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Emma85

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Hi all

I'm after some advice regarding our new guinea pig. He came home with us yesterday and seemed to settle well yesterday, enjoying exploring his new home and eating and drinking.

Graham is 7/8 months old and we were told at pets at home (where purchased) that he would only be sold on his own as he has had companions and would be dominating and not share food.

So today after leaving him 24 hours, we scooped up the wet sawdust (he does it in the same corner) and poos and replaced the area with fresh sawdust, then placed green beans, butternut squash and red pepper in his veg bowl. He has water and nuggets too.

My son fed him a green beans. He ate half then he ate a chunk of butternut squash. All happy.

We decided to try and handle Graham (the 24 hours have passed). My husband and I spent a good 20 minutes trying to catch him to hold him. My husband eventually got him and Graham wriggled and wanted to be free, so he gently put him back. This was very different to the elegant way the staff member at pets at home picked him up and nursed him beautifully.

Since then, poor Graham has been in hiding. We went out for few hours to give him some peace. When we came home he was still hiding and hadn't eaten any food. I managed to feed him hay and some nuggets by placing them just by the entrance of where he is hiding. Otherwise I don't think he would've eaten.

What shall we do? Do we leave him to settle, try to hold him again (using the method advised on here, lifting him while he is in his tube).

Part of me is wondering whether he come out to feed early evening. Perhaps this is his feeding time? Yesterday it was around 7pm when he had a feast on his food.

I'm just worried that we have frightened him by being a little unsure/nervous ourselves with handling him.

Any advice would be most welcomed.
 
Hello :D

So firstly congratulations on getting your new piggie!

In my opinion 24 hours to settle isn't enough, and the 20 minutes trying to catch him was way too long also (sorry) he was probably terrified! I know it can be very tempting to cuddle them but this can take many weeks/months even years and not all piggies will like been handled. I would leave him alone don't try to catch him and let him hide, put some veg and hay by his hidey so he can still have a munch without having to come out in the open. They take a very long time to gain trust so you should start off by trying to get him to take food out of your hands before attempting to handle him, after he has settled. When your around him try singing and moving slowly so he doesn't see you as a predator he will start to come out in time but please just let him settle in first :D
 
Thank you. We will definitely do this.

I'm sad to think we may have frightened him. He is obviously used to being handled but he hasn't got used to us yet.

I'm keen to see whether he will come out of hiding this evening for food. I hope he does!
 
Hi and welcome!

You may find the information via this link here helpful, as it will answer your questions in much more detail than we can in one post. The link combines guides for the most often asked for questions with some need-to-know information.
" Starter Kit" Of Information Threads For New Owners

Depending on where you are, you can consider to either date your boy at one of our recommended good standard piggy savvy rescues (pets@home aren't!) or consider having your boy neutered by a good vet and then ideally date rescue dat him with a sow or two after a full 6 weeks post-op wait (necessary for him to 100% safe when meeting ladies). At the moment, he is in the middle of the tricky teenage hormones, which are going to settle down as an adult. Dating at a rescue means that you are coming home with a new companion only if a character match has been found and you have the rescue to fall back on if there are problems throughout the life of one of their rehomed piggies.

We may be able to help you better with local recommendations if you please added your county/part of the country to your details by clickin on your username at the top, go to personal details and scroll down to location. We have got members from all over the world. Thank you!
 
Emma85 said:
Thank you. We will definitely do this.

I'm sad to think we may have frightened him. He is obviously used to being handled but he hasn't got used to us yet.

I'm keen to see whether he will come out of hiding this evening for food. I hope he does!
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad we have all had to learn :D there is a plethora of advice/tips on here so the fact that your on here shows that you care greatly for little graham :D
 
He is very much loved and we are keen to do what is right for him.

This picture is him yesterday evening having a feast on hay. At the moment his nose is going crazy at the bottom of his steps. He is clearly thinking about having some food.

It is about us getting used to him too. He clearly eats at this time and enjoys to sleep in the day.

20160729_183858.webp
 
Try not to worry, he'll get used to you. They're prey animals so hiding away is normal to them.

My last rescue pig was very timid at first. For weeks I rarely saw him during the day and he would hide if he saw me. He slowly got used to me. I spoke to him when I came in the room, fed him from my hand so he got used to me. Nowadays he happily wanders around when I'm around and I can even pet him and pick him up without running.

It takes time but it's worth it in the end.

Have fun with your new piggy:D
 
I am reluctant to get him a friend at the moment with the staff at pets at home saying how he doesn't like companionship.

He had moved from a different store to accommodate him on his own. He had been on his own for a month and I was told he was a lot happier.

I've been told that I'll get a telephone call after he has been with us for a few days to see how we are getting in and I plan to bring this up. I need more information really about him being on his own. Most people I have spoken to have said that guinea pigs prefer company. I'm just hesitant to get him a sow if it will upset him.
 
If you contact a reputable rescue they'll offer to help with boar dating. They'll help you find him the perfect cagemate. They won't try to just dump any old pig on you, they'll wait until you've all happy.

There's a piggy friend out there for all pigs.
 
Emma85 said:
He is very much loved and we are keen to do what is right for him.

This picture is him yesterday evening having a feast on hay. At the moment his nose is going crazy at the bottom of his steps. He is clearly thinking about having some food.

It is about us getting used to him too. He clearly eats at this time and enjoys to sleep in the day.

View attachment 50132
Click to expand...

If he is frightened, put a blanket over the cage, so he can feel more secure and explore his new surroundings in safety. First day can be overexcitement, but after that, it is a much more slower process to build up confidence and trust. ;)
 
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