health and well-being

Question

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Followup To
Hi Kat,  

Thanks so much for your great advice. I went to the vet today and Niki has Vit. C deficiency and fungus.  Vet wants me to bring in Blacky as well.
The paw is not infected but I must put a salve on it. I did what you said to do re: putting Niki & Blacky together in an enclosed safe area.  It went really well.  Blacky (the younger one ) seems to be the more dominant. My question is this: after I thoroughly clean Niki's cage, can I put the 2 gps in there.  It's not that big - about 3 feet long.  My husband has said that he would build a 4 foot one but in the meantime...

Once again, thank you for your taking the time to answer my query.

Arlene

Niki, our 6 year old male GP (or maybe older, we're not sure)had an abscess on his paw. Vet gave him anti-biotics, lacerated it etc. His fur was just falling off.  He was stressed out and close to dying but I fed him with a syringe for 10 days and he survived.  This is a long one - sorry!
He hasn't fully recoverd, I believe.  His fur is very sticky at his bottom, and clumpy. What's new is that is underbelly is now bald. His other paw is now infected and abscessed.
We decided to get him a partner and got him a 6 month old male.  We've had them separated in a cage for a week.  Niki was weird. He just froze.  We've tried slowly to have them both out at the same time.  The first time, Blacky, the young one, ran after Niki and  jumped on him. The second time,they both nipped each other and today, Niki chattered at him and ran away. At least he didn't nip him this time.  The small one  wants to cuddle with him and rubs his little face next to Niki's.  To make a long story short - we now have 2 cages, 1 on top of other. This wasn't my plan and I'm
not sure what to do next.  Tomorrow, we're going to the vet with the Niki too see what' going onwith this fur and paw.
Any advice would be welcomed.

Many thanks
Arlene

Answer -
Hello Arlene,

Cleaning Niki's cage more often may help with his health issues. With him being older, they tend to be a bit more messy and need it more often. You didn't mention what his cage flooring was. If it's wire bottomed, it neends to be changed. Bumblefoot (his abscessed paw) will continue to happen until it's changed. Wire floors are dreadful for piggy feet and will nearly always give them sores over time. It could also be the reason he's losing his hair. You also didn't mention the bedding you were using. If it's a slightly hard or pokey bedding (shavings or hay), switching to a softer one may help (carefresh, fleece, vetbed, or towels), again simply because of his age. He's a senior piggy and may just need a bit of special care to be just fine. If he's already on a solid bottom floor with soft bedding, the only thing you can do is try to keep it cleaner. I know that can be a pain, especailly if you already clean daily. You may also want to have him checked for a fungal infection if you haven't already as that could be the cause of his troubles. As far as his gunky bottom (which assuming by "bottom" you were talking about his rump and not just his underside), he probably just needs his grease spot cleaned. Boars and sows both have grease spots that are used for scent marking their territory. In males, it's typically more active and gets icky and in females, you'll likely never notice it. The spot is located where a tail would be (if they have one) and is really fairly easy to clean. Some boars don't have a problem and others need to be cleaned alot. Just take a bit of baby oil on a soft bristle tooth brush and gently work the gunk out of his fur. Ok, now for the Blacky problem. If you don't mind two cages, they will be fine and happy living that way. However, if you are trying to make this work between them, I'll see if I can help. Enclose a safe area for them to be in, out of their cages. Put lots of fresh veggies in it and then add the two pigs. I'm assuming you've been seperating them when they start bickering. Don't. Only seperate them if they are hurting each other (drawing blood) or the fighting is getting worse and neither pig is backing down. Dominance has to be established if they are going to be friends. This will involve mounting, posturing, teeth chattering, nipping, etc. After dominance is established things should go smoothly. Typically the less dominant male will start munching on the veggies while the other is a bit obnoxious (that's why the veggies are there) and everything will calm down shortly. It may take a few days or even a couple weeks for dominance to be completely established but as long as one pig is backing down and noone is being injured, they should stay together. If they are hurting each other or neither is backing down and the fighting is getting worse (or if one is just a bully and constantly harrasses the other), they aren't compatible and shouldn't live together at all for their own safety. Also, make sure before you join them into the same cage that it has been thoroughly cleaned and all of the original owner's scent is removed. This will hopefully help with their introductions and living arrangements. I hope this information helps you with your problems. If you have any other questions or need anything clarified, just let me know. Good luck with Niki and Blacky. I hope Niki can get well and that he and Blacky learn to be friends. I just want to say, good job saving your piggy. Force feeding is not a fun thing to do and sadly alot of owners don't have the patience for it. Good work.

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs

Answer
Hello Arlene,

For the scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency), giving him Vitamin C rich veggies daily should help keep that from happening again. Some piggies need a bit more vitamin c than others, particularly older and younger pigs. My piggies love Kale ad Oranges best. I'll send a link to a list of veggies they can have with the vitamin c veggies in a special catagory to help you out. Yes, you can put them both in the cage after it's been thoroughly cleaned. Try to choose a day when you can be home and with them all day in case a problem does arise so you can seperate them if neccessary. It sounds like things are going to be just fine, but better safe than sorry. Good luck!

http://www.cavycompendium.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7501

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs