Cinderella went to heaven last night

I am so sorry. Poor baby girl. At least she was loved at the end & had a nicer place to die. Find yourself a nice rescue & get a couple of healthy piggies. You deserve it.

I am sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry...Let Cinderella rest in peace...I'm sure she was in good loving hands.

Shellie, I am sorry for your loss, I could never imagine if I lossed any of my babies. But, why are you taking it back to Pet Smart?

I took her back because she was still under the "14 day guarantee"
They asked if I wanted to exchange her for a new pet. I said no thanks and got out of there. Thanks for all of the support.

I live close by you. If you are looking for another GP when you are ready. There are a few in this area. There is also a GP shelter in Orlando.

:weepy: I am truley sorry for your loss.

Now my other GP is doing some weird stuff. Is a URI contagious? I don;t know if she is upset or if she is sick as well. When she went to the vet last week she checked out fine except for her ringworm. Now she is twitching sparadically and making a loud weeking sound if you hold her up.
Any advice on what could be going on? I don't think I can stand to lose another one.

I don't know if anyone else is thinking mites but I know we are all thinking Vet time. Good luck. I hope it's minor.

Sounds to me like, with the loss of her companion, the stress brought out mites. Mites are dormant in all piggies, and in times of great stress they can surface. Does she seem to be itching alot? Whatever it is, I'd take her to the vet asap. If it is mites, they'll probably prescribe ivermectin.

URI is contagious. Did your other sow come from Petsmart too or was she a pig you already had? If you didn't quarantine and had them together, yes she can catch URI, parasites, etc.

Sorry for your loss, it would be a good idea to get the other one a vet check .

They both came from PetSmart. I don't think it is mites as she is not itching or showing any signs of it. You can pet her and she is fine.
This is so crazy, who would have ever thought such little animals would have so many problems....

They dont have a lot of problems, if they are taken care of and taken to a vet regularly. (did you do any research before you purchased your GP?, They need plenty of fresh veggies and/or Vitamin C, Timothy Hay and lots of room to run and loves lots of attention). They are lot easier to take care of than most animals, just a little more fragile than most.

It could be she is grieving or maybe she is reacting to being alone. Have you checked her out? Check the back of her back area for any signs of scratching, eggs, etc,. More than likely if they come from a pet store they have mites.

They also hide there illness very well. So it is important to get them to a vet on any onsets of any doubts.

Good luck

You know I did not think they had lots of problems to begin with. Everything I have read here and in books and my new GP magazine says they are pretty healthy animals. When I took Cinderella back to PetSmart yesterday the girl told us they get sick all the time, they are known for having problems. I knew she was full of crap but did not bother to say anything.
They have tons of hay, fresh veggies, clean bedding, large cage, fresh water I know I am doing everything right.
Molly made it through the night. I did not want to go in and check on her this morning for fear she would have passed during the night. PetSmart offered to bring her back in and they would treat her and I could readopt her when she was better. I really don't want to leave her there, honestly I do not trust them. I am going to call my vet this morning and see if he can treat her, she just went last week for the ringworm on her nose and that seems to be getting better.
My friend came over last night who also bought two GP's from PetSmart one before me and then the other one when I got mine and hers are doing fine.... She thought it could be the shavings I am using for the bedding, I have been trying a dew things to see what I like best and got the kiln dried pine shaving from another pet store last week. She thought that could be bothering her lungs so I clean it all out right away and put clean towels and fresh hay in the bed for overnight until I could take that back and get the aspen instead. I thought that type of pine bedding was safe for them? The bag says for Gp's and I asked the store people when I bought it if it was ok and she said yes, they even had their pigs in that bedding.
I am going to feel even more awful if the bedding is to blame!

You are not to blame & most piggies are good on kiln dried pine. I have one piggy with uri problems who does best on aspen so that is what I use. That piggy, Ink Spot, came from Pet Smart too. We live and learn, right? My vet got her well & she has not been sick again in over a year but she wheezes a little and always will. You just had the misfortune to get a sick piggy from the wrong place. A good rescue place will not adopt out sick piggies. I hope you don't give up on these little critters because your first experience was bad. There's so much to learn but they are such fun! Keep your chin up.

I agree, you are not to blame. Petstores get thier Gp's from breeders that are in horrible conditions. They come to the store already sick. You will enjoy having your Gp, especially once it is feeling better. They give lots of love and there is nothing more wonderful than hearing that wheek of excitement from your Gp when you walk into the room or hold it and it just purr's in your lap.

It might not be the bedding, just the fact they were sick before you got them. I can imagine not wanting to get up and look in fear that your other might not have made it. I dont think I could of slept. I constanly am getting up in the middle of the night checking on my gps.

Please keep us posted.

Good luck.

Molly died this morning. She was not eating and breathing very hard. I made her an appt. for 11:30 and when I got off the phone with the vet she died on my lap.
Thanks for all of your support.

I'm so sorry to hear both of your girls passed away. Sounds like they both had that infection and were sick when you got them.

When you are ready, I'm sure the folks here can help you find some GPs that need homes from rescues or rehoming situations where they are healthy coming in to your home.

So many here learned the 'hard way' that GPs in petstores are so often sick or pregnant when you get them home.

I feel lucky that of my petstore piggies (purchased before finding this site) none were actually sick, and only one was pregnant. I feel like I got very lucky when compared to all the stories here like yours.

Anyway, my sincerest sympathy to you. Sounds like you were just a great piggy mom who did everthing you could for your girls.

I am sorry for both your losses.

But I do want to point out this is another classic example of why NOT to buy pigs from petstores.