HELP-New guinea pig sitting staring at corner of cage :(

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Lpiggles

Lpiggles

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I have just brought home my two new piggies on Sunday and settled them into their new C&C cage. One of them seems fine and is pretty alert and roaming about the cage-a little wary but seems to be eating and drinking and chattering away.

The other however seems to always be squished between the pigloo and the side of the cage and hides there most of the day. I'm really worried, she looks almost depressed.

She is producing normal solid poops, and has no visible ailments.

Is she just nervous and still settling in (it is now day 3) to her new surroundings and taking a little longer than my other pig? or could it be somthing more serious?

Do any of you have experience of bringing a new pig home and them acting this way?:{

Your advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
 
First of all, don't panic - it doesn't achieve anything :) . If they're pooping, peeing, eating and drinking - then it's most likely just settling in. imagine how you would feel, little tiny thing, you'd want to get somewhere you felt safe.

Piggies are a little like people in that, everyone has their own personality - some pigs are always nervous and skittish, others just take some time, and others settle in and are confident straight away.

just give her time in my opinion, but i'm sure someone more experienced will be along. xx
 
It could be that she is nervous and still settling in or it could be that she is unwell, have you seen her eating food, hay and drinking? What food and hay are you giving them? Do you give them fresh food, if so what do you give them?

Where did you get them from ad how big is the cage they are in, so sorry for the questions, but if you are new to it all and you followed pet shop advice on piggie care then we may be able to help you.
 
Hopefully it's nothing more than nerves. As C&C cages are open to the top she may well feel very insecure. Covered areas such as fleece hammocks that she can hide underneath, kiddies step stools work well too, some tunnels and a big pile of hay to hide in may well make her feel safer. If you can cover a larger section of the cage (peg a towel or fleece blanket across) so she can move about without being in the open she may well start exploring more.

HTH

Suzy x
 
i think it might just be nerves. When we first brought Hartley and Liquorice home and put them in their temporary cage (we hadnt finished the c&c cage yet) they just sat in a paper bag. We get them out for cuddles in front of the TV regularly and they are now a lot tamer. :)
hope this helps! :)
 
Thank you all so much for your advice.

I got them from a breeder on Sunday after doing much research.
Their cage is a two level C&C cage with plenty of hiding places-pigloos, scraps of fleece fabric, tunnels etc i've also pegged off the corner where she is hiding with a towel to make it dark and cozy for her.
I havn't personally seen her eating or drinking, but have heard the water bottle being used but not sure if it is her using it as by the time I peer over, they've hidden.

Food wise i'm still feeding them on the hangeover food the breeder provided that they have been on since birth, they are nibbling away at regular pet shop hay. I havn't tried them on any fresh fruit/veggies as of yet as I wanted to settle them in to begin with.

Could it be a good idea to try and entice Winnie with some cucumber if i'm not sure if she's eating/drinking? At least it will have a high water content.

I'll keep a good eye on her tonioght and speak gently to her like ive been doing the past nights, I hope it's just nerves and she's the quieter of the two. I shall keep you posted.

Thank you for the replies, it's put my mind at rest a little more!
 
It sounds like she's still settling in still and probably that spot makes her feel secure, some piggies seem to think if they cant see you then you cant see them lol :))
I would just give them time and make sure they have lots of hidey places :)
 
You need to make sure she is eating hay and dry food atleast, and drinking, piggies go downhill rapidly without these and get seriously ill, i dont mean to scare you. I bet she is eating when you aren't around. But you need to make sure they have a source of good quality dry food, weather it be wagg, burgess or whatever, but it needs to contain vitamin c as this is a vital part of their diet. you can try feeding a little fresh food, spinach and lettuce are a favourite or a dandelion leaf.

Are they on the floor or are they raised? Mine even now all get quite scared on the floor, they feel intimidated and prefer to be raised up, we noticed a huge difference in our piggies bravery and personalities when we got a stand for their cage.
 
I think the tester if she is poorly is that her fur will be all fluffed up, her ears may be colder than normal, not eating/drinking etc. If you try to pick her up does she run away? If she does then it's more likely she's just nervous. How old are they?
 
She doesnt make any resistance to being picked up, think i'm just going to watch her closely tonight and try to feed her from my hand and see if she takes it.
I do put a vitamin C supplement into their water.
They are on the floor, though I have been thinking about raising my C&C cage upon some upturned plastic storage boxes to help them with their confidence.

Perhaps, it's just first time guinea pig mum nerves, but I just want them to be as settled and happy as possible. :(
 
Please dont put the vitamin C in the water. It is best to feed vit C rich veg, and the pellets contail vitamin C anyway. It can make the water taste funny (putting some piggies off drinking it even if they are thirsty) :)
 
They will get the hun, it just take some time for them to be more confident around new places, sounds, smells and people etc, stick with it, you''ll get there, they'll soon be climbing the bars at you expecting to be fed!
 
I'm thinking she is just very nervous. We barely saw one of our pigs the first couple of weeks we had her... she hid in the pigloo and snuck out at night to eat and drink. However, once she settled in she was just fine and is actually now a very affectionate pig and extremely vocal moocher of food!
 
Update

Hi,

Thought i'd give you all an update....

After a few more days with a rather disinterested piggie, I followed your advice on here and ensured she was eating/drinking etc.

After two days she was a lot better but now she is a completely different pig!
She's running around her cage and popcorning like crazy and I cant walk past or open the fridge without lots of excited squeeks. My other pig Priscilla is far more docile and a little slower and is constantly having Winnie run up on her from behind then run off popcorning away :a19:

They are adorable!

I caught Winnie grooming Priscilla's ears last night which was very sweet, Priscilla seemed to be enjoying it! I was at first worried that Winnie (coronet) was trying to barber Priscilla (sheltie) to look more like her :..., but luckily it seemed fairly innocent.

Thank you all again for your advice!

xx>>>
 
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