'new' Guineapig Behaviour

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Dom R

Dom R

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Hello everyone on this forums, and fellow Guineapig lovers!

There's going to be a little 'Story' before I get onto my question.

Basically, I am currently 17 years of age, and I have had many guineapigs throughout my lifetime, approximately 7-8 to the current times.

So I recently got two guineapigs back in October, everything was well, until one, unfortunately got a Stomach Abscess, which did not go by a month of Antibiotics, and eventually (What I am lead to believe in) to had burst, I woke up one morning for work, and found him collapsed, on his side, gasping for air and twitching (By god I hope it wasn't painful, and I am still unsure whether what I believe is the cause of death, but it is the only explanation I can give). And his companion took this really terribly, he went from lively and crazy, to just laying down in a corner, barely eating, which is why I had to purchase another companion for him, and he quickly livened up. They ended up in the same cage within a week of bonding time.

Now then, onto my second/main question. This new guineapig is quite, unusual to me. If you get what I mean.

I've never had a shy guineapig in my life, not as shy as him anyway, they always love me, the way I treat them etc. But Ash (His name) seems to be extremely frightened of me. Keep note that Fudge passed away on the 2nd of March, so this piggie is still new to me. But within a month, every guineapig I have had settled down, got to know me. Which Ash was on the right path until today. I recently started putting them outside in a nice guineapig run due to warmer weather and nice days. Which is when he sort of changed?... Today I put them out there, and I changed the sawdust in their second level to straw, for bedding, which is what they have in their large indoor cage. And I let them both into the second level, and he just flipped. He just changed to being extremely frightened of me. If I even moved slightly, he just freaked out and jumped/ran away. And so did the other piggie, but he only did it once. Ash did it over and over, I brought him in after calming him down, and did his first, little claw clipping, in which he freaked out, jumped over my hand and flipped onto the floor (No injuries, luckily). After I managed to gently catch him, without startling him, I placed him into the cage, which he then flipped out again.

I didn't do anything harmful to him at all, I did clip his claw a little too much on one, and I washed it instantly to ensure any bacteria had gone. But this started before that.

He went from a happy little piggy, being shy and not too scared of me, to being extremely frightened.

Is this normal? (As in, it can be part of his traits/personality) I have never experienced this in a guineapig before.

Thanks to everybody who replies <3
 
It's possible the new piggy just hasn't completely settled yet and the change of setting ,though brief, spooked him and then suddenly his nails are being done- terrifying in terms of piggies haha. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it piggies can take all sorts of times to settle 100% - some a month while others take several months and sometimes a year. Just keep taking things slowly. Learn what scares him and try to avoid it or change the way it is done. Food is always a great source of encouragement and perhaps by seeing how calm his friend is with you,he'll learn to trust you to.
 
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Jesse's pigs said:
It's possible the new piggy just hasn't completely settled yet and the change of setting ,though brief, spooked him and then suddenly his nails are being done- terrifying in terms of piggies haha. I wouldn't beat yourself up about it piggies can take all sorts of times to settle 100% - some a month while others take several months and sometimes a year. Just keep taking things slowly. Learn what scares him and try to avoid it or change the way it is done. Food is always a great source of encouragement and perhaps by seeing how calm his friend is with you,he'll learn to trust you to.
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I was hoping it was something like this. It's just I did nothing out of the ordinary and he just freaked out.

Do you, by any chance think that the Stomach Absyss in Fudge was the cause of his death? It's he was fine the night before but when he was breathing he was rocking back and forth. He was eating and running around normally too.

I had to trim Ash's nails for the sake of everybody. They were like little needles, i just snipped one claw a tiny bit too much, the struggles of all claws being dark. Ill learn for next time though.
 
My piggy also hates his nails being done and he wiggles like mad- not to mention loves biting the one wielding the clipper! Yeah with dark nails it is tricky have you tried shining a torch to see the quick?

