New piggie arriving tonight!!

[thwinka]

I am so excited I just had to share Although I shouldn't get so excited as I intend to he-home if possible:( Poor little soul is being offered on bloody Gumtree for free I was looking for a second hand piggy cage for over night stays etc and he just popped up. He is sooooooo cute.
My husband is going to be grouchy for the next week as haven't mentioned it to him yet but no way could I leave him on there to be used as snake food
I am off to collect him in 3 hours!!!

Awwww

Just make sure you don't get conned into giving them money for a 'free' guinea (unless it's a bona-fida Rescue, which it doesn't sound like)
You are giving him a home.

And if your DH does get arsey,,,,, well you can offer HIM on Gumtree

No definitely not a rescue, she just hasn't got room and that's the one the kids picked to get rid of apparently She was only interested in how quick I could collect him. Feel very sad for him actually. I have told husband now, he was fine actually bless him and has offered to collect him for me!!!
I've told him I will re-home him through the rescue I am involved in but not sure yet. I nearly adopted another couple of Boars a few weeks ago but missed out on them so the odds aren't good on him going anywhere

Thwinka _ well done on offering this little chap a home, I am very - would love to be able to offer a good home to any little soul needing one.... shame about the lack of garden and garage. Still, do hope all goes well for you and him, and your husband grows to love him as well. Have a lovely evening welcoming him in. Look forward to hearing all about him! :)

Thanks guineapiglet I have been sensible though:( and spoken to the rescue and they are happy to re-home him through their site whilst he stays with me. But at least I know he will be safe and in a good home and I get to keep him here for a while to fulfil my longing for more Boars I desperately wanted to adopt more not long ago, but decided not to because of space, but I can fit one extra cage in for a couple of months I'm sure

Well done thwinka for fostering the little chap. If you are able (and your DH is not too grumpy about it) you could foster pigs from time to time which would satisfy your longing for more GP's and also help out a pig in need.

You might end up as a Failed Fosterer ie he doesn't go anywhere and gets his paws under the Permanent Feature Table at your house .

Well he is here!! A lovely sweet little thing nicknamed 'Scruff' Not sure what we are going to do with him though as the rescue who were going to take him have now got arsey and want him neutered before they will help and I'm not sure if I want to put him through that
He doesn't seem well though. He hasn't got much weight on him, has a fungal problem in his ears and I'm not sure whether his feet pads look slightly swollen so am concerned he has Bumblefoot. Has anyone any experience of this?
His toes look kind of puffy with just a sharp bit of nail sticking out? My Boars nails look very different to this, but haven't really much experience in knowing what other piggies feet look like? Maybe it is normal??

I would take him off to the vets sharpish. Poor little thing - he's obviously been a bit neglected.

Poor little chappie
Bumblefoot is an infection and swelling of the toes and pad of the foot.
Can be injury (like the wire bases of some cages) overgrown claws, dirty bedding.
Could be all or any in a neglected guinea
Is he reluctant to put weight on the foot? Poor thing might have caught his foot, in the cage door maybe.

His weight should improve with time but you might want to have his teeth checked. There's a load of reasons for a pig losing weight. He might have been bullied away from the food by other guinea pigs.
Gorgeous guineas have a cream for fungally ears (they can get a scabby little nose too.)

You couldn't neuter him anyway untill he;s put some weight on.
He needs some TLC and a bath by the sound of things.

Oh bless him and a big welcome to scruff. He will be very disorientated and stressed, give him time and space to settle,he's a lucky lad to find you. Lots of nice clean bedding, pellets and veg to gradually get his weight up. Big cuddle and yes, a vet check is a good idea :)

Lucky he's got you to care for him . I get very grrr about people who take on small furries then get fed up with them.
Have had a lovely time this afternoon with my boars. Will be seeing more of them as I am off work with an injury :) at more cuddles not the injury!

