Adopting Finally getting George a friend.. :)

Aleks · Nov 19, 2012

I've been wanting to get George a friend for so long but didn't know where to look for one. I didn't want to get another one from a pet store and the closest rescue that I've found is over 100 miles away.
So I was looking on ebayclassifieds to see if they had anybody trying to re-home their guinea pigs, and I found quite a few. Some made me sad.

The majority of the people that I did send an email to (asking how old their pig was, if he's been seen by a vet, etc) didn't email me back. Two people did though, one said she surrendered him to the humane society a few weeks ago and the other saying that she was trying to re-home her 1 year old boar with his 4.5 week old son.

Basically she can't afford to take care of him anymore. I asked her if she would mind separating them and letting me have the 1 year old and she agreed. I'm going to go look at him/hopefully take him home on Sunday. He hasn't been seen by a vet, but I asked her to look at his eyes and tell me if they're crusty and to feel around his ears and let me know if they're rough or smooth. She said his eyes weren't crusty or anything abnormal and his ears were soft and smooth. I'll be inspecting him myself, too, of course.

George will be going to the vet to get seen about a possible URI/ear infection/possible mites on Saturday. Monday at the very latest. In the mean time I'm monitoring him closely, he's eating and drinking a normal amount and he's not lethargic. And he hasn't lost any weight, he gained a small amount actually. His next weighing is Wednesday. I'll keep you all updated about how he's holding up if you want.

Here's a pigture of the piggy I'm adopting:

I'm going to be naming him Lancelot. lol

Pigluv · Nov 19, 2012

Aw isn't he cute? I LOVE the name! I hope George gets better soon!

Aleks · Nov 19, 2012

@Pigluv Right? He looks so fluffy

Thank you! I obviously like the knights of the round table haha. I hope he does, too. I feel bad for my lil boy.

RodentCuddles · Nov 19, 2012

Just wandering, why can't you get the son as well? Hes be rather young to have to live by himself, is there any reason why you have to separate him from his father?
I just don't like splitting up pairs for no reason, It just doesn't seem fair, sure you're one isn't going to be alone any more but you're making a young little guy live alone till (if) he gets a new home.

cavy_jdas · Nov 19, 2012

Hi Aleks - you had posted in another thread a while back - TEN days ago, in fact - that you suspected George was ill. A URI can be fatal if not treated. If you honestly suspect he is ill, please stop commenting about it and take him to the vet. I politely encouraged you previously, and now I more adamently suggesting that you consider giving proper care to the pet you already own before you consider getting another guinea pig. If you feel George is not well, then you are demonstrating that are not giving George the care he needs (unless you don't actually believe he is sick) and you risk the health of the new pig by bringing him into this.

Aleks · Nov 19, 2012

RodentCuddles said:
Just wandering, why can't you get the son as well? Hes be rather young to have to live by himself, is there any reason why you have to separate him from his father?
I just don't like splitting up pairs for no reason

Because I don't have room for three piggies, and I would need to save up more money before getting a third. Trust me, if I thought I would be able to properly take care of 3 piggies, I would have adopted the son as well.

lifesvr7 · Nov 19, 2012

Hope he feels better and that he and the new piggy get along. Serious issues might be evident immediately, but some take a little time to develop so keep an eye on behavior for awhile after you introduce them. I slept on the couch in the same room the first night because I was afraid they would fight the minute I turned my back lol Don't forget the importance of quarantine and be prepared for having another plan if for some reason they don't get along. Definitely going to need two cages and stuff at least for quarantine but may need them longer (or forever) if they refuse to get along.

Good Luck!!

Oh, if for some reason this one doesn't work out like the ones you wrote about, do not discount a rescue because it it too far. I drove almost two hours to find CoCos girlfriend and I am so happy I did. Not only was she already spayed, I got her full story, health records, a monitored introduction with people who have tons of experience recognizing the subtle signs of good and bad reactions AND I didn't have to do a quarantine because she had been thoroughly health checked and quarantined at a foster home before she was put up for adoption. Best decision I could have made!

Aleks · Nov 19, 2012

cavy_jdas said:
Hi Aleks - you had posted in another thread a while back - TEN days ago, in fact - that you suspected George was ill. A URI can be fatal if not treated. If you honestly suspect he is ill, please stop commenting about it and take him to the vet. I politely encouraged you previously, and now I more adamently suggesting that you consider giving proper care to the pet you already own before you consider getting another guinea pig. If you feel George is not well, then you are demonstrating that are not giving George the care he needs (unless you don't actually believe he is sick) and you risk the health of the new pig by bringing him into this.

This really is the soonest I'd be able to get him to the vet. All of the exotic animal vets around here refuse to set up any kind of payment plan and my boyfriend doesn't get paid until friday. As I said, I have been monitoring him and he's doing well. I know that URI's can be fatal, if i could get him to the vet any sooner i would do it in a heart beat.

Colorado Cavies · Nov 19, 2012

If you can't pay for one pig to go to the vet do you really think getting a second is a good idea? What if they both get sick and you can't afford to take them? You shouldn't adopt any more pets before you can afford the one you have now. Save up money for an emergency fund and THEN adopt another pig.