Obviously I cannot say that it definitely was or was not the stomach abscess that ultimately took your Fudges life but it seems likely. I have never experienced this so I can't say that I've heard of it etc but without treatment then yes I suppose it could have ruptured or burst like you said. It could have also been a shock or a stroke - how old was Fudge? And I am sorry for your loss but try not to blame yourself
 
My old guinea pig Lenny had a throat abscess which I didn't notice until it was quite big. I took him to the vet the very next day (which was the first appointment I could get) by that time the abscess had burst. The vet said that I shouldn't beat myself up about not noticing the abscess as sometimes they weren't apparent until they were about to burst. I was given antibiotics and anti inflammatories to give to Lenny but he still died. It is just one of those things I suppose. However much you love your piggies and you care for your piggies eventually they all pass over the rainbow bridge......

I am sorry for your loss and I'm sure your new piggie will settle in with the help of your other one. Just try and give him as much attention as you can without spooking him further. Lots of love, cuddles and hand feeding and he'll trust you in no time. Just be patient.
 
Dom R said:
Hello everyone on this forums, and fellow Guineapig lovers!

There's going to be a little 'Story' before I get onto my question.

Basically, I am currently 17 years of age, and I have had many guineapigs throughout my lifetime, approximately 7-8 to the current times.

So I recently got two guineapigs back in October, everything was well, until one, unfortunately got a Stomach Abscess, which did not go by a month of Antibiotics, and eventually (What I am lead to believe in) to had burst, I woke up one morning for work, and found him collapsed, on his side, gasping for air and twitching (By god I hope it wasn't painful, and I am still unsure whether what I believe is the cause of death, but it is the only explanation I can give). And his companion took this really terribly, he went from lively and crazy, to just laying down in a corner, barely eating, which is why I had to purchase another companion for him, and he quickly livened up. They ended up in the same cage within a week of bonding time.

Now then, onto my second/main question. This new guineapig is quite, unusual to me. If you get what I mean.

I've never had a shy guineapig in my life, not as shy as him anyway, they always love me, the way I treat them etc. But Ash (His name) seems to be extremely frightened of me. Keep note that Fudge passed away on the 2nd of March, so this piggie is still new to me. But within a month, every guineapig I have had settled down, got to know me. Which Ash was on the right path until today. I recently started putting them outside in a nice guineapig run due to warmer weather and nice days. Which is when he sort of changed?... Today I put them out there, and I changed the sawdust in their second level to straw, for bedding, which is what they have in their large indoor cage. And I let them both into the second level, and he just flipped. He just changed to being extremely frightened of me. If I even moved slightly, he just freaked out and jumped/ran away. And so did the other piggie, but he only did it once. Ash did it over and over, I brought him in after calming him down, and did his first, little claw clipping, in which he freaked out, jumped over my hand and flipped onto the floor (No injuries, luckily). After I managed to gently catch him, without startling him, I placed him into the cage, which he then flipped out again.

I didn't do anything harmful to him at all, I did clip his claw a little too much on one, and I washed it instantly to ensure any bacteria had gone. But this started before that.

He went from a happy little piggy, being shy and not too scared of me, to being extremely frightened.

Is this normal? (As in, it can be part of his traits/personality) I have never experienced this in a guineapig before.

Thanks to everybody who replies <3
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

I am very sorry for your loss. We have got a Rainbow Bridge section if you'd like to post a tribute to your deceased piggy.

Please be aware that guinea pigs that have had no friendly interaction with humans can be very frightened and easily freak out; I have also noticed that some of the rescue-born babies that have been born newly rescued, still very stressed out sows can also internalise this nervous disposition.
If that happens, please take a step back; do not continue handling and interacting, and please do not push a piggy any further; it will just panic blindly the worse the more you push without giving it a chance to calm down and collect itself. Once one of its prey instincts is fully triggered and you are perceived as a life threatening predator, you need to give it time to let the instinct run itself out and the piggy to calm down and feel safe again.

Go back to basics by very gently and carefully open interaction without taking over and pushing the piggy. Don't handle it; don't chase and let the companion do the work for you by showing that he trusts you. Avoid any behaviours that betray you as a predator. It is not a quick process and often feels that you are making two steps back for every step you make forward, but it is worth Being patient and persisting, even if it takes years.

