Concerned for piggy

[Guineapoops2022]

Hi there just wondering if I could get some advice please I have 4 females around 4 months old. I got my first pair of girls Dolores and dory and then a few weeks later my second pair marshmallow and popcorn. Everything has seemed to go well I have noticed popcorn is the most skittish of the girls she will take her pellets or food away and hide resulting sometimes in her not getting as much as the others..

she wheeks anytime you go near her and sometimes when any of the girls go near her but especially if you try to pick her up. I have checked her belly just to make sure there were no obvious bites or anything sore to the eye seems ok but I’m just wondering is this behaviour normal? Once you are cuddling her the wheeking stops.

We got a dome it’s big enough for the four of them but popcorn just loves it and if anyone goes inside with her she wheeks and it causes them to jump in and out. This morning I heard unusual wheeking I ran to the cage and saw Dolores lunging at popcorn they were both inside the dome I got popcorn out to try and reassure her although I think this may have caused more stress trying to pick her up.

I would hate to have to separate them but popcorn is the weakest of the group and I have big concerns here many thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

Don’t worry about pellets, they are the least important part of the diet. As long as she is getting enough hay to gain/maintain weight, then there is not a problem.
Have her weekly weight checks all been ok?

It sounds as if she is bottom of the hierarchy, her squeaking whenever they go near her Is likely submission. Not of concern on its own.
Squealing when you pick her up is also most likely normal - most piggies do not like being picked up and will react vocally in protest. Make sure to herd her into a carrier rather than pick her up with your hands - using hands cuts too close to prey instinct and will scare most piggies

Please ensure all your hides are the same ie you have four of the same thing.
Any hide which is different and causes problems needs to be removed.
Does the dome have two doors? If it doesn’t then it needs to be removed anyway as no single exit hides should be used - it’s a flash point for problems.

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Thank you very much I have a furplast I usually layer with a blanket and then a blanket on top of that because the girls love to lie on the roof and snuggle it has 2 exits and the blankets are rolled almost like tunnels they run around sleep in hide in there is a cuddle cup a cardboard box with 3 exits and a fleece tunnel… I could buy 3 ore cuddle cups? I have a 6x2 base and a 2x2 loft I have been frustrated trying to get things perfect for them morning and night and make space I have 2 litter boxes maybe I should remove one I have a carrot cottage I’m just worried now and not sure what to put in place when the 4 cuddle cups are being washed for example. Can I ask what hides you use? Need some ideas and space saving ideas might need to extend cage. Many thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

How is her weight? This is vital to know she is getting enough food.

I just use bendy log bridges like in the picture below. I have a boar pair and have four of these tunnels around their enclosure (in the shed).

A 6x2 is the right size for four sows (the loft doesn’t count).
If your litter boxes are the only place where their hay is, then don’t remove any. You need to have at least two separate hay areas so they can all eat freely
Cuddle cups aren’t really hides as such.

 

[Guineapoops2022]

So she’s coming in 3rd heaviest surprisingly! So I’m quite relieved now, as to the 4 separate same hides I’m going to have to think what to do and buy we tried moving things around lastnight it was a bit tight I just really hope there won’t be any bad fall outs or blood drawn I was reading up about sows behaviour on here I was under the impression boars could be more aggressive but seems like in life the men fallout and then it’s dealt with and the woman fallout and it’s brutal

I was also looking at trying to tell the sex just to be 100% the vets had 2 looks and a few different peoples opinions and they said they are pretty certain they are female it was just with Dolores being bigger than the others and the worst for jumping on everyone but I can’t feel any lumps either side to suggest testicles and doesn’t seem to be anything large down below I would say she has slightly bigger genitals but this is probably due to her being bigger in general is there anything else to suggest either sex? Sorry if I should of done a new thread here…many thanks for your help x

 

[Piggies&buns]

At four months of age testicles would only just be descending so many not be visible yet. You would need to feel for a penis and also check inside the slit. Boars have a slit which goes straight down whereas sows have a fleshy seal just inside.

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Ok would it be ok to show you a picture at some point today just to be sure? Many thanks

 

[Ruth1]

Don’t worry about pellets, they are the least important part of the diet. As long as she is getting enough hay to gain/maintain weight, then there is not a problem.
Have her weekly weight checks all been ok?

It sounds as if she is bottom of the hierarchy, her squeaking whenever they go near her Is likely submission. Not of concern on its own.
Squealing when you pick her up is also most likely normal - most piggies do not like being picked up and will react vocally in protest. Make sure to herd her into a carrier rather than pick her up with your hands - using hands cuts too close to prey instinct and will scare most piggies

Please ensure all your hides are the same ie you have four of the same thing.
Any hide which is different and causes problems needs to be removed.
Does the dome have two doors? If it doesn’t then it needs to be removed anyway as no single exit hides should be used - it’s a flash point for problems.

I’ve just got my two and have already seen the need for the SAME of everything. Tweaking things to this up seems to have given me two more relaxed piggies . I know there’s only one exit in the bedrooms there, but it’s wide enough for them to run wheeking past each other. The tunnels are great, but again they need one each. Now that they have a choice of two decent spaces to chill in - they are happy to use the more open communal area for foraging around in together. The advice I’ve received here has been very helpful!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok would it be ok to show you a picture at some point today just to be sure? Many thanks

Yes you can but sexing does need to be hands on as well. You need to be able to open the slit and look inside as well as feel for the presence or absence of a penis ridge

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Yes you can but sexing does need to be hands on as well. You need to be able to open the slit and look inside as well as feel for the presence or absence of a penis ridge

 

[Guineapoops2022]

These are the pictures we took but didn’t want to stress her… out too much hope these photos are good enough many thanks just want to be sure

 

[Siikibam]

What do you think the sex is? Did you check for penis ridge as well?

 

[weepweeps]

Do they look the same as your others? It’s great you have others to compare with

 

[Free Ranger]

We're trying not to do 'guess the sex' but that looks like a little lady to me. Sows do mount to show dominance - I mean mine don't but I think they're too fat!

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Thanks guys well the vet said they are all very similar genital wise but she did take Dolores over to a few other colleagues and pointed out that it was difficult to tell if the top part was a penis as it was bigger than the 3 others but they were almost certain they were girls I will keep checking on them all maybe I’m just over thinking as Dolores is the biggest piggy and most dominant just wanted to keep a close eye on this as I would be very upset if I had mixed a young un neutered male with 3 young females I can’t see any sign of a difference between the 4 girls other than the top part there being larger so fingers crossed that’s all it is many thanks

 

[Lady Kelly]

Personally I would be looking for a more experienced vet ready for any future health problems. Any vet should be able to correctly sex animals though we know training on guinea pigs is minimal when they are studying. I find it worrying that the vet was just looking at the top part of the genitals alone without trying to find the penis or looking just inside the genitals for confirmation of female/male

 

[Guineapoops2022]

I’ve just got my two and have already seen the need for the SAME of everything. Tweaking things to this up seems to have given me two more relaxed piggies . I know there’s only one exit in the bedrooms there, but it’s wide enough for them to run wheeking past each other. The tunnels are great, but again they need one each. Now that they have a choice of two decent spaces to chill in - they are happy to use the more open communal area for foraging around in together. The advice I’ve received here has been very helpful!

Looks great where are the tunnels from please? Are they wicker? I always worry incase I get something they aren’t meant to chew love the fleece stringy hide bits did you diy those

 

[Ruth1]

Looks great where are the tunnels from please? Are they wicker? I always worry incase I get something they aren’t meant to chew love the fleece stringy hide bits did you diy those

Tunnels are wicker from Jolley’s and yes I made the tents! They love them and I have a box of feeding hay in each one and hay in the tunnels too. Only thing I would change about the tunnels is that they are tubes, so the piggies sit on the wicker and munch their hay and are probably peeing merrily all over the wicker . If they start to stink I think I’d like those large log tunnels that don’t have a base to them.

