new piggie owner - couple of q's

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Fluffy breadrolls

Fluffy breadrolls

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Hi , we just got 3 little boy guinea's - simon, Alvin and Theodore on new years eve and i have a few questions...

With their original breeder the 3 of them were very tame and quiet but since moving they have obviously become a bit skittish and stressed, we have left them up until today and just spent time just watching and talking to them and stroking them in their cage.This morning the kids sat with them on their knees (on the sofa) Simon was fantastic and seems quite at ease (he is a little older than the other 2) Theodore sat fairly quietly but 'chattered' a lot but Alvin kept biting and holding onto the blanket he was sat in! He was also vibrating! and doing really loud wheeks! (i presume he was scared?) he's much more active and very, very cheeky compaired to his buddy's as well!

So how often should we handle our new piggie's? and what does the loud wheeking mean (its the same noise he makes when i put in hay!). Also what does the constant chattering mean?

I think i need a guinea pig phrase book lol! :))

Final question - just wondered how tame well handled piggies can become?

Cheers, Ang x
 
Here is a link to guinea pig sounds:
http://www.jackiesguineapiggies.com/guineapigsounds.html
http://www.mgpr.org/MGPR/Guinea Pig Sounds.htm

Noisy guinea pigs is a good sign - at that age they are at their most chatty and means that they have settled in. Constant chirping means that all is OK...

The loud squeak is excitement about food, but if it is even shriller it is a sign of pain/fear. Alvin was very obviously quite afraid - perhaps you leave him in the blanket and cuddle him where he feels safe for the time being? Confined spaces always calm piggies down. Just give him lots of praise whenever he is poking his head out! Alternatively have him with one of his friends - he will soon take his cues from the others!
The vibrating is what we call rumbling - it is a sign of dominance in a piggy. Especially when it is coupled with shifting the weight from one back leg to another ("rumblestrutting").
Some piggies do a soft little vibrting version when they are happy being cuddled - it takes a bit of time to learn and interpret piggy body and squeak speak, but they are very communicative, so you will learn quickly!
Here is a link for boar behaviour that you might find helpful:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Here are more tips about settling piggies:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239
 
beckham low rumbling you can tell the diff when its a happy one used to stroke from his head to just above his bottom & when i stopped he stopped the rumble until i did it again
they usual pull & nip things when they've had enough & want to go home
 
Hi

Are the 3 boys living together? What age are they?

A trio of boars can be hard to maintain, it's not impossible but you may find as they grow up and get to sexual maturity, they may fall out. If they are to stay together they will need plenty of space (as much as possible), several food bowls and hidey holes so they don't argue over resources. The chattering can be a pre fight noise. Don't want to alarm you, but just wanted to check you knew what to expect

Sophie
x
 
Hi thanks for the advice and thanks to wiebke for the language links!

Listening to the noises they are making in the cage tonight is is 'happy pig' noises (phew!). The noise Alvin was making sounded like the 'lonely pig' noise so will make sure he is next to one of his buddys for now!

Simon seems to be the friendliest at the moment, quite gentle, and nosey too..cant believe no one wanted to him...i think he's my fav up to now x)

Sophie - yes the boy are in together. Simon is a little older at 3-4 months old (i think thats what the lady said :{). Alvin is a little over 9 weeks and Theodore is 10 weeks.

What age do i need to look for signs of sexual maturity? I noticed some folk neuter..is this worth doing?

Ang x
 
Hi

Neutering will not alter their behaviour (unlike in dogs / cats), it will only stop them from being fertile.

I would have thought the older one is at the teenage stage already, the other two will follow suit - anything from 3 - 6 months I guess.

It can be ok with 3 but just wanted to pre warn you that three is not always a happy number for boars! I've had 3 together here but they were all laid back adult pigs.

I've made the mistake of having 3 baby boars together when they got to a few months old and ended up with 3 single boars and quite a large vets bill!

Just keep an eye on their behaviour, if they are indoor pigs you'll be able to hear if they are falling out - look at the Boar 'sticky' at the top of this section

Sophie
x
 
Cheers Sophie.....i wish id known, but the few guinea pig sites i went on said it was a myth that boys will fight and raised togeather 2 or more boys should get along fine.

Will keep an eye on them, but for now they seem happy enough :)

Ang x
 
Hi,

I have 10 boys. when i first started out, with 3, they were fine for a while, but then there was a power struggle as they got older, none of my boys who started out together live together anymore, luckily they have swapped friends and got on with others i have since got. I got fudge and chip from a friend who had adopted them and then couldnt care for them, they lived together for a year or so, then a few months ago, suddenly started fighting, so are now separated.

I really hope your 3 will work out fine, just be prepared in case they dont, and give them a little more time to settle, some of my boys took only a week to relax when they got home,others took a month or longer, lots of new sounds to get used to, just wait until they work out the sound of the fridge door! :))

Laura x
 
Thanks Laura, i really hope they will get on ok - i guess if they dont we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Funny you saying about the fridge door as i remember as a kid my guinea pig (Olga after the book!) going mad wheeking when we went into the shed to feed him! I feel a bit sad when i think about him now as he was kept on his own - dont think my parents realised he should have had a companion, he must have been a very lonely piggie :(

x
 
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