So on Wednesday, my guinea pig, Patty, passed away at only a year old. It was nothing contagious, a complication from antibiotics she had been put on a few weeks earlier (we had stopped it after 2 days because she had a severe reaction.) Her cagemate, Lucy, was lonely and after speaking to the vet and the previous owner we decided that she would do really well with a baby guinea pig. Since she's on quarantine (just to be on the safe side) for two weeks, we decided now would be a good time because the baby would have to be in quarantine as well.
We looked at all the shelters, I tried to find a rescue, but unfortunately, none of the ones had any guinea pigs under a year old, so we went with the pet store option (I know, I was not very happy either unfortunately, I am autistic and have a limited area that I can drive, and my mom has similar limitations. My dad works and so could not help.) The piggy we went with is a gorgeous little girl we named Autumn. We chose her because she seemed to like to climb and we wanted an adventurous piggy. I was told this was normal, but she is very scared and has stayed in her hidey most of the time (going between her hidey and a little tunnel thing). I have her in my bedroom and last night I could hear her moving around, and saw that she did eat a little bit of the hay (we have Oxbow alfalfa hay mixed with a little Timothy, and the Cavy Cuisine young Cavy pellets but I only put them in there during the day because I'm afraid she might choke on them).
Other than that, her poops are very dry (but she is pooping!), and I'm worried she's not getting enough water. I have shallow dish put down with water and she has a water bottle. I gave her some green bell pepper last night as that is what I was told she had been eating as far as fresh veggies are concerned (and a little bit of orange but I have never fed any of my piggies oranges before so I'm not so sure about that).
She's so young and scared, and I'm wondering if anyone else has experience quarantining such a young and scared piggy and getting them to eat, drink, and be more comfortable. She has a vet appointment on Friday and I'm afraid that might be very stressful for her....
We looked at all the shelters, I tried to find a rescue, but unfortunately, none of the ones had any guinea pigs under a year old, so we went with the pet store option (I know, I was not very happy either unfortunately, I am autistic and have a limited area that I can drive, and my mom has similar limitations. My dad works and so could not help.) The piggy we went with is a gorgeous little girl we named Autumn. We chose her because she seemed to like to climb and we wanted an adventurous piggy. I was told this was normal, but she is very scared and has stayed in her hidey most of the time (going between her hidey and a little tunnel thing). I have her in my bedroom and last night I could hear her moving around, and saw that she did eat a little bit of the hay (we have Oxbow alfalfa hay mixed with a little Timothy, and the Cavy Cuisine young Cavy pellets but I only put them in there during the day because I'm afraid she might choke on them).
Other than that, her poops are very dry (but she is pooping!), and I'm worried she's not getting enough water. I have shallow dish put down with water and she has a water bottle. I gave her some green bell pepper last night as that is what I was told she had been eating as far as fresh veggies are concerned (and a little bit of orange but I have never fed any of my piggies oranges before so I'm not so sure about that).
She's so young and scared, and I'm wondering if anyone else has experience quarantining such a young and scared piggy and getting them to eat, drink, and be more comfortable. She has a vet appointment on Friday and I'm afraid that might be very stressful for her....