New Piggy Owner - Advice Please!

[mrspiggy]

Hi

Our family have recently rescued/rehomed a mother and daughter. Honey-Bee is the mum and she is a year old. Her daughter is 10 weeks now and is called Coco, they are both adorable however very shy, especially mum! We have had them for almost a week so realise it is settle in time.

So, a few questions if ok, firstly, Honey is very shy, which I realise is normal for guinea pigs, however she makes no noise at all, not a peep! She appears very placcid and calm and will sit with me on my lap or my daughters very happily although I cannot work out if she is in a constant state of terror and shock. She does not appear distressed at all though. If she is put on the ground she stays rooted to the spot also.

Coco is a bit more adventurous and squeaks away, she will roam about a bit if put on the floor.

Next - I do not think they are eating very much. They will eat no vegatables from our hands, in fact the only veg they seem to like at the moment is carrot which they only eat whilst hidden in their house. I have left peppers in their food bowl, that is left, I will try cucumber today. I didn't want to overwhelm them and I wondered if they previously had not been givin much veg. They had been fed the musli style food which I have continued but it seems as if their food bowl is not particularly being touched. I think they are eating their hay though.

Ok...think that is it for now, although I expect a few more issues will come to mind!

Thanks in advance for any help or words of guinea wisdom you can provide

 

[sport_billy]

Hiya,

Welcome to the forum.

They are definately in their settling in period, some piggies are more shy than others and can take longer to settle. It is not unusual for some piggies to make no noise at all, one of our girls was a quiet piggie and rarely was vocal, no wheeks at all.

It may be that the piggies aren't too keen on pepper's. Try feeding some herbs such as Parsley/Coriander maybe some little Gem lettuce - these tend to go down a treat with most piggies in experience. A full food list can be found on this sticky here http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42 Variety is the key to a guinea's diet and stops them from being too fussy.

A guinea pig diet should consist of 80% Hay, 15% Veg, 5% dry food. Hay should be unlimited and available at all times.

The best way of checking what piggies are eating is regular weighing, I cannpot say how important weighing is. Weighing regulary lets you know if a pigge is losing weight at all. Weight loss is often the first sign of illness. After a few weigh's you will know what weight you piggies normal stay