Greetings from an unexpecting new owner...

[Jocelyn3113]

Hi there,
I own a zoo! 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 rats, 1 bunny and my headgie and a horse (he is boarded somewhere else). I love all my pets as family and am especially fond of bunnies. I have never been a big fan of the cavies, I mean I liked them I just like bunnies better so that’s the species I chose to own. However this weekend while at my husband’s cousins place I noticed I had not seen there guinea pig, they got a piggy last year, a cute very friendly little guy whom they were quite in love with... until they got a dog who they liked better.
Long story short we had a few bubblies and I began searching for the piggy, they noted he’s on top of the freezer, but he smells so you probably don’t want to visit him, he had a lump (abscess it seems like, that fell off last week) they assumed he would die but he didn’t and they really don’t want him. His cage had not been cleaned in 2.5 months they admitted and his food dish was empty. Before my husband could even protest I said I will take him! They were glad to be rid of him (not like he was taking much of their time). We packed him up and carted him home.
The weirdest part is he is the friendliest guinea pig I have ever met! He’s not overly skittish at all. Yesterday I let him play in the grass on the front lawn (probably one of the first times in his life he had ever been out of his small cage). He was so happy! Then I bought him, vitamin c, gave him his first taste of hay and grass, gave him a bath (because he was filthy go figure) trimmed his hair and nails, and the little guy looks and seems completely different already.
He’s almost back to white again and he can walk normally now that his nails are clipped, this morning we walked past and he came out of his little igloo and stood at the front of his cage (and of course we gave him a treat for that), he’s skinny though and needs to put on weight as he wasn’t being fed regularly…
Pictures to follow! Any tips for weight gain for the little rescue are appreciated !

[mufasa]

Oh my gosh, that poor baby! I'm so glad you took him. How can people be so callous over a live creature, especially one they once cared for? I'm sure others will be by to give you advice on fattening him up. Can't wait to see the pigtures.

It's great to see a fellow horse owner. I have an Appaloosa and, like you, I board him out.

[Petlovr]

Weigh him weekly to monitor his condition, and to watch for any health issues. You can feed him some alfalfa based pellets to get his weight up, and for the added nutrition. You can read here for more info:http://www.guinealynx.info/diet.html , although pretty much what you feed your bun you can feed the pig. Thank you for saving him. It's sad what people will do to a helpless animal.

[BrendaMarie]

I'm soooo glad you rescued him! Can't wait to see the pigtures.

[BlueButterfly]

Welcome!
It's so great you rescued him, even though you aren't particularly found of cavies. I can't stand it when people get new pets, and then think their old pets are worthless! Sounds like you're taking good care of him so far, just a couple little things. First, by vitamin C, did you mean vitamin C drops? Because those are no good at all. And I didn't see you mention anything about veggies, he should get some leafy vegetables daily, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce are best. That'll probably help with weight gain, and you can also feed him unlimited pellets until his weight gets back up. There are other things you can do in the long run to make him happy (a friend, bigger cage, ect.) But right now sounds like you're doing good!

[Wildcavy]

A huge THANK YOU and lots of happy wheeks from my piggies for you rescuing the poor little guy!!

I cannot believe they just left him there and expected him to just go ahead and die. Hope they never get bored with the dog.

Can't wait to see pigtures of your little guy.

@BlueButterfly , there is nothing wrong with Vitamin C drops as long as you give them to your pigs directly. We get ours from our vet and use the drops in a syringe and give it to the pigs straight. You just don't want to add it to their water.

[Jocelyn3113]

The bunny is a one year old neutered male, the bunny gets fresh veggies and occasionally fruit most days but its more a treat for him then anything else... cavies are different? People seem to be a little split but most agree rabbits and piggies should not live together... can they play together supervised? The cavy seems interested in the bunny... I am also concerned that all I read online says they NEED friends but I really don’t want a second one and hes been alone for 2 years (hes 3 his last home was probably worst then this past one there he was left to just mate with another piggy), rabbits really like friends, ours had one and when it passed away (it was an older rescue) he was devastated, but now he thinks he’s people and is pretty tight with the cats. Can he ever be really happy by himself?

