Lucky Number Five

**dagwellismypigy** · #1 10-08-05, 06:51 pm

I'm might be getting a new piggie!!!!!Tommorow I'm going the the local SPCA that has a single male pig there. I don't think they know much about guinea pigs though. They say to feed him alfalfa even though he's an adult. His name is Patches, but if I get him I'm changing it to Bacon. The only reason I won't get him is if he and Chewie don't get along. I'm going to introduce Chewie and Bacon together first because Chewie doesn't really get along with anyone else in the cage and by introducing them first I'm hoping they'll bond and be a closer to each other. Which brings me to my question. If I take Chewie into meet the new pig, do I still quarintine? Do I quarintine Chewie with the new one? They'll all be in the 3x5 cage with a 1x3 loft after the quarintine.

Now I'll shut up and get to what your all waiting for... the picture!!

**my_oreo_cookie** · #2 10-08-05, 07:00 pm

oh hes VERY cute. Nice pick...hehe i wrote Nick Pice. (sorry)

**Fluff_n_roll** · #3 10-08-05, 07:04 pm

Aww sooo cute.

To quarentine is to keep them seperate (different rooms) for up to 3 weeks to make sure they don't catch anything from each other. I didn't quarentine Finn (only for maybe a week) and later all of a sudden Toup'e got sick. So i'd quarentine them for at least 2 weeks. Check around your vets and see if they give free check ups to new pets. Some do some dont, here they give free check ups to new pets, but if something is rong witht he pet then you have to pay for every thing but that way you get a free check up.

I hope you get to adopt the little cutie

**C&K** · #4 10-08-05, 07:11 pm

I can understand wanting to know if the two of them well get along, but you are putting Chewie at risk by introducing him to a shelter animal. You can call the shelter and ask about certain things, they may be a great shelter, and if he is separate from other guineas, and has been there 3 weeks with no problems, then the risk may be very low. In a perfect situation, you would bring Bacon home or to a friend or relatives, wait 3 weeks and then introduce him to Chewie. I would think long and hard about the benifits and risks of doing this. Last thing you need is another guinea ganging up on Chewie, however you don't want his health to be the price of premature introductions.

If you do introduce them, then I would qarentine them together afterwards. Maybe it would help if they spent 3 weeks together and then met the rest of the crew... May feel like they have a friend in the park...

Honestly I am not sure what I would do in your situation... Maybe adopt him and quarentene him separately, then introduce him to Chewie, if they don't get along after a week or two, look at rehoming Bacon yourself?

Generally the only place where it is really safe to introduce a new pig to match for personality is at a reputable rescuer...

**dagwellismypigy** · #5 10-08-05, 07:24 pm

[quote=Cavies-and-Kids]
Honestly I am not sure what I would do in your situation... Maybe adopt him and quarentene him separately, then introduce him to Chewie, if they don't get along after a week or two, look at rehoming Bacon yourself?
[quote]

Do you honestly think I could adopt a pig and then say "Oh, I don't want him anymore." I wouldn't want to do that to him. I couldn't.

I'm thinking I will take my chance at illness with Chewie. I'm pretty sure he will be ok, but if he does get sick, I have a great vet. I mean I risk getting sick everytime I go to school. Ok, maybe not.

Oh, the drama

heehee.

**C&K** · #6 10-08-05, 07:35 pm

Quote:

Do you honestly think I could adopt a pig and then say "Oh, I don't want him anymore." I wouldn't want to do that to him. I couldn't.

I can understand... I don't think I could either.

Quote:

I'm thinking I will take my chance at illness with Chewie. I'm pretty sure he will be ok, but if he does get sick, I have a great vet. I mean I risk getting sick everytime I go to school. Ok, maybe not.

This is true, however a chest infection is not a life threatening condition for you. I would sleep on it, decide in the morning what is right. Hopefully it will go ok.

One thing I would consider if you do get him is give a mite / lice treament with either Ivermectin or Revolution to both Chewie and the new one just as a preventative. I am suggesting Chewie because if the new one is infested, they will jump to Chewie before they are all killed off.

Bacon is a doll though. Try to keep in mind though that if Chewie is a little grumpy that it may not look like a perfect match at the first meeting, however if given a few days, they may work it out... Maybe giving Chewie 3 weeks with the new one would change the dynamics in the group when they rejoin...

I dunno... Hopefully somone else can shed some insight on this...

**iLoveDusty** · #7 10-08-05, 07:38 pm

He is a cute little munchkin!

**Percy's Mom** · #8 10-08-05, 08:40 pm

If you do take Chewie to introduce him to Bacon, and they get along well, I think quarentining them together is probably a good idea. They'll have already been around each other anyway, so no one would get lonely while you keep the new guy away from everyone else for a couple weeks. Would Chewie miss his other cagemates though?

**dagwellismypigy** · #9 10-08-05, 08:46 pm

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't miss the other pigs. They aren't really bonded. I think that is the best choice. I just don't want to subject Chewie to ilness. Maybe I should get one of those hazmat uniforms.

**Percy's Mom** · #10 10-08-05, 08:51 pm

I just got an image of a teeny tiny hazmat suit for Chewie. TOO funny! Patches/Bacon is SO adorable. I don't know how you could resist him, and if Chewie is the deciding factor, I would personally risk it and bring him along. As long as you can keep an eye on them both and could get them to the vet at the first sign of anything, you should be fine quarantining them together away from everyone else.

**dagwellismypigy** · #11 10-09-05, 10:46 am

WEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! He's HOME!!! I decided to take Chewie in with me to meet him. Patches does indeed have mites,poor baby, so I will give all the pigs in my house preventintive ivermectin, just to make sure.

Bacon (Patches) is a sweetheart time 10. He's really laid back and he and Chewie just hit it off. ON the car ride home they were all cuddled up. Bacon has a really cool voice/wheek, it sounds different from any wheek I've heard.

I'm in love and so is Chewie.

**Percy's Mom** · #12 10-09-05, 10:47 am

YEAH! That is so fantastic that Chewie and Bacon get along so well. I just know everyone will have a long happy life together!

**Zeander** · #13 10-09-05, 11:16 am

Great, congrats! He certainly is adorable, and the name Bacon is great!

**JennG** · #14 10-09-05, 12:52 pm

I'm so glad you decided to adopt him. He is the sweetest thing. Glad to hear Chewie and him are fast friends. Have fun with that lot of boys!!!

**dagwellismypigy** · #15 10-09-05, 01:34 pm

I think he may have been in an abusive home, he's terrified of my hand when I try to pet him and screams bloody murder. He's fine once you get him out though. He's a talker too, lots of little contented pig noises.

He's eating like a pig, which is a good thing. When I put hay in the cage, he went sprinting over to it, I think he's nibbled the pellets, and he's eating veggies really good. I was shocked he ate so soon.

**JennG** · #16 10-09-05, 03:36 pm

My Callie is the way. The girl I got her from wasn't mean but we think the guy who dumped her at Petco had something to do with it. She wheeks real loud when you even lay a hand on her to pet her and takes off like a bat out of heck. She calms down once you hold her but she doesn't like to be messed with. I just keep trying.

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