Not moving around

[Tamgirl1983]

I just adopted my two girls (Suki and Rika, 6 weeks old) From a friend in Tennessee about a week ago. They are really coming around and loving their veggies, exploring and playing and snuggling , normal guinea pig things. I got an email from my friend who said the other two girls from the litter , of the pregnant guinea that was surrendered to her, are acting kind of funny. As far as I know they are eating, but they aren't running about like usual. In fact, she said they hardly move at all. When I went to visit , and pick up susu and rik, I noticed they all ran about and played and ate and chirped and week!ed loudly. She informed me that she was putting the babies in quarantine until she could speak with a vet and see what could be going on . I told her my girls were fine and I would talk with my vet also when I make my trip to take the girls in a couple days , just to get a second opinion. I have no idea what could be going on based on the symptoms she told me. My friend also has four boys (housed in seperate cages from the girls) and the mother (who was housed with the babies) and she informed me they were all acting normally. It is just the little ones acting funny. This really scares me , because the mother was surrendered to her via some flea market guy that she yelled at for having her out in the sun , no water, and we are wondering if it might be some genetic defect that is caused from inbreeding the poor creatures . I am taking my girls to the vet asap just to insure they are all around healthy, but was wondering if anyone might have any experience with this kind of behaviour and could tell me what might be going on ?
Symptoms again are : hardly any movement / no chirping /wheeking , not running about/away , at least when people are present (which I know they used to do only a week ago)
sorry for the long post!

[aqh88]

So basically they are just lethargic-not moving much, expressing no energy. Are they eating and drinking normal? When they sit still are they fluffing their fur up? Eye or nose discharge? Weight loss (you should be weighing them weekly)?

If they appear healthy otherwise including eating normal then I would guess something happened or changed in their environment to make them cautious. Pigs are prey animals and anything can set off their flight instincts. Sometimes just rearranging a room can make them cautious and quieter for a few days. Even a loud noise like a door getting slammed or something being dropped can upset them for awhile. There are also things we might not notice like a dog at a neighbors house barking more than usual. Pigs have good hearing.

If they show any other symptoms or become increasingly lethargic they should be taken to a vet. With the information you've given there are way too many possibilities to suggest anything.

[Tamgirl1983]

Thats all I knew at the time from my friend, so thats all that I could post. She has written back since and she is taking them to the vet tommorrow. They are eating, drinking and pooping. It got really warm in her house so she had to put fans everywhere. She was doing internet searches and all she could find was either basically what you said , something changed and they are afraid, or heatstroke. I think she was afraid it was heatstroke since it had been so warm lately. She has quarintined them and is taking them to the vet , so hopefully they will be okay. Thank you for your reply

[Tamgirl1983]

My friend in tennesee found out that her girls have bone degeneration . She said it may be lack of nutrition or genetics. I have given my girls a look over as well. Although they seem fine, eating ,pooping and chirping and playing like normal, They have little creepy crawlys on their back! I was shocked. I haven't seen them scratch excessively or anything and have no idea how they got them. I made them a vet appt first thing monday. (I was going to go weds but she ended up being out of town). Is there anything I can do until the vet appt to make them comfortable?

[Haley0489]

It's probably lice if you can see them. Mine had lice for several weeks before I realized they were infected. If you're taking them to the vet soon I wouldn't worry about "making them comfortable" as I don't think there much you can do to comfort a pig with lice. Getting treatment is the best thing. I used Advantage and the lice were all gone by floortime that night!

[Tamgirl1983]

Thats great that your piggies got well so fast! Yeah I barely noticed anything was going on until I looked, and at the time (weds morning ) I couldn't find very many, but I am sure there are more by the way they are getting more agitated at each other and bitey at me ! poor things . I can't wait to take them to the vet and get this taken care of. Thanks for the info Haley!

[Toadies]

Tamgirl, do you have a fine tooth flea comb, like for cats or dogs? I was just wondering if you might be able to comb some of the beasties off.

[erikahand83]

Just make sure you get all your pigs treated for lice if they are housed together. The others will more than likely have some to if these littles ones have it.

[Tamgirl1983]

I will try combing them in the morning when I get home from work. maybe that will give a little itch relief until monday, if I do that each morning. They are still eating and playing so they are in good spirits. I just hate seeing them itch and scratch. Thanks for the advice !