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Personally I would be looking for a more experienced vet ready for any future health problems. Any vet should be able to correctly sex animals though we know training on guinea pigs is minimal when they are studying. I find it worrying that the vet was just looking at the top part of the genitals alone without trying to find the penis or looking just inside the genitals for confirmation of female/male

I did think this at the time but she had reassured me by saying they were pretty certain they are all the same sex…me and my partner are going to do another check this evening on all the Guineas I’m feeling more confident now that Dolores does have the Y shape quite clearly and not just a vertical slit

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Tunnels are wicker from Jolley’s and yes I made the tents! They love them and I have a box of feeding hay in each one and hay in the tunnels too. Only thing I would change about the tunnels is that they are tubes, so the piggies sit on the wicker and munch their hay and are probably peeing merrily all over the wicker . If they start to stink I think I’d like those large log tunnels that don’t have a base to them.

Yeah I might try these tents I would like ones I can easily remove and wash if need be. Yes it’s a shame isn’t it I have a large plastic extendable tunnel but my 4 love to pee and poo in it and then they will lie in it all day if I let them works great with a fleece blanket pulled through but even my fleece liners are soaked through everyday so I worry the urine smell will affect their respiratory system same with their hay!

 

[Guineapoops2022]

Yeah I might try these tents I would like ones I can easily remove and wash if need be. Yes it’s a shame isn’t it I have a large plastic extendable tunnel but my 4 love to pee and poo in it and then they will lie in it all day if I let them works great with a fleece blanket pulled through but even my fleece liners are soaked through everyday so I worry the urine smell will affect their respiratory system same with their hay!

At the moment I have a wooden house with a blanket that goes over the roof and lies on each side they will sleep on the roof of the house and inside and the sides and seems to make them very happy but I do worry they could fight as they are all snuggled together at times but fitting 4 of the same beds in is going to prove a bit tricky I think I have spent hours even days moving things around to try and make it spacey and accessible to all this is in their 6x2 cage and loft we might try to extend

 

[Piggies&buns]

At the moment I have a wooden house with a blanket that goes over the roof and lies on each side they will sleep on the roof of the house and inside and the sides and seems to make them very happy but I do worry they could fight as they are all snuggled together at times but fitting 4 of the same beds in is going to prove a bit tricky I think I have spent hours even days moving things around to try and make it spacey and accessible to all this is in their 6x2 cage and loft we might try to extend

The bendy log bridges i added a picture of earlier fit side by side so you could quite simply put two of those at one end of the cage and two at the other (ensuring you don’t put them touching the back of the cage so that they can get all the way round), that way there are four identical hides each with double exits
This is what I do when my boys are in the house in their c&c. I then throw hay on and around both sets of log tunnels so they both eat at the same end of opposite ends if they want to.
There is then plenty of space in the middle for zoomies and/or another hay pile

 

[Guineapoops2022]

The bendy log bridges i added a picture of earlier fit side by side so you could quite simply put two of those at one end of the cage and two at the other (ensuring you don’t put them touching the back of the cage so that they can get all the way round), that way there are four identical hides each with double exits
This is what I do when my boys are in the house in their c&c. I then throw hay on and around both sets of log tunnels so they both eat at the same end of opposite ends if they want to.
There is then plenty of space in the middle for zoomies and/or another hay pile

This sounds like a good idea and do you have a litter box? I feel bad they will get bored during the night but they have their carrot cottage upstairs 2 litter trays and a few hides just now

 

[Piggies&buns]

This sounds like a good idea and do you have a litter box? I feel bad they will get bored during the night but they have their carrot cottage upstairs 2 litter trays and a few hides just now

I don’t have litter boxes. My whole enclosure is filled with hay. They spend a lot of time in the hay.
As they have each other, they won’t be bored.