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Conditions Aurora -- a special pig

Saylavi

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So I'm in the process of adopting a 3rd piggy, (which I am so so excited about, I will most likely be picking her up on the 22nd) but she has a few issues that I could deal with on my own, but would like second opinions on.
This is flower, soon to be aurora. When I first saw her profile on adopt-a-pet she was stated to have "a fear response to humans" but that she wasn't a biter. Turns out that fear response isn't necessarily her running away, but her losing the ability to balance.
"I need you to know that Flower is a bit "different" She was seen by my vet and was treated for an ear infection however it is my belief that her 10yr old previous owner may have dropped her. She spins in circles..mostly when your trying to pick her up..once you catch her..she will roll almost like an alligator. Sher condition doesnt seem to bother her..she trots along like life is peachy..she is awesome once she settles down in your lap however if something spooks her she will take off spinning..."

my first instinct was "oh probably just a minor neurological disorder or some brain damage, I'm sure a yearly trip to the vet will be enough" but the more I think about it the more I worry. It's not described as a seizure, especially if she is conscious and aware while these spinning/rolling fits happen, so I don't think it will be anything where she will need constant medication. And of course I can safety proof my cage, adding railings out the butt and making the ramp to the second level as shallow as possible (or removing the second level and expanding the first)
she seems like the perfect piggy for us, an Abby, similar in age (possibly even younger) than our 5 month old teddies, female, and I think the idea of a roley poley guinea pig is adorable. I'm not worried about holding a squirmy wormy, just about whether or not she might hurt herself somehow.
Has anyone dealt with anything like this? Do I need to worry or should I just let her live her life? And to klutz-proof the cage I'd need to add more grids to make a railing for the ramp (I'm thinking to have a ramp go the whole width of the cage instead of front to back, so it wouldn't be steep at all) but what else could I do?

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
 

bpatters

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Re: Adopting a special pig

I'd forget the ramp and expand the lower level. If she has balance problems, the ramp may be too much for her to negotiate.

Her problem may be from an ear infection that wasn't treated soon enough or aggressively enough, or it may be neurological. But if it doesn't bother her, then I wouldn't worry about it.

She's adorable, by the way.
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

I know! Andrew and I are gushing over her.

i want to at least try to keep the second level, since liners.... But if that's not possible that's ok. I'm hoping it's a nervous disorder (a lot of dogs spin when they're nervous) and that it lessens over time, but I won't set my hopes too high.
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

Adoption application is processing >.<
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

She is ours! I will be picking her up on the 23rd
 

Beatrix187

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Re: Adopting a special pig

Congrats! I know she will be in loving hands!
 

Mikko

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Re: Adopting a special pig

She's adorable. I am so happy to hear that an unlikely piggie will get the love and attention she needs and deserves.
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

She's adorable. I am so happy to hear that an unlikely piggie will get the love and attention she needs and deserves.

I can't believe she was so difficult for them to adopt out, she has a terror response to humans (expected I think) and a balance/disorientation issue. I mean I see why that might be bad for a kid but....

i lowered red the second level and made it smaller, it's now 8" off the floor instead of 14". It's completely surrounded by railings and the ramp is now 14" wide and stable as can be. Hopefully she will be able to navigate that, it looks to be about a 20 degree incline, where it used to be a 45 degree incline.
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

The best part: no adoption fee, they just ask me to donate what I can, so they will be getting a 10lb box of hay (had to get one for myself anyways) and at least one fleece cage liner.
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

I went to pick up Aurora this morning, she's great! Yes she is a little bit tipsy, but not as bad as the email made it sound. She's also bigger than Stella and Luna, leading me to believe that she is at least six months old. The full story behind her is she and two sisters ( American guinea pigs, probably just all adopted together from a pet store) were kept in a cage smaller than a 2 x 1 C and C, and the seven-year-old and 10-year-old never cleaned the cage, so they were living in their poop, and the father got sick of it and was planning to release them into the wild. Thankfully a neighbor who knew the woman who worked at the rescue caught wind of it .

https://youtu.be/6gyalJFlFSg
 
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magicpiggie

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Re: Adopting a special pig

Thank you for giving her another shot at life. She's going to have a wnderfyl life with you!
 

