Guinea pig acting strange

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Need Sleep

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I leave for school at the same time everyday, and lately, one of my guinea pigs will make himself stand using the metal bars of his cage and watch me leave. He doesn't make any sound while doing it, but he only does this when I leave for school. My other guinea pig doesn't do this, and before I adopted her he never did this. I had him for about 4 months before her, if that means anything. It worries me because he looks rather sad while he does this, and I don't want whatever this is to affect his health. Any answers are welcome.
 
To be honest, this doesn’t really sound like a problem as such - its probably just something he’s learnt to do.
My piggies stand at the bars when I’m near them, I think a lot will - anticipation that you may be getting food for them!

Does he live in the same cage as the female? Is he neutered?
If they do not share a cage, are their cages side by side so they can still have interaction between the bars?
 
I originally had them in separate cages beside each other for the first week, but they showed no signs of aggression, so they now live in the same cage. I adopted him, and the person who had him before said that he was neutered, so I didn't have the vet check for that, only health problems and to see how old he is. Thanks for the help! I haven't owned a guinea pig before, only dogs, so I appreciate all the help I can get
 
I have 3 boys, and Finn stands to look at me when I leave for work. It almost seems as though he knows the exact time I am leaving for work.

Prior to getting my Ben, my third boy, I asked numerous times that it had to be a boy because I already have 2 boys and I must be certain that I am getting another boy and not a girl.
 
Seven7 said:
I have 3 boys, and Finn stands to look at me when I leave for work. It almost seems as though he knows the exact time I am leaving for work.

Prior to getting my Ben, my third boy, I asked numerous times that it had to be a boy because I already have 2 boys and I must be certain that I am getting another boy and not a girl.
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Before I adopted my girl,the original owner thought he had 2 boys, when they were actually both girls.
 
Ok, so if he still had his testicles then they would be obvious at his age . It’s not a good idea to just take word for it that they are neutered unless a piggy came from a reputable rescue centre. If they’ve been together for four months and she has not got pregnant, then it is probable he is neutered, but it would still be a good idea to be certain for yourself.

In terms of standing at the bars, I would not be concerned about it.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Ok, so if he still had his testicles then they would be obvious at his age . It’s not a good idea to just take word for it that they are neutered unless a piggy came from a reputable rescue centre. If they’ve been together for four months and she has not got pregnant, then it is probable he is neutered, but it would still be a good idea to be certain for yourself.

In terms of standing at the bars, I would not be concerned about it.
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I trusted the original owner since it was a family friend, and since I have only owned female dogs I didn't know how to check, but he does still have testicles so I guess he isn't neutered, guess I have to get that situation figured out. Thanks for pointing out the problem, otherwise I would have had some tiny problems.
 
Need Sleep said:
I trusted the original owner since it was a family friend, and since I have only owned female dogs I didn't know how to check, but he does still have testicles so I guess he isn't neutered, guess I have to get that situation figured out. Thanks for pointing out the problem, otherwise I would have had some tiny problems.
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So you’re saying you’ve just checked and you can see he does still have testicles?
If so and he is not neutered, then you must now separate them immediately and put the female on 10 weeks of pregnancy watch as she may well have already become pregnant.
 
Piggies&buns said:
So you’re saying you’ve just checked and you can see he does still have testicles?
If so and he is not neutered, then you must now separate them immediately and put the female on 10 weeks of pregnancy watch as she may well have already become pregnant.
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This is a very good advice.

How old is the girl that lives in the same cage as the attached boy?
 
Seven7 said:
@Piggies&buns
Can 3 years old girl and 2 years old boy have babies?
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Yes they can. They will remain fertile and continue to breed throughout their entire lives. The problem becomes that a sow of that age is at the end of normal pup bearing years which makes a pregnancy higher risk.

She is on the older side for having babies (higher risks associated with pregnancies) so with any luck she is not pregnant but you must now prepare as if she is pregnant. Please immediately remove him from the cage.
If she is pregnant and he remains in the cage with her, as soon as she has given birth, he will immediately get her pregnant again (sows come back into season within hours of giving birth) and a back to back pregnancy would be very bad news.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes they can. They will remain fertile and continue to breed throughout their entire lives. The problem becomes that a sow of that age is at the end of normal pup bearing years which makes a pregnancy higher risk.

She is on the older side for having babies (higher risks associated with pregnancies) so with any luck she is not pregnant but you must now prepare as if she is pregnant. Please immediately remove him from the cage.
If she is pregnant and he remains in the cage with her, as soon as she has given birth, he will immediately get her pregnant again (sows come back into season within hours of giving birth) and a back to back pregnancy would be very bad news.
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Good advice.
Photos of them would really help too, seeing the poster isn't really sure if they are really boys or girls.

In my case, my 3 boys did live together briefly, then separated after Ben turned 4 month and currently live right next to my 2 boys. Finn and Bear, who are bonded pair wouldn't play with Ben, a new baby boy. They seem happier living side by side.
 
Seven7 said:
Can you post some pictures of them to clarify? We will be able to see if they are girl or boy?
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They aren't fans of staying still to get their pictures taken, but I got these. The one with the white on his face is the boy, and the one with the white on the no white on the face is the girl
 
Seven7 said:
Can you post some pictures of them to clarify? We will be able to see if they are girl or boy?
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They aren't fans of staying still to get their pictures taken, but I was able to get these. The right one is the boy, and the left is the girl. Again, they hate staying still for too long, so it is hard to get good pictures of them
 

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I’m afraid the pictures are not clear enough.
We need close up pictures of the genitals, including inside the slits of both piggies (sows have a fleshy seal inside the slit whereas boars go straight down). You also need to be able to feel for a penis ridge.
There is such a hands on element on sexing that we will not confirm 100% the sex from pictures

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’m afraid the pictures are not clear enough.
We need close up pictures of the genitals, including inside the slits of both piggies (sows have a fleshy seal inside the slit whereas boars go straight down). You also need to be able to feel for a penis ridge.
There is such a hands on element on sexing that we will not confirm 100% the sex from pictures

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/illustrated-sexing-guide-for-all-ages.156297/
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Sorry, they just refuse to have close up pictures. They aren't very comfortable around electronics in general, and can identify them so they throw tantrums whenever they see them
 
Need Sleep said:
Sorry, they just refuse to have close up pictures. They aren't very comfortable electronics in general, and can identify them so they throw tantrums whenever they see them
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Then you will need to open the slits, check for a seal in the sow and it going straight down in the boar, feel for a penis ridge as per the guide I linked in.
Make sure you put them back into separate cages and ensure the sow is fed a healthy hay based diet and not overfed on pellets (feed just one tablespoon per pig per day) - you don’t want , if she is pregnant, to risk babies growing too large and causing problems for her.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
 
Piggies&buns said:
Then you will need to open the slits, check for a seal in the sow and it going straight down in the boar, feel for a penis ridge as per the guide I linked in.
Make sure you put them back into separate cages and ensure the sow is fed a healthy hay based diet and not overfed on pellets (feed just one tablespoon per pig per day) - you don’t want , if she is pregnant, to risk babies growing too large and causing problems for her.

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/
Click to expand...
Ok, thank you, I appreciate all the advice from everyone
 
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