Guinea pigs acting weird?

[elena]

Hello! Has anyone ever had experience their guinea pigs acting weird?
I took them to the vet/grooming on saturday, and they have been weird ever since, all 3 of them!

Two of them are able of free roaming so now they barely go inside their cage, they stay in the corners of my room hiding from idk what, the one who is in a enclosure stays inside his hidey for foreverr... It just that, when you know them, you are able of identifying they are just not acting as they used to.

I got them this super good hay and they kinda don't like it? Not even their extra Timothy hay or a new high fiber guinea pig food, they do eat their veggies tho but like IN FEAR (? So now, they prefer biting some furniture from my room instead of eating the super expensive, imported, green, beautiful hay I got them? Idk if this weird behavior out of nowhere is because of the vet visit or the change of food but I'm seriously freaking out... I used to give them a not very good hay because I live in Costa Rica and it's not that common to find good ones, unless it's Timothy but they come in very very pricey small portions. So they were used to a not very good hay.. Idk man I am just freaking out, I took them to the vet and everything was alright so why are they acting weird?

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! Has anyone ever had experience their guinea pigs acting weird?
I took them to the vet/grooming on saturday, and they have been weird ever since, all 3 of them!

Two of them are able of free roaming so now they barely go inside their cage, they stay in the corners of my room hiding from idk what, the one who is in a enclosure stays inside his hidey for foreverr... It just that, when you know them, you are able of identifying they are just not acting as they used to.

I got them this super good hay and they kinda don't like it? Not even their extra Timothy hay or a new high fiber guinea pig food, they do eat their veggies tho but like IN FEAR (? So now, they prefer biting some furniture from my room instead of eating the super expensive, imported, green, beautiful hay I got them? Idk if this weird behavior out of nowhere is because of the vet visit or the change of food but I'm seriously freaking out... I used to give them a not very good hay because I live in Costa Rica and it's not that common to find good ones, unless it's Timothy but they come in very very pricey small portions. So they were used to a not very good hay.. Idk man I am just freaking out, I took them to the vet and everything was alright so why are they acting weird?

Hi and welcome

What have your boys been checked out for?

It can well be that they have been badly frightened somewhere or somehow.
Please follow the tips in these guides links here; they should help you to understand guinea pig prey animal instincts and what you can do to settle them back down. A big sheet over the cage/enclosure will make them feel a lot safer; that is just the first step.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?

Have you considered researching whether you have equine providers (i.e. horse feed providers) within your reach? They may have larger packs of timothy hay, which will be cheaper. Smaller packs are always a lot more expensive for what they contain. Orchard hay and meadow hay are safe to feed.
Our hay guide contains a review of what hay varieties there are and what is safe to feed in which quantity. Sadly we only list suppliers for the UK and US; but the rest may be of interest to you nevertheless: A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

Piggies learn what is safe to each and what not from their elders. Introducing new foods can be dicey. It can be the smell that comes with your new feed that is throwing them since guinea pigs have a much finer sense of smell and double the amount of taste buds to humans. Try their old hay and see whether they'll eat that and then gradually mix in the new feed.

 

[elena]

Hi and welcome

What have your boys been checked out for?

It can well be that they have been badly frightened somewhere or somehow.
Please follow the tips in these guides links here; they should help you to understand guinea pig prey animal instincts and what you can do to settle them back down. A big sheet over the cage/enclosure will make them feel a lot safer; that is just the first step.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?

Have you considered researching whether you have equine providers (i.e. horse feed providers) within your reach? They may have larger packs of timothy hay, which will be cheaper. Smaller packs are always a lot more expensive for what they contain. Orchard hay and meadow hay are safe to feed.
Our hay guide contains a review of what hay varieties there are and what is safe to feed in which quantity. Sadly we only list suppliers for the UK and US; but the rest may be of interest to you nevertheless: A Comprehensive Hay Guide for Guinea Pigs (incl. providers in several countries)

Piggies learn what is safe to each and what not from their elders. Introducing new foods can be dicey. It can be the smell that comes with your new feed that is throwing them since guinea pigs have a much finer sense of smell and double the amount of taste buds to humans. Try their old hay and see whether they'll eat that and then gradually mix in the new feed.

Hello! Well they got into a general check up, blood, xray, skin, all that kinda of stuff and everything was alright. And actually, I do think the reason can be that they got too scared on saturday with the visit and idk got traumatized? Because its the only reason I can think of.. I will try the mixing hay thing too tho!
And sadly, in here the hay we have is specially made for horses and big animals, we don't have national timothy hay so the hay we tend to get is way more yellow and dry, I got this one specially made for small animals, super green so nice but they wont eat it lol, so the problem can be just a mixture of taking them to the vet, change of food and hay! I just really want my sweet boys back

 

[Wiebke]

Hello! Well they got into a general check up, blood, xray, skin, all that kinda of stuff and everything was alright. And actually, I do think the reason can be that they got too scared on saturday with the visit and idk got traumatized? Because its the only reason I can think of.. I will try the mixing hay thing too tho!
And sadly, in here the hay we have is specially made for horses and big animals, we don't have national timothy hay so the hay we tend to get is way more yellow and dry, I got this one specially made for small animals, super green so nice but they wont eat it lol, so the problem can be just a mixture of taking them to the vet, change of food and hay! I just really want my sweet boys back

Be patient and persist but use our tricks for helping them to settle down and relax and learn how to avoid tiggering the prey animal instincts while they are still very much running on them.

PLEASE take the time to read the links in my previous post. They contain LOTS of of helpful tips and information how you can help your boys. It is just too much to list in every post and answer lots of other threads on this forum - which I have written the links for the practical detail.

 

[elena]

Be patient and persist but use our tricks for helping them to settle down and relax and learn how to avoid tiggering the prey animal instincts while they are still very much running on them.

PLEASE take the time to read the links in my previous post. They contain LOTS of of helpful tips and information how you can help your boys. It is just too much to list in every post and answer lots of other threads on this forum - which I have written the links for the practical detail.

sure ! thank you so much for helping :-)

 

[weepweeps]

I hope your piggies have calmed down and are back to their normal happy selves.

 

[Free Ranger]

Here in the UK the vet checks over healthy piggies using non-intrusive methods. So if piggies come in with no symptoms they will check the skin and fur, the ears, the teeth, the nails and such. They weigh the pigs and ask about their age (sometimes we can only guess!) and how they eat/poop, whether they look happy and popcorn about. They will ask about the size of the cage/enclosure and what bedding they are on and how many you have. They feel them over for lumps and bumps, scratches and swellings etc.

Common complaints that they see include lice/mites or fungal infection - both cause itching and hair loss which is what they are looking for. They might gently pull at a tiny tuft of fur on the rump to make sure it is firmly attached - mite infestation can cause the tuft to lift away as a clump! As piggy's skin is very sensitive they don't like this even when healthy and they sometimes squeak if mites are the problem and the fur comes away - it's not painless.

Needles of any type will cause pain for the pig. Sometimes this is unavoidable if they are unwell. We've had to have needles in the past and it's always unpleasant for them. We only have x-ray if there are bladder issues and they suspect stones (although obvs it is also necessary if there have been accidents where bones might be broken). My vet does conscious x-ray (by swaddling piggy firmly in a towel) but some vets routinely use general anaesthetic. This in itself is a big deal for a small animal and something we always avoid unless absolutely necessary - like if they need an operation or something. We've never had bloods taken in 10 years of keeping pigs. I would always ask "what does this procedure tell me" and then "what could I do about it if something was found?" But I know bloods are routinely taken in some countries, even for people. My friend is from a different European country and she is disappointed every time by English doctors who don't take blood tests unless there are very obvious blood-related symptoms. 'At home' they always take a blood sample. She thinks she is not getting proper treatment unless they get the needles out!

I know every country or vet does things differently but it does seem that for a general check over your piggies have had some quite traumatic things happen to them. They would not have known it was to check on their health and now every time people go near their cage they think the same thing might happen again. It will take them a while to get used to normal life. I'm not sure if I would want to do that again - although of course if I suspected illness or discomfort I would take them to a vet straight away!

Grooming: dogs and cats like to be stroked and patted by us. Generally piggies don't like it so much - mainly because they are sensitive little prey animals and spend a lot of the time frightened they are about to be eaten! It's part of their charm But once they can believe they are safe with us they express themselves naturally and that hard-won trust is a lovely thing to experience. All my short-haired pigs have kept themselves clean but my first long-haired girl really struggles. I thought she would be used to being groomed as her previous owner used to put her in shows which must have involved bathing and brushing but she hates all of it. The brushes and combs pull at her fur and pain her. We don't bath at all (unless - for example - a bum bath is needed for older pigs who can get poopy at the back). So every 2 months or so I cut it all very short with clippers. She doesn't like that much either but complains much less than for brushing because the clippers don't touch her skin. Some long-hairs are smooth and silky but Louise has thick, tufty fur. Here she is this morning - one week after her trim - staking out the place where the morning grass pile is delivered - which is late - hence the grumpy expression!