CavyChrissy

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Re: Adopting a special pig

Congrats on your new addition! She is a cutie pie!
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

I wouldn't make the assumption that she is six months old. I recently briefly adopted a six week old Aby and he was the same size as a small adult! I almost immediately rehomed him because I don't have room to enlarge my current cage and was unwilling to have only the one cavy. I subsequently had the opportunity to see his father and Dad was a three pound piggy.

Many Abbys are talkers and are anything but quiet! I became so accustomed to my Chester's vocalization that after he died, I deliberately sought out two little Abby boys who chatter often whether to each other or to us. They were lying on my chest last evening and chattering so loudly that we could barely hear the t.v.

I love the fact that they are SO expressive and interact with us with a language all their own. Chester's cagemate was a Texel and Maya rarely made noise. He always seemed a bit puzzled that she had nothing to say to him in return. It was almost as though they spoke different languages.

I didn't think of that, I assumed it was a combo of age and longer hair. Guess I should trust the vet on 5 months then? I don't mind her being loud, I think it's cute. Her voice is much lower than Stella and Luna's.
[MENTION=34772]magicpiggie[/MENTION] thank you. I thought her rolling would be a lot worse than it is, I'm excited for her joining the family
 

Rywen

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Re: Adopting a special pig

She's adorable and looks like a completely normal piggie to me, congratulations!
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

She's adorable and looks like a completely normal piggie to me, congratulations!

She is definitely tipsy, and if you aren't careful holding her she will dive-flip-roll and just generally be a worm. She got herself stuck in a tube today, a 5" diameter tube, she could easily rub through it and had been doing so for an hour, but on one of her passes she slipped and managed to roll upside down, I just saw her butt and back legs belly up trying to figure out how to flip herself over again.
She is now 800grams btw, Stella and Luna are 680 grams, so she is bigger than them
 

Saylavi

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Re: Adopting a special pig

You can see her spin at 0:47 0:56 and 1:10 here, btw can I edit this thread title or does an admin have to do it? If I can how?

she is eating well, very easy to handle, sweet, good at lap time, won't eat her peppers but supposedly she loves oranges so I will give her an orange slice every day instead

https://youtu.be/gfGdYXrUl8g
 

Saylavi

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To whomever changed the title THANK YOU <3
 

Saylavi

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Hope this thread isn't too old to edit, Aurora was having a pretty tough time being introduced to the teddies. They are all at peace now (or so I thought)
luna doesn't care much about Aurora, unless Aurora is closer to the food than she is, or in her way. Luna is my most dominant piggy, but doesn't act any more dominant to Aurora than she ever has Stella.
Stella however isn't a fan of Aurora, even after a month. She keeps to the opposite side of the cage, and occasionally chases Aurora. The butt nipping has mostly stopped but I still see it once in a while.
That being said Aurora isn't acting like she is part of the family. Some days she is great, all over the cage, wheeking for veggies and taking them from my hand. She has even rumble strutted to Luna a few times. Other days she is hiding in the corner, running from me and the teddies, won't eat if anyone is anywhere near her.
So I had her in my lap today so I could take pictures of her pretty little face, and she was vibrating. Like to a change in the music, or to any random sound/noise in the apartment like the camera going click. That and the scabs on her butt (from introductions and initial dominance stuff, butt nipping) have not healed yet. So I decided to take a look at them, see if it was new scabs or old ones, and see how her butt fur was growing back.
*side note, their cage is 1.3 square meters, 14 square feet*
well her butt fur doesn't appear to have grown back, and her scabs look the same as they did 2 weeks ago. I don't know if it's because of the teddies picking on her when I'm not looking or because maybe she has a fungal something on her skin, or if this is normal? (I doubt it is)
i am planning to make their cage bigger soon, taking it from a 3.5'x4' to a 2'x6'x8' L shaped cage. (From 1.3 square meters to 1.8) to try and help with this dominance stuff, but I'm worrying now. Idk, any input would be appreciated.
 

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bpatters

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Sounds pretty normal to me, particularly when you're introducing a singleton to an established pair.

I can't tell anything at all from those pictures because they're too small.
 

Saylavi

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Does this help?
 

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