He doesn’t seem to like his pellets, but is wolfing back all the other food I give him (a few carrots, hay for the first time ever, I got alfalfa because I hear it helps with weight, the buns eats timothy) and despite being skinny he looks to be healthy, clear eyes solid poop ect.

I never wanted one but how sweet this guy is after his life so far is enough to win anyone over, the hubby is quite enamored as well

[Jocelyn3113]

the drops are in pill form as well

[Wildcavy]

One of our rescues was badly malnourished -- to the degree that it caused blindness and some neuro-muscular issues -- and really having non-stop access to good hay (timothy and orchard grass in his case), clean water, good timothy-based pellets, and vitamin c drops got him going strong. Just having good quality basics makes all the difference to a neglected pig.

He learned to eat his veg and fruit which made him even stronger and he's now a sleek brindle boar, 1200 grams -- you wouldn't know it was the same piggy! I'm betting yours will start putting on the grams like crazy now.

Thank you for taking a chance on him.

[BlueButterfly]

Cavies are different with veggies, because they need them every day. I don't know too much about rabbits, but I read they don't need a constant supply of hay (someone correct me if I'm wrong)and guinea pigs need hay all the time. He certainly would be much happier with a friend, but it's not absolutely necessarily. But two guinea pigs are hardly more work then one, and don't require too much of a bigger space. And, sorry to say, guinea pigs and rabbits can absolutely not live or play together. First, they don't really get along because they have different social habits. Second, rabbits can chew guinea pigs ears. And third, a guinea pig can be killed or seriously injured with one swift kick from even a small rabbit. So letting them play together probably wouldn't be a good idea.
You might want to give him Alfalfa and Timothy, because while Alfalfa will help him gain some weight back, it can cause some problems if he's fed too much of it.

[Jocelyn3113]

Thats a shame I really hoped they would be able to at least play supervised at some point... hes not a big rabbit but I suppose you may be correct, rabbits need hay everyday it should be the primary component of their diet...

Bunnies I want to believe I know piggies I need to know better

[kananaka]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Here is a great chart on food for guinea pigs and if you read the 2nd post it lists the do's and don'ts for their daily diet. http://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/...tml#post254730 Thanks for taking the boy in, you already improved his life 100%!

[Jocelyn3113]

Heres some pictures demanding little fellow keeps running across my laptop and nudging me for more treats
Hard not to when hes skin and bone and fur...

[Kelsie]

Oh my gosh he is adorable. Thank you for helping this little guy. How in the world could they let his cage go uncleaned for over two months. And then to just ignore him and wait for him to die. You and your husband are truly this little boy's guardian angels. I know he will return his appreciation to you many times over.

[Jocelyn3113]

I hope so... Its almost worse that they are not bad people, they would never dream of doing something like that to a dog... people just don't see the small and the furred like they are animals. So sad. As far as I can tell he seems to be quite happy now. And hungry!

[Raine59]

In that last picture, he actually looks like he's smiling. He must be happy to be with people who love him now. Congrats to you for taking him, if if you're not piggy people, but maybe now you will be.

[madelineelaine]

AW he is so cute most adorable pig. I think it's awful that they just left him, you are truley amazing for taking him in. Guinea pigs are similair to rabbits, but they also have some differences. I'd definitely look at the food charts They've helped me so much. I'd also read up on grooming!

[Jocelyn3113]

One of my close buds is a big piggy fan (shes on here somewhere and told me to join) she brought him celentro, romain, and green pepper as a welcome home present which I thought was very sweet he likes her.

[BlueButterfly]

Oh, he's just adorable! He looks like he's got a little mohawk there. Does he have a name? He looks like a Marshmallow to me.

[abyssinianpiggy]

He's so cute! I own 7 guinea pigs but one just died. Now I have 6.
I also have 2 budgies.