Well he seems to be doing fine!! Weight increasing slightly and he eats non stop!! Even by guinea pig standards he packs a lot away He hasn't got Bumblefoot thankfully, and his toes look a lot better now. Vet has given him a clean bill of health apart from the fungal infection and a recent injury to his ear which looks like a bite mark. So possible he was being bullied, poor thing. He just needs some TLC and building up a bit:)

He is very bold though and really coming out of himself. He goes on his hind legs against the cage when he can hear my other Boars and squeaks back at them. So cute!! And he melts into your lap, squeaking away when you stroke the top of his head!!

Even the hubby has warmed up to him being here, have caught him a few times sitting by his cage smiling and talking to him

fridayfreedom So do I Its disgusting that you are allowed to sell/give away live animals like this over the internet. I would never usually get any animal that was being advertised on sites like Gumtree/pre-loved but when I saw his picture, he looked absolutely terrified and sadly,many end up as snake food when being given away:(

I'm so glad he's settling in well. Well done you for giving this little guy a chance at a nice life. You right he could have been snake food. Yikes!

So glad to hear he has settled in so well, he will be content hearing your other guineas and obviously used to being handled, so lots of cuddles. Glad you got him checked out, I am sure you will notice a big difference to him in a few weeks, better weight and more confidence. He sounds like a good find!

I had a long cuddle with my two guinea nephews yesterday - bribed them by taking lots of long grass and dandelion leaves, wrapped them in a towel and got away with about half an hour each. It was really hot though and they were melting away in their fur coats. Luckily rain predicted tomorrow. Hurrah!!!

Thanks afishwithoutabicycle Can't bear to think about the snake food option:(
guineapiglet You sound like a lovely piggy Aunt to have Grass and dandelion leaves!! My Boars would leave home in an instant if someone offered them a constant stream of grass and dandelion leaves
GP 3 does seem to love his cuddles which is fab!! GP1 will sit still for about 10mins before he starts getting itchy feet as he wants to be put down on the floor for run around time!! GP2, even after 3 1/2 years still looks horrified when you go to pick him up and sits in my lap frozen to the spot. He's a big wuss

Smoothpig is a wuss too although when you have him on your lap he will curl up and be stroked. Glad your new chap is settling in well.

Told my boys about the dandelion leaves and they're packing their cases to go stay with Auntie Guineapiglet . Here they only get parsley, lavender and cucumber.

I have tiny little dandelions leaves after DH strimmed the weed patch before we went away, and there's a new crop of 'lions'.

GP1 and GP3 would say "In yer face Scruff'n'Smooth" ...........but they are too busy eating

thwinka it does sound like your boy was kept away from the foodbowl by his cagemates
But I think this little chap is going nowhere.

AAww I like the name Auntie Guineapiglet... You can always tell my garden because I dont use any weedkiller or the like ( bees, I love bees) and so my garden is FULL of dandelions... and nettles... guineas are welcome any time Fernie if only I had known you in Macc!

thwinka - hope you have had a good first week and scruff is doing well!
Hope he continues to thrive, when are we getting a picture of him to admire?

there will be photos of GP3 Auntie Guineapiglet - honest

DD has a whole series of them on her iPod but I need to get DH to transfer them onto the PC (my original profile picture is postage stamp size)

They look so alike now, we can't tell who's who in the run. GP3 is still fuzzy, GP1 smooth and darker but you need to be close to tell.
And GP3 is getting really solid and cuddly .
GP1 I think is starting to show his middle age a bit, sort of saggy in places, bony bits elsewhere. But he's in his summer fighting weight (DD claims)

Well 70isalimitnotatarget you were right!! GP3 is going nowhere He is so full of character that I can't bring myself to pass him on to the piggy rescue so he will have a permanent home here
GP1 and GP2 will NOT be impressed however as he will have to take up residence in the same room as them once his isolation period is over.
Fingers crossed that it doesn't cause problems as it is the only room that we can fit another large cage.
guineapiglet I shall try and work out how to put photos on later:) Unfortunately I am not to good with technology of these days

I love a happy ending Glad you've decided to give 'scruff' a permanent home.

Now he needs a proper name and his official MN nickname