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"Oh dear.." - Maleficent

Jessica Dale

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Hello Everyone! :love:

We are a family of two daughters, myself and husband, therapy dog (sheltie), roborovski hamster, and now... Maleficent our smooth-coated tricolor guinea pig.

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We picked her up from a local pet store. Days later I noticed she was sneezing.. a lot. I called the pet store they said I had a guarantee on her and could return her. Return her? No way! How can I return something we have fallen in love with over the past week?! They said that's all they could do. So I spent $90 and took her to an excellent exotic veterinarian, she was diagnosed with a URI (upper respiratory infection) that most certainly migrated to her chest lots of wheezing. We are currently giving her vitamins, antibiotics, tons of fresh organic veggies, Hay, Water, Food, and loads of love! Some people think I'm crazy that I didn't just return her, but I don't know how anyone could? Look at that face! I have no idea how old she is. She was 299g/10.5oz at the Vet this week.

I built her a C&C cage. It was so easy to do. Love it. We have spoiled her rotten all ready possibly!

We give her a lot of out of cage free range time and cuddle time. Our dog, a certified therapy dog - very well trained, and her snuggle in the dog bed sometimes. It's so cute to watch them sleep next to each other.

I worry about only having 1 guinea pig. I feel like everything I read makes me feel like some kind of terrible owner for only having one piggie...

Hopefully we can kick this URI in a couple weeks! Hopefully she's happy here with us! And I look forward to learning more! THANKS! Advice and encouragement welcomed!
 

CutsieCavies

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Hello an welcome to the forum! Good luck with your piggie she is gorgeous! I'm glad you have built her a c&c cage! You have obviously put some research into this! Everyone on this forum is really great at asking and answering questions, and you will fit right in! But with a URI, I would watch her carefully, but by the looks of it you already are! Good Luck! She's a cutie!
 

Jessica Dale

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Thank you "CutsieCavies" :love: Most certainly will keep an eye on the poor love. She's asleep next to me right now! :love: She just had a fun popcorn and happy sounds session around the living room, tuckered herself out haha!!

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tobyandheidi

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Aw, she's a cutie! And what a wonderful name. ♥️ Sounds like you've been doing a lot of research and thank you for taking her to the vet as soon as you saw symptoms. Good luck to you and Maleficent. She must be quite happy with her C&C cage. :)
 

Jessica Dale

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Thank you "tobyandheidi" :eek: my 5 year old picked the name, suits her!!...

The only odd behavior that I noticed... (I would love any tips) is when she wakes up from sleeping - whether she falls asleep on my shoulder or next to me - she teeth chatters/that aggressive sound, she moves somewhere else, then settles back down and does an exploring squeak/almost snaps out of it. I found that interesting. It's as if she wakes up randomly upset?! She falls asleep so comfortably on me or next to me... I hope I'm not doing anything wrong?! She just did it (woke up, then teeth chattered at me). Then maybe not even a minute later was making happy exploring noises, eating hay (I keep hay or snacks next to me for when she wakes), then popcorned even!... Picked her up with ease (she doesn't run from me) she's now in the cage exploring and eating and just making little happy noises... Does she just wake up and forget who I am briefly?!... I mean after all we have only had her for a week.
 

Jessica Dale

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Oh my gosh I just read they can get "moody" LOL is this true? Maybe she just realized she was exhausted and wanted to be in her cage... I guess if I see her yawn & chatter I'll just continue to wait until she settles then put her back in the cage. Haha my bad Maleficent... moody piggie lol
 

Soecara

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Don't feel bad about her being alone, given her current state of health it would be ill advised to look for a friend for her until she is healthy. Also given that she came from a pet store there is a chance she could be pregnant. Having said that guinea pigs are very social herd animals who in *most* circumstances do benefit from the company of their own species (it is extremely uncommon for a guinea pig to be too aggressive to be kept with it's own kind, but not unheard of).

If in the future, after she is healthy and you are certain she is not pregnant, you want to get a friend for her I would recommend you look into adopting from a shelter or rescue.

As for those people calling you crazy for not returning her, how heartless can they be? Would they return a puppy if it got sick? NO (at least that is what I hope they would answer). Why is it so different just because it is a small animal.
 

3littlepigz

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What a beautiful little girl! I hope she recovers quickly. She has certainly won your heart! I can see why. I had a similar situation with by piggies. One was sick and didn't survive then a second got a URI and showed signs of it the day after we buried the first. I was so worried and didn't know what to do and almost, almost seriously considered returning the remaining two but then simply couldn't bring myself to do it. I've spend close to $400 now to treat the second and to make sure that they are both healthy. I don't regret it for a moment!

Please keep up posted on her treatment and inundate us with pictures. She is gorgeous!!
 

piggsters

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You sound like you've done a lot of research! I'm glad she's with a wonderful owner. About the 'no piggy friends', it's best she's not with other piggies until a couple weeks after being cleared, don't want other piggies getting sick!

Praying she gets better!
 

Amanda Marie

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What adorable little girl, and the name does fit her. So cute. My Kovu loved to hang out with me and its great to have piggie that don't mind cuddles. Miss my boys whom has passed, her personality reminds me of them. hjaha
 

Jessica Dale

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Thank you "Soecara" :) Right? Just because she's a small animal it might not matter to them but it matters to us we fell in love with her the day we made the decision to KEEP HER FOR LIFE. *grumble* haha So I spent the money and she is apart of this family! And yes I do feel so guilty reading books and articles all stating you need to have (2) piggies. I might look into a different variation of breed- Silkie or Coronet, something long haired. But I am most certainly not buying from a pet store again. All those poor piggie who knows how many more are sick. I'll see if I can locate a rescue (01748 if anyone sees any long-haired sows let me know that's my zip code!)

"3littlepigz" so sad you had to experience the loss of one due to illness. I will def keep an update. I really hope she gets better. She takes her vitamins (diluted with water) and antibiotic like a champ through the medicine dropper! Well the first time not so much haha but by day 3 she was good :) Yes I can't stop taking pictures of her... I think it's also awesome how much my husband likes her too she loves to go on his shoulder and just nestles down for a cuddle.

"Kelsie" Yes! Shetland Sheepdogs are just the most wonderful temperament! Ours is an actively working therapy dog for Pets & People Foundation so she isn't shy but when she was a puppy we def had to train her over some fear hurdles since the breed can lean on that skid dish side (kind of like a guinea pig!! :) haha!) Here are some pictures!

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I love my human children to death... but quite possibly love my furry kids equal or maybe more... hehehehe

"piggsters" Thank you! I really try my best to research first. We all listened to guinea pig sounds as a family to make sure we knew what she was saying. Built the cage which was so easy and fun (constantly YouTubing together things we can do to spoil her more in due time.. haha C&C cages are addicting!!) We will def nurse her back to health before any potential piggie friends.

"Amanda Marie" Thanks!!! *beams* She is just too cute I'm so in love. It's pretty great how much personality these piggies have!!
 

Jessica Dale

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I just wanted to update everyone that we pick up our new baby sow Silkie/Sheltie on Sunday the 17th :) Her name is Briar Rose (or Rosie) hehehe notice a theme that my oldest is doing here? Can you tell what her favorite movie is? She picked these names not me haha!

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Jessica Dale

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Gosh I sure hope so!!! LOL :) We did take Mal to the Vet! I hope they checked that for us.... thank you for the links!!! :)

Yes! Quarantine absolutely but I'm doing it for two reasons... illness (URI recovery) and also to get them acclimated to one another without feeling their space is invaded. Building a 2x4 cage tomorrow but a divider right down the middle so it's two 2x2 squares. The piggies will live like this until (broken link removed) Mal is better and (broken link removed) I'm ready to introduce them! :)
 

Amanda Marie

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I am so exited for you! I am glad that Mal is getting on good and that she is getting a sister....so great...your a good responsible piggie mom.
 

sallyvh

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Just letting you know that having the pigs live side by side is not considered quarantine. You would need to have them in completely separate rooms and should be thoroughly washing your hands between handling them or anything in their cages. It's also recommended to change your shirt/clothes between handling them (lap time). Unfortunately, having a split 2x4 does not protect them from catching any airborne illness from the other and with your other pig just recovering from a URI I would recommend doing a proper quarantine period.

On that note, Maleficent is very cute and I'm happy she is doing better. Your new girl is also very cute but just a reminder that this forum is anti-breeder pro-adoption.
 

bpatters

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Ditto [MENTION=31353]sallyvh[/MENTION]. You're not quarantining your pigs at all, [MENTION=3399]Jessica[/MENTION].Dale. Quarantine means that you're separating them so that they can't catch any airborne illness that the other may have, as well as any illness that is passed by close contact. They also should be kept separate for three weeks time, because that's the incubation period for most illnesses that guinea pigs can catch.
 

Jessica Dale

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Appreciate the concern. We did discuss protocol with our Veterinarian. Mal should be all better by Sunday (done with antibiotics woohoo)! :) URI is a Bacterial infection so it can only be transmitted through contact with the bacteria. Our specific family instructions were they can't come in direct contact for 7-14 days. I also have to be mindful what can transfer from them onto me, and wash/change clothing thoroughly. Also continuing to clean the change daily and keeping fleece washed. That's great the internet airs on the side of caution when it comes to illness/quarantine though!

I'm so sorry to hear so many Silkies end up in adoption/rescue in your area. That's sad. They don't here. I'm glad we took our time and found a responsible route to obtain a specific cavy breed. We can't wait to get her! :) I did not realize Guinea Pig Cages website was only for cavy owners who adopt? I respect it being a sensitive subject to some. But neither of my babies came from a shelter. I can locate a different forum if our new furry kids offend anyone. Let me know, but I'm just here for piggie love and chatter. :) Not to debate or judge people how they obtained their furry kids.

I'm actually extremely passionate about animal behavior science and I look forward to working with my cavies just as I do with canines. I work extensively in animal therapy services. My dog is a certified animal and role model for the program. We have spoken in meetings about utilizing rabbits or cavies in the future. I could possibly help begin this trend if I keep studying how to go about it. Mal is all ready very tamed in the short time we have had her. I utilize techniques with a soundboard of guinea pig sounds to signal praise and comfortability. Canines use body language to communication and Cavies use sound. Since I can't make cavy sounds the soundboard works excellent! I could share the technique sometime, as in almost 2 weeks she isn't shy at all, barely hides, comes into my hand to be picked up, etc. I look forward to utilizing a similar system on our new cavy too. :)
 

AnnikasMommy

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Welcome to the forum!!! Maleficent is beautiful. When my daughter was 2 we adopted two labs and she named them Dora and Diego so totally understand about the child naming game. :) Rosie is beautiful as well, I absolutely love her coloring. I have leaned a lot about piggies by reading many of the threads around the board. Who would have thunk piggies were so high maint. :) Ours our spoiled rotten and my male lab actually gets on to me if I don't hurry with their salad and they wheek too long. Can't wait to see more pigtures of your girls and I hope Mal gets to feeling better very soon. As for rescue only, I went through a breeder for numerous reasons for our first set of piggies. We may in the future start "saving" some piggies and my daughter and I are HUGE into canine rescue and understand the importance of fostering and properly adopting. Hope you have a fantastic day!!!
 
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