 

[elena]

Here in the UK the vet checks over healthy piggies using non-intrusive methods. So if piggies come in with no symptoms they will check the skin and fur, the ears, the teeth, the nails and such. They weigh the pigs and ask about their age (sometimes we can only guess!) and how they eat/poop, whether they look happy and popcorn about. They will ask about the size of the cage/enclosure and what bedding they are on and how many you have. They feel them over for lumps and bumps, scratches and swellings etc.

Common complaints that they see include lice/mites or fungal infection - both cause itching and hair loss which is what they are looking for. They might gently pull at a tiny tuft of fur on the rump to make sure it is firmly attached - mite infestation can cause the tuft to lift away as a clump! As piggy's skin is very sensitive they don't like this even when healthy and they sometimes squeak if mites are the problem and the fur comes away - it's not painless.

Needles of any type will cause pain for the pig. Sometimes this is unavoidable if they are unwell. We've had to have needles in the past and it's always unpleasant for them. We only have x-ray if there are bladder issues and they suspect stones (although obvs it is also necessary if there have been accidents where bones might be broken). My vet does conscious x-ray (by swaddling piggy firmly in a towel) but some vets routinely use general anaesthetic. This in itself is a big deal for a small animal and something we always avoid unless absolutely necessary - like if they need an operation or something. We've never had bloods taken in 10 years of keeping pigs. I would always ask "what does this procedure tell me" and then "what could I do about it if something was found?" But I know bloods are routinely taken in some countries, even for people. My friend is from a different European country and she is disappointed every time by English doctors who don't take blood tests unless there are very obvious blood-related symptoms. 'At home' they always take a blood sample. She thinks she is not getting proper treatment unless they get the needles out!

I know every country or vet does things differently but it does seem that for a general check over your piggies have had some quite traumatic things happen to them. They would not have known it was to check on their health and now every time people go near their cage they think the same thing might happen again. It will take them a while to get used to normal life. I'm not sure if I would want to do that again - although of course if I suspected illness or discomfort I would take them to a vet straight away!

Grooming: dogs and cats like to be stroked and patted by us. Generally piggies don't like it so much - mainly because they are sensitive little prey animals and spend a lot of the time frightened they are about to be eaten! It's part of their charm But once they can believe they are safe with us they express themselves naturally and that hard-won trust is a lovely thing to experience. All my short-haired pigs have kept themselves clean but my first long-haired girl really struggles. I thought she would be used to being groomed as her previous owner used to put her in shows which must have involved bathing and brushing but she hates all of it. The brushes and combs pull at her fur and pain her. We don't bath at all (unless - for example - a bum bath is needed for older pigs who can get poopy at the back). So every 2 months or so I cut it all very short with clippers. She doesn't like that much either but complains much less than for brushing because the clippers don't touch her skin. Some long-hairs are smooth and silky but Louise has thick, tufty fur. Here she is this morning - one week after her trim - staking out the place where the morning grass pile is delivered - which is late - hence the grumpy expression!
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ohh i get your point, yeah i take them twice a year for all the exams and i totally get all animals hate the vet specially small ones like piggies but it just never happened to me before but yeah i can totally agree it was 100% the whole experience and then coming home to different hay/dryfood you are completely right, it was my mistake 100%

 

[Free Ranger]

Well... not so much a mistake as you care so much for your pigs! And every-pig is different... some think people are great, some don't pay much attention, some get distracted by food from anything at all! I'm sure they will all settle down

Some of mine only ever went to the vet as a 'companion' on the car-ride as they were healthy pigs - they might be registered and weighed but that's about it. But some have been for treatment and they remember what happens. I can see when my poorly pig and a healthy companion are in the carrier which one is more nervous. Sometimes I take all 3 so nervous pig has 2 more relaxed ones to hide behind! Currently my older boar is checked for arthritis and impaction (he has a bit of both) every 3 months to get his new prescription. He's figured out what will happen but he's still not so keen to have his legs flexed and his bum poked about... then one time they asked if they could cut his nails (practice for the nurse I think, his nails are all black so he's a challenge) and he was soooo pleased to get back to the car!

Let us know when they get back to their normal selves... even post a pigture if you like!