help 2 male Piggy's

[1toni2007]

this evening i went to look at Piggy's, brought them home they are a right state, cage is filthy, they are smelly and filthy, no bedding no box nothing just old sawdust,spiders, cobwebs and muck, fed on horse feed!!! any advice on how i can make two scruffy smelly boar Piggy's happy would be much appreciated as i have not had them since a child, but i could not leave them there to suffer

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

I'd give them both a bath, together in some small animal shampoo, or coal tar shampoo for humans.

Thoroughly clean the cage or get a new one if you haven't already.

Treat for mites, just in case, ivomec in pipettes to treat a couple of piggies is available from Pets at Home.

Feed them on a good quality piggie mix, fresh veggies and hay.

They will soon impove we have had rescues in terrible states, with good food and love they soon grow into fantastic loving pets.

Well done for rescuing these two.

[1toni2007]

Thank you for the help, as i only got them late this evening ,im going shopping for them in morning, i have a list regards Toni ;D

[PigPog]

Get them bathed in a shampoo from a pet shop to start with because obviously they're going to need washing asap. After that, try using the shampoo from Gorgeous Guineas. You have to order online but it's excellent - www.gorgeousguineas.co.uk - it's aromatherapy shampoo but they have many different types for lice, bad skin, boars, etc. I think it's way better than the stuff you can get at the pet shop.

You might find my bathing guide useful too.

I would recommend you get them onto a diet of Burgess Supa Guinea Excel pellets (or biscuit as I call it) right away. It has no additives or artificial colours in it and, generally, pigs seem to love it. My own vet is very happy that I feed mine on this brand. It's easy to spot as it's in a luminous orange bag - but be careful, as Burgess have feeds in two orange bags, one is paler than the other, and you want the dark orange one.

As for vegetables, have a look at our vegetable guide for ideas. Try to get a good balance of vegetables that give them vitamin c (as guineas don't make vitamin c themselves).

You can get fresh meadow hay from pet shops and wholesalers.

Ultimately, I would take them to a vet for a check-up to be on the safe side. With luck the neglect is only on the outside and you can clean it up yourself, but I think letting a vet look at them would be sensible to rule out any internal damage after such neglect. The vet will also clip their nails for you, something I have a feeling they're going to need after reading about the state you found them in.

For bedding, I have a guide for you to see. I personally recommend Megazorb, but you can use woodshavings to start with until you find your feet - woodshavings are easy to find in most pet shops.

Let us know how you get on, and I hope this helps.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[pigmadsarah]

welcome to the forum !

let us know how you get on

sarah xx

[meggiepiggy]

Yes, welcome and good luck

[eppingstrider]

Well done you for rescuing them, they sound like they finally got lucky! Welcome to the forum and good luck with the boys - we look forward to hearing more about them!

[lisa]

Well done for rescuing them!!! I agree with all of the above and to be honest when I rescued 2 lads form a similar situation I went to the vets just to make sure they were ok and to get their teeth checked if they haven't had a good diet they may have over grown a little but with a good diet plenty of hay and veggies they will be happy and healthy in no time.

I would say dont try too many veggies at once just in case their tummies aren't used to them gradually introduce new veggies every few days. Make sure they always have plenty of hay and I would mix in some pellets with what ever food you have I would go for a pellet and a normal dry mix just because they sound like they need to get eating asap and they may well turn their noses up at pellets first off but you can change them over in the coming weeks when they are more settled and eating properly.

Good luck and well done you are a star

[1toni2007]

hello everyone, and thank you for all your advice and welcome. just to update, went shopping for my boys (havent named them yet). took two hours to clean and disenfect there plastic cage, had a shock i thought it was brown in colour turns out to be light grey . They are both eating well had a little cabage and pellet food. teeth and claws sorted out, they were a little long, got them wood sticks to chew on now, dont think they have had the medow hay before, they seem quite shy about going near it, going to bath them next. im a bit worried im going to get bit cause they run like mad when you try to pick them up.Also i dont think they have ever been out of the cage, cause when you put them in a large space they huddle together and do not move! any ideas on how to get them over there fear? ;D

[Hugs-Cavies (Doris)]

They should be ok with the bath, only put a little water in the bath. Have the basin free incase they really don't like it (ie try to jump out) so you can put them in there.

All guinea pigs can swim, so should be ok with waterm however, some don't like it so just see how they react.

Give it a couple of weeks or so of good food and you cuddling them, they will soon tame down and personalities will emerge.

[eppingstrider]

My boys were rescue piggies but young, only six weeks when I got them, and they were the same about being out of the cage. I used to wonder if I was being cruel to them setting them down on the floor - they didnt want to run around, just hide.

Just introduce this as part of their routine, and put some food down that they can nip out and find it and go back and hide (put a box or something down to let them feel safe). They'll probably take a long while to get used to all these changes. I was a newbie when I had mine so of course I'm now letting you know what I wish I had done, rather than what I did - hindsight is so good!!

It was six months before my boys really had any confidence out of the cage, except on my lap or being held and stroked.

[snailspace]

A very big welcome to the forum I'm glad you found us - there are heaps of people here with expertise, as you've already found out.

I'm proud of you rescuing those two poor boys - what a joy you'll get from seeing them bathed and fed and happy

[tosca]

Hello and well done rescuing your boys. Time and patience and all good advice you have been given will bring you all confidence and closeness.