for a while.

[Ly&Pigs]

If the pig comes from a very reputable rescue and you know positively your own pigs aren't ill or have mites then quarantine can be reduced from 3 weeks to a few days. Mainly to let the pig adjust to his/her new surroundings before being intro'd to other pigs. But in many cases, the pigs aren't coming from reputable rescues but rather petstores or shelters/Humane Societies.

The info is here, but many times the people don't take the time to do proper research before getting new pigs. If the newbies would read the common misconceptions thread, there is a post on quarantining and why it's important.

And the other thing that concerns me. Posts saying, "I gave my pig a (insert questionable item). Is it ok?" Shouldn't you have asked FIRST?

I agree wholeheartedly. People should ask first before giving anything. They could end up damaging or killing their pig by giving it something they have no clue about.

[Jennicat]

Agreed, Ly. A reputable rescue's pigs are a different story compared to Humane Society/Craigslist, etc.

[TX_2_Pigs]

Originally Posted by Ly&Pigs

The info is here, but many times the people don't take the time to do proper research before getting new pigs. If the newbies would read the common misconceptions thread, there is a post on quarantining and why it's important.

The ones that come to mind are the ones that have said they were looking for a buddy for their pig and were told in the thread when/how/why to quarantine. Then come back and say they got their pig and ignored what everybody told them to do.

Those are the ones that frustrate me the most.

Too bad there isn't a way to limit newbies access to the whole board until they have read ALL of the stickies. But I know that isn't reasonable.

[Ly&Pigs]

Too bad there isn't a way to limit newbies access to the whole board until they have read ALL of the stickies. But I know that isn't reasonable.

I think it would be reasonable, but that's just me. I put up the Newbies read me first thread hoping that many of the newbies would stop and read it. Apparently, the majority don't read it until it's pointed out to them. That thread contains about every major subject there is concerning pigs.

I get frustrated with people asking the same things over and over and over and over and over again. A simple search would most likely answer their questions. And then there are the members who say they searched and couldn't find the answer and I do the same search and get a long list of threads about that particular thing. I bet there are a few questions that I've answered a hundred times over. I also know I don't have to answer them and much of the time now I leave the answering of many to others (unless I see an answer that I feel is incorrect or not totally correct) but I do answer the majority of diet related questions because that's my area of expertise.

We try to provide the answers to the most common questions via sticky threads. If people would just take the time to read those and read the rules along with the philosophies and principles of the forum when they first join or even before they join, it would make things much easier for us all. Us mods wouldn't have to issue as many impactions either if people would read the rules first.