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dafnedr
Hello,
I have a male guinea pig that is 3 years and 8 months old (give or take a couple of months since I bought it in a store and nobody was able to tell me the birth date).
When I got it I was single and living alone. I bought a pretty big cage and I used to play with it almost every day. Also I let it walk around the house at least three times a week.
2 years ago I got pregnant and since then my poor Kwyjibo has had to accept a lot of changes: smaller cage (for 8 months, now it's back to the big one), less game and attention, almost non existent walks around the house, etc. I'm a single mom. It does get a lot of visits from my daughter though...
What is worrying me... he has stopped almost completely making sounds and popcorning. Kwyjibo used to be a pretty vocal guinea pig - not excesive but very noticeable. And it used to hop around the cage quite a lot.
Can this be because it's unhappy? Or maybe lonely? Or maybe just because it's old...? I read somewhere that guinea pigs can live up to 8 years (which would mean mine is not so old).
Any opinions or info are welcomed. I have no vet for Kwyjibo because here in Slovenia almost none of them treat such small animals and they really don't have a clue (I know from previous experiences with hamsters) - therefore I have nobody to ask. Luckily Kwyjibo has never had any health issues.
Elizabeth
I have a male guinea pig that is 3 years and 8 months old (give or take a couple of months since I bought it in a store and nobody was able to tell me the birth date).
When I got it I was single and living alone. I bought a pretty big cage and I used to play with it almost every day. Also I let it walk around the house at least three times a week.
2 years ago I got pregnant and since then my poor Kwyjibo has had to accept a lot of changes: smaller cage (for 8 months, now it's back to the big one), less game and attention, almost non existent walks around the house, etc. I'm a single mom. It does get a lot of visits from my daughter though...
What is worrying me... he has stopped almost completely making sounds and popcorning. Kwyjibo used to be a pretty vocal guinea pig - not excesive but very noticeable. And it used to hop around the cage quite a lot.
Can this be because it's unhappy? Or maybe lonely? Or maybe just because it's old...? I read somewhere that guinea pigs can live up to 8 years (which would mean mine is not so old).
Any opinions or info are welcomed. I have no vet for Kwyjibo because here in Slovenia almost none of them treat such small animals and they really don't have a clue (I know from previous experiences with hamsters) - therefore I have nobody to ask. Luckily Kwyjibo has never had any health issues.
Elizabeth
p Good luck!