fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
They do love a clean cage, did they inspect it like mine do?
New owner to two babbies - am I doing things wrong?
- Thread starter Minnou
- Start date
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
First they hurried back to the hay pile and the den to hide and have 20 seconds of meditative breathing to get over 'the trauma' and then scuttled about, looking at that hay, the walls, the bottle, the feeding bowl and then they started jumping about and zipping all over.
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
Today you love the wheeking, soon they will be doing it when you open the fridge, when you're chopping veggies, when you rustle a plastic bag, when you rustle a paper bag, when you get home with the shopping (it might be something for them), when you come home (you might have been shopping), when you enter the room (you might be bringing food), when you leave the room (you might be going to the fridge to get Something for them), when you rattle a tub of something (it might be pea flakes)..........
This is not an exhaustive list as Sometimes they wheek.......just because......
Enjoy
This is not an exhaustive list as Sometimes they wheek.......just because......
Enjoy
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
Arrogant little so-and-sos to assume everything is for/about them.Today you love the wheeking, soon they will be doing it when you open the fridge, when you're chopping veggies, when you rustle a plastic bag, when you rustle a paper bag, when you get home with the shopping (it might be something for them), when you come home (you might have been shopping), when you enter the room (you might be bringing food), when you leave the room (you might be going to the fridge to get Something for them), when you rattle a tub of something (it might be pea flakes)..........
This is not an exhaustive list as Sometimes they wheek.......just because......
Enjoy
Well, just Minerva. Should I be worried that Gaia doesn't wheek or make any vocalizations at all really? Minerva walks around talking to herself.
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
No, you don't need to worry, some are quiet some don't shut up. Both my boys are "chutters" they trot round emitting little squeaks and mumbles but when it comes to wheeking, George likes to leave most of it to Boris. If he hears something interesting and Boris is busy or asleep, he will go over and prod Boris into action. If I don't deliver within what they consider to be a reasonable time he will then join in. Their latest trick is to come over to one of us and stand on hind legs begging 
. Haven't got a pic of George doing it yet.
. Haven't got a pic of George doing it yet.
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
Does the begging get them whatever they demand?No, you don't need to worry, some are quiet some don't shut up. Both my boys are "chutters" they trot round emitting little squeaks and mumbles but when it comes to wheeking, George likes to leave most of it to Boris. If he hears something interesting and Boris is busy or asleep, he will go over and prod Boris into action. If I don't deliver within what they consider to be a reasonable time he will then join in. Their latest trick is to come over to one of us and stand on hind legs begging
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
No. Well not from me anyway. Daddy slave is more of a soft touch. I have to hide the pea flakes or he would give them far too many.
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
Do guinea-pigs consider pea flakes a high value treat? Can you buy them on the highstreet or are they online only?
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
Most piggies love them but they are not healthy so have to be limited. They are very small so hand feeding them (in my opinion) is good for building up the trust that getting close to "the claw" is not so scary. I am lucky that my local independent pet shop sells them but they are available online. I get little one brand and the tub lasts months as they can't have many. Do you know who is dominant yet?
Can't decide where to post this so here will do:
First full cage clean and I have been rewarded with popcorning and zoomies.
It is already 20% a mess again.
Welcome to life with piggies. They like a cage clean (or not) but only to scent mark and mess it up to their own taste in record time.
At least yours like a cage clean if they popcorn and zoom and are not complaining about you messing up their nicely personalised home yet again!
Lorcan
Forum Buddy
Update:
A new milestone has been reached; the first wheeking
Minerva has learned how to yell until she gets something. So proud.
I managed to condition my pair out of the "ooh it's a bag scream time!" wheeks. I can officially eat a bag of crisps in my bedroom. Now I just get the guilt tripping stares before one of them annoys the other and in the chaos, the human gets forgotten. As for pea flakes, I've only ever bought them online but I've had them from a few places - used to be Nature's Own but The Hay Experts had some in stock when I did my last order.
Juuuuuuust mind your fingers. Those teeth can hurt!
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
I've been working with Shadow and Oreo coming when I call their names by rewarding them with a pea flake. Athena and Brownie do not like pea flakes so none for them. Shadow has been doing very well at letting me stroke his head now, he is learning that if he is extra friendly he gets more pea flakes. It's been nice making friends with him.
On a different note, is there a better way to feed pea flakes? I feel like I am going to lose a finger when feeding them. My husband doesn't get it that I am worried about the safety of my fingers. I feel like I am feeding a shark a meatball.
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
I have two levels, I change pee pads/bath mats every day or two. Full fleece change in the penthouse then same downstairs three or four days later. They check my work then reward me thus,Welcome to life with piggies. They like a cage clean (or not) but only to scent mark and mess it up to their own taste in record time.
At least yours like a cage clean if they popcorn and zoom and are not complaining about you messing up their nicely personalised home yet again!
George; sniff, sniff, sniff, bum wipe, popcorn, check each humping toy, rumble, sniff, sniff, wipe, popcorn, dive into hay, prod Boris, popcorn.
Boris; sniff, sniff, sniff, bum wipe, poop, popcorn, sniff, sniff, approach humping toys get rumbled at, run away, poop, popcorn, sniff, sniff, wipe, poop, popcorn, dive into hay, popcorn.
Weirdos, happy but weirdos
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
Hm, it's funny because of the two I'd say Minerva is the most confident with new things, super interested in everything inside and outside the cage, a little chatterbox and the one out for fun and doing the most zooming and popcorning whilst Gaia is much more shy, reserved, wary of things and a little homebody who doesn't much care for what is going on beyond her bed and her food bowl and definitely more nervous around people and being handled and yet I think she's the top dog?
She headbutts Minerva left, right and centre, sometimes she seems to be pursuing Minerva, not like she's following her but like she is herding her, and sometimes she kicks her out of the bedroom, so I think Gaia is more dominant but I could be wrong.
They genuinely seem pleased that it has been tidied and that fresh hay has been added.Welcome to life with piggies. They like a cage clean (or not) but only to scent mark and mess it up to their own taste in record time.
At least yours like a cage clean if they popcorn and zoom and are not complaining about you messing up their nicely personalised home yet again!
I'll have to get some, if only for bribing purposes. xD And wear chainmail gloves when feeding.
Is bum-wiping a boy thing or should my two be doing it as well? xD
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
It does sound like Gaia is the dominant. My Boris is brave and feisty but chilled out Zen George is boss pig, a very easy life for Boris apart from the occasional bout of humping! Most of that gets directed at the humping toys though as they can't run away!
Females do scent mark but not as much as boys, especially teenage ones. You are lucky to have girls as a testosterone spike can make for occasions of boar stink
Females do scent mark but not as much as boys, especially teenage ones. You are lucky to have girls as a testosterone spike can make for occasions of boar stink
Their like or dislike of being handled or how nervous they are is not linked to dominance.
In my oldest boar pair, the most nervous is the dominant.
In my oldest boar pair, the most nervous is the dominant.
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
I don't know now... I gave them an extra large pile of hay and after the initial excitement wore off, Minerva has started rumble strutting her butt off at Gaia.It does sound like Gaia is the dominant. My Boris is brave and feisty but chilled out Zen George is boss pig, a very easy life for Boris apart from the occasional bout of humping! Most of that gets directed at the humping toys though as they can't run away!
Females do scent mark but not as much as boys, especially teenage ones. You are lucky to have girls as a testosterone spike can make for occasions of boar stink
fluffysal
Forum Donator 2024/25
Did she fluff herself up as well? I know they think they are being big and scary but it looks so adorable 
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
No, just rumble strutted over to her then seemed to be getting lower and lower to the ground until she was practically snaking her way over to Gaia and then she kinda glued herself to her side? Is she doing it wrong?Did she fluff herself up as well? I know they think they are being big and scary but it looks so adorable
Hm, it's funny because of the two I'd say Minerva is the most confident with new things, super interested in everything inside and outside the cage, a little chatterbox and the one out for fun and doing the most zooming and popcorning whilst Gaia is much more shy, reserved, wary of things and a little homebody who doesn't much care for what is going on beyond her bed and her food bowl and definitely more nervous around people and being handled and yet I think she's the top dog?
She headbutts Minerva left, right and centre, sometimes she seems to be pursuing Minerva, not like she's following her but like she is herding her, and sometimes she kicks her out of the bedroom, so I think Gaia is more dominant but I could be wrong.
They genuinely seem pleased that it has been tidied and that fresh hay has been added.
I'll have to get some, if only for bribing purposes. xD And wear chainmail gloves when feeding.
Is bum-wiping a boy thing or should my two be doing it as well? xD
Hi
All piggies scent mark their group territory. Boys do it more often and noticeable but it is not gender specific and the group scent 'address' consists of a mix of all members.
Minnou
Teenage Guinea Pig
These two litte nightmares...
I heard one of them squeal like they were in pain, they were both in the den bit in their cage so I don't know who it was or why. They could've just been pulling each other's hair for all I know but from the amount of discussions on here about UTIs and bladder stones, I've now separated them, put them in their own box with a white towel and I'm trying to catch them squat and squeal, or, see if there is any blood in their wee and I've been waiting for about an hour now and neither of them will do anything.
Posted in the wrong thread.
I heard one of them squeal like they were in pain, they were both in the den bit in their cage so I don't know who it was or why. They could've just been pulling each other's hair for all I know but from the amount of discussions on here about UTIs and bladder stones, I've now separated them, put them in their own box with a white towel and I'm trying to catch them squat and squeal, or, see if there is any blood in their wee and I've been waiting for about an hour now and neither of them will do anything.
Posted in the wrong thread.