You may find these guides here helpful as they contain lots of tips on how you can avoid being seen as a predator, avoid triggering any of the prey animal instincts and use guinea pig body language to interact with Ash. Try to see things from his perspective to learn how to avoid and minimise trigger situations.

Please don't do the nails for the time being even if they overgrow. It is more important to start building up trust first.
If you finally do them, make sure that Ash is comfortable with having his feet touched and manipulated. Have him out with his companion so he is not as tempted to blind jump and injure himself if he panics.

How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
 
Some great advice there.
Just so you know, my Flossie who is married to Cpt Jack took over 2 years of handling to bring her round. She was an ex-breeding piggy and she needed a home, she very beautiful but naturally she came with some issues. With a lot of on and off handling, talking to and the love of Jack, overnight she completely changed. I don't know why she changed her mind, but she just did. Now she doesn't mind being picked up, sits for her nails, will allow to be stroked a complete reversal but the lesson I learnt was a preserving nature will prevail.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
My piggy also hates his nails being done and he wiggles like mad- not to mention loves biting the one wielding the clipper! Yeah with dark nails it is tricky have you tried shining a torch to see the quick?

Obviously I cannot say that it definitely was or was not the stomach abscess that ultimately took your Fudges life but it seems likely. I have never experienced this so I can't say that I've heard of it etc but without treatment then yes I suppose it could have ruptured or burst like you said. It could have also been a shock or a stroke - how old was Fudge? And I am sorry for your loss but try not to blame yourself
Click to expand...

I did try thw torch on my phone, as it is quite blinding and put it directly onto his claws, saw nothing though.

I bought Fudge from a pet store, before I even knew adopting was a thing. And had him since October, so approximately 6-12 months, not sure on how old they are when sold. I know his passing wasn't anything to do with me really, spent around £100 just diagnosing it. I guessed he was just one of them piggies, and decided to give him the happiest life I could, as I had hope it would go, but there's a higher chance it wouldn't, I managed to squeeze another month out of him, and in that time I fell in love with his crazy personality even more. We had him out on the kitchen floor, and he decided to drink out of my dogs fresh, clean water bowl. So you can guess what personality he had.

Regarding Ash, he seems to have calmed down after that burst earlier. I give him attention every 2 hours or so, even let him sit on my lap to eat some yellow pepper, small portion of carrot and some cucumber.

Anyway, some good new out of this whole ordeal. I do have a spare cage now, as I purchased a larger one due to Peanut being a really big guineapig. He weighs around 1100g, which is huge to me. He's definitely not overweight though, just looks it since he's a fluff ball. So I was thinking there's no point in letting it go to waste. Adoption time soon hopefully.

Thanks to all for the kind words and advice, I just tend to replay the sight of Fudge over and over in my head. I try to forget it but my mind won't let me. I bond with animals really easily, they've helped me with my mental illnesses (you can guess) so hence why I tend to worry more than the ordinary pet owner. Hopefully Ash will settle down much better soon, in what me and my family call the crazy house.

Thanks again to all of you :)

Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I wrote this on my phone at 2.50am.

Edit: Regarding Ash's nails, I will wait on cutting his nails now, the amount of blood-drawing scratches said it had to be done. I do tend to check them quite often health-wise. So hopefully both of my piggies should get comfortable in that regard soon. I tend to hold their feet gently time to time to get them used to it. Probably once a day or every few days.
 
I found it next to impossible to cut the nails of my 5 piggies as they didn't like it. The vet was too expensive for 20 sets of feet so I pop them on the patio for a week or so when the nails need to be clipped and they get filed down. Problem sorted!
 
My Tonks is still a bit like this, however it's probably because she's only got one working eye. All piggies are different, I generally find if you ignore a nervous pig and occasionally play with their hay (or for poo picking!) etc in the cage they eventually approach you because they're curious. I find that getting any animal to come to you rather you to it usually works out better :)
 
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