floor time refuse to explore

[peacedove]

Hi,
My older guinea pig, Marshmallow, I have had for years, and he had this behavior the whole time. His previous mate, Crunchy, was adventurous and would run around my apartment during floor time, while Marshmallow would sit in the corner under the cage. I have to grab him and move him to another area of the room, and let him run back to his spot to get any exercise. He became overweight, despite restricting his veggies, because in the cage he only sits in his house and doesn't move. I have to bath him frequently because he sits in his own waste. Eventually Crunchy passed, and so I needed to get Marshmallow a new mate. The new mate, Samoa, was also adventurous and runs around frequently. He started out exploring a lot, but then with Marshmallow's influence he started sitting in the corner, too. Fortunately, Samoa is very mobile in an out of the cage, and so I think he won't become obese. However, it concerns me that they just want to sit in the corner. I put out hides for them, and connecting boxes. Marshmallow will sometimes find a hide, and then sit in that one until I move him. I'm very frustrated, wondering what you think.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Diet - do they eat pellets? How much do you give? Restricting veggies woudnt be the first thing I’d go to - it would be restricting pellets. They are the least healthy part of the diet so they are the things to keep in check and keep limited to one tablespoon per piggy per day.
Are you weighing them AND checking their heft? Their heft is the guide to what is healthy for their own body type.

Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
Weight - Monitoring and Management

How big is their cage?
Do they have lots of enrichment in the cage?

Cage Size Guide
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

Outside of the cage, they can be fearful. It’s a new environment and piggies don’t like to feel exposed. Using a playpen and covering the top with a blanket can help rather than free roaming.

Age is also a consideration. I know you said he has always been like it - and that simply is the way he is, he may never have been an adventurous piggy - but now if he is older, then he may just not want to run around. My three year old pair certainly don’t anymore - they don’t do zoomies now, they still do the occasional popcorn, but they do enjoy time in their run but they are more content to sit and eat grass, nap and gently wander about rather than be off exploring like they did when they were youngsters

 

[mackie]

it may be due to them being stressed. being stressed can cause them to be in a trance (not moving) does he regularly get floor time? some pigs simply are not comfortable exploring in a different area than their marked territory. it may also be uncomfortable for him to be around his cage mate. if not already bonded or used to be around each other, being in the same area may cause him to be uncomfortable/stressed. there’s a lot of different factors that can play a role in type of behavior. this is only my insight on it