Aleks · Nov 19, 2012

Colorado Cavies said:
If you can't pay for one pig to go to the vet do you really think getting a second is a good idea? What if they both get sick and you can't afford to take them? You shouldn't adopt any more pets before you can afford the one you have now. Save up money for an emergency fund and THEN adopt another pig.

How exactly can I not afford to take care of George? I'm taking him to the vet aren't i? He's going to get treatment. It was just bad timing. He would have gone last week if my boyfriends check hadn't been only 88$ and if I hadn't spent all of SSI check on supplies for George before I noticed he MIGHT be sick. I just got a job as well I start tomorrow and get paid every week so it's not like I won't be able to afford taking care of them. I was also going to apply for pet insurance first thing after I get home from work tomorrow.
I feel like you guys are attacking me when I'm doing the best that I can given the fact that the timing was bad this one time. This is literally the first time we've had an issue with money in a very long time. And after he gets paid this friday it wont be an issue any longer.

Aleks · Nov 23, 2012

Here's an update for those of you who care and aren't going to badger me for doing the best that I can for my piggy:
He's going to the vet tomorrow at 10am, I tried applying for Care Credit but they didn't approve me because I have insufficient or lack of credit. I have a discount card that is accepted at 80% of pharmacies and will give me anywhere between 10% and 85% off his prescriptions. We're not going to be picking up Lancelot upon my boyfriend's request to wait a few more weeks.
I'll let whoever wants to know how his vet visit went tomorrow.

Slipperytofu · Nov 23, 2012

I totally understand bad timing Aleks xD Please update on how his vet visit goes tomorrow!

lifesvr7 · Nov 24, 2012

How did things go at the vet?

Aleks · Nov 24, 2012

lifesvr7 said:
How did things go at the vet?

Sorry, I was gonna post it on here but I made a new thread instead.

His vet visit went great! He didn't have a URI, the vet said his lungs sounded clear, but he does have a common cold.
He prescribed a short term antibiotic.
And he gave me ear cleanser because his ears had waxy build up (no ear mites or anything thankfully!) I had tried cleaning his ears before but with no luck.
I tried using the ear cleaner a few hours ago and George freaked out!! I felt really bad. Do you have any advice on that? Cause he was whining up a storm and sprinting across my bed.

Edit: I also had him check for fur mites, which i now learned isn't really good. I didn't know that the scraping tests were pretty unsuccessful and painful

lifesvr7 · Nov 24, 2012

Never cleaned pig ears before, only dogs. I know a lot of cleaners you just put the drops in and massage them around and then when the animal shakes his head (when you stop) you just wipe the debris and excess water with a cotton ball or something similar. Have NO IDEA if it works the same with pigs or not. With my other animals, the vet rarely wanted me in there digging around with Q tips or anything. Good Luck!

Aleks · Nov 24, 2012

That's what you're supposed to do with pigs, too.
But when I started putting the drops in he just freaked out completely. I had to have my boyfriend hold him to get any in in the first place, during that he was whining a lot, then he got free from my boyfriend and ran into my jacket and started burrowing into my sleeve, then when i got him out of there and tried holding him he ran under the blankets and pillows.
He wouldn't let me hold him. I put him back in his cage finally and let him chill out for a little bit. When I took him out again he was normal and immediately started snuggling with me. :x

lifesvr7 · Nov 25, 2012

Warming the drops in your hands for awhile sometimes helps too.

doglaurasmudge · Nov 25, 2012

Glad everything went well, and you are doing the best to take care of your pig, what's wrong with that?

Hope you get George's friend successfully and that George will begin to relax with his ear cleaning drop things, I don't know! xD

Aleks · Nov 25, 2012

spy9doc said:
I suspect that the problem is that you are putting drops directly in the ear. (I'd probably freak too).

I clean my cavies' ears every two weeks when they are getting a nail trim and butt cleaning. Chester is neutered and doesn't get too dirty, but I check his genitals and clean his bum. Same with my little sow.

There is a specific solution for ear cleaning that you can get from the vet, but I just use a high-grade oil like jojoba or emu (Vit. E is too sticky). Put just enough on a q-tip to moisten it. Tension the ear very gently up-and-back at about a 45⁰ angle and insert the q-tip in the opposite side.......meaning lower anterior area. Proceed very gently until you become familiar with the anatomy of a cavy ear. You will know that you are in the right place when the q-tip can be inserted about 1/8". Just a quick swab around and you're finished.

My vet originally showed me how to clean their ears. I don't have to restrain either of my cavies, and Maya actually seems to enjoy the experience. As with doing anything with them, proceed gently and you will get the hang of it.

That's what my vet told me to do.. :x I'll try just putting it on a Q-tip, but George hates anything being in his ear so i'm afraid he's going to shake his head a lot while i'm cleaning it with the Q-tip. Idk, I'm just paranoid that it'll end up hurting him or something. D:

Aleks · Nov 25, 2012

doglaurasmudge said:
Glad everything went well, and you are doing the best to take care of your pig, what's wrong with that? Hope you get George's friend successfully and that George will begin to relax with his ear cleaning drop things, I don't know! xD

Thanks! We're not going to be getting that little cutie, sadly. My boyfriend wanted to wait a few more weeks before getting another piggy, and the lady who's trying to get rid of him probably isn't going to have him by then. :/

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