New owner

[BaileyM]

Hi, I’m a New Guinea pig owner and looking for some advice/reassurance. I’ve had Bailey for a few weeks now. The person I adopted her from said she is approx 8-11months. She was living with other guinea pigs and bunnies. Based on the “cleanliness” of her cage, and the cuts on her face (which werent shown in the ad of her) I'm guessing there were to many and not super well taken care of. Now she is a queen. I have a nice big cage, a few hideouts, hammock, lots of fresh hay and veggies and good quality food. The cuts on her face are healed and her coat is smooth and shiny. She seems happy enough I think. She runs around, wheeks, popcorns, doesn’t bite (very rarely rumbles) and eats a lot! But I’m. It sure how to tell if she is happy with me. She hates to be picked up, but seems content once in my arms. Likes to get right under my chin. She will happily (?)sit on my chest while I watch TV, sometimes making little squeaks (are they happy or upset noises?). If I sit on the floor with her, she will immediately get up into my lap.
She won’t eat out of my hand, but will aggressively pull the food from me and if she can bring it under her hammock to eat. Is this normal? Caused from having to fight for food in an over crowded environment?
Advice on things I could/should be doing.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm glad you have given her a new home, she sounds like she needed it. Being kept in with rabbits is not ok (risk of spread of illnesses which rabbits carry harmlessly to them but can be fatal to piggies, as well as the risk of injuries and the differences in the dietary needs between rabbits and piggies).

If she is coming to you then that is a good sign, she wouldn’t do that if she wasn’t confident to be around you, she would run away. Most piggies don’t like being picked up though. Best to herd them into a carrier and pick up from there.

Does she live with another piggy now? They are highly social animals and need to be kept in pairs so please do get her a friend if she is alone.

Have you had her vet checked? If she was being kept in poor conditions, then I absolutely would have her checked over as soon as you can.

Do you know if all the other piggies she was with were female? I imagine if she was being kept in bad conditions, then there is a probability she was with boars, or at least probably best to assume she was if you don’t know otherwise, and in which case putting her on pregnancy watch could be a good idea.

Ensure she has a good hay based diet going forward with a good mix of veggies and a limited amount of plain pellets (one tablespoon per day) . Otherwise the guides in the link below will help you further as well as asking us any questions!

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, I’m a New Guinea pig owner and looking for some advice/reassurance. I’ve had Bailey for a few weeks now. The person I adopted her from said she is approx 8-11months. She was living with other guinea pigs and bunnies. Based on the “cleanliness” of her cage, and the cuts on her face (which werent shown in the ad of her) I'm guessing there were to many and not super well taken care of. Now she is a queen. I have a nice big cage, a few hideouts, hammock, lots of fresh hay and veggies and good quality food. The cuts on her face are healed and her coat is smooth and shiny. She seems happy enough I think. She runs around, wheeks, popcorns, doesn’t bite (very rarely rumbles) and eats a lot! But I’m. It sure how to tell if she is happy with me. She hates to be picked up, but seems content once in my arms. Likes to get right under my chin. She will happily (?)sit on my chest while I watch TV, sometimes making little squeaks (are they happy or upset noises?). If I sit on the floor with her, she will immediately get up into my lap.
She won’t eat out of my hand, but will aggressively pull the food from me and if she can bring it under her hammock to eat. Is this normal? Caused from having to fight for food in an over crowded environment?
Advice on things I could/should be doing.

Hi and welcome

Glad that you have given your girl such a loving home and have brought her back to good health!

Please find your piggy either a same sex companion; ideally a younger piggy that cannot challenge her leadership or a neutered boar of her liking. What you see is the result of her having transferred all her social needs on you; and you are currently dealing with a teenager. Unfortunately, as a human you cannot replace her round the clock need of companionship of her own kind since guinea pig society and social needs are much more vital and complex than most people realise.

Please take the time to read the links below. Be aware that she is coming from a bad background; sows do not normally fight scars on their face (although that could have been a fungal infection but would be equally a sign of neglect and bad keeping).
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you?
Moody guinea pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

Companionship
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

All these guide links are part of our much more comprehensive New Owners practical tips and information collection, which you may want to bookmark, browse and use as a very helpful resource. it is one best and most extensive currently around.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[BaileyM]

She was vet checked as we thought she might have mites/ringworm (cuts on her face) as She was scratching so much....turns out that she was most likely allergic to the bedding he had her in....I think it was some kind of wood shavings. I’m using fleece pads, and after a few days and a bath she stopped scratching.
I don’t know if she was with boars....I will keep watch, but hopefully she isn’t pregnant....she’s just a baby herself (I know technically she isn’t, but she’s so little).
she does live alone at the moment, and as soon as I can afford a bigger cage I will be getting her a friend.

 

[Piggies&buns]

She was vet checked as we thought she might have mites/ringworm (cuts on her face) as She was scratching so much....turns out that she was most likely allergic to the bedding he had her in....I think it was some kind of wood shavings. I’m using fleece pads, and after a few days and a bath she stopped scratching.
I don’t know if she was with boars....I will keep watch, but hopefully she isn’t pregnant....she’s just a baby herself (I know technically she isn’t, but she’s so little).
she does live alone at the moment, and as soon as I can afford a bigger cage I will be getting her a friend.

Good, I’m glad she’s been seen by a vet.

The minimum cage size for a single piggy is the same as that for a pair of sows. How big is your cage? She needs to be in a minimum cage of 120cm x 60cm now as a single and when she has a friend so if her cage size is that then she can have a friend anyway cage size wise. Obviously any space above minimum is recommended.

 

[BaileyM]

Hmm, the cage I have now is only an inch smaller on either side....but still feels too small to me for 2 piggies.
bringing a new one in though, how do you introduce them? What if they fight?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hmm, the cage I have now is only an inch smaller on either side....but still feels too small to me for 2 piggies.
bringing a new one in though, how do you introduce them? What if they fight?

As I say 120cm x 60cm is the minimum size for two. It can feel small, but it is the welfare minimum so is acceptable. If it meets those requirements, then her social needs come next, so I would find her a friend now and then get a bigger cage. Depending on what kind of cage you have, if can be cheap and easy to adapt by simply adding c&c grids to the front of the cage to expand the space

Introduction is done in a specific way - I’ll add a guide below which will explain the procedure - but you have to do it on neutral territory.

Character compatibility is vital to a successful bond, so if you can take her dating at a rescue centre then she can choose her own friend, and as they will have chosen each other, you won’t need to worry too much about a failed bonding. If you buy a piggy on spec, ie from a pet shop, then a incompatibility and a failed bonding is a risk. If that were to occur then they would need to live in separate but side by side cages to allow for through the bar interaction to stop loneliness. Side by side interaction is the next best thing to physically living with another piggy As they can still talk, see, smell each other.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

 

[Little Ones]

I also want to add that if you have a commercial cage, this could be why the cage measures right but looks small inside. Commercial cages are very bulky so look bigger on the outside than they actually are on the inside. You would need to measure along the floor inside of the cage to get the proper measurements if that’s the case.

 

[NoblePanda]

Hmm, the cage I have now is only an inch smaller on either side....but still feels too small to me for 2 piggies.
bringing a new one in though, how do you introduce them? What if they fight?

I am also a new owner and I'm adopting a piggy from a rescue. I don't have advice per se but I know that a lot of rescues do the bonding themselves. If you have a single sow and they have a single sow, you can contact them - show them your set up etc and they will take in your piggy and start the bonding process for you as they are experts which should make things a bit easier (apparently the 1st 24 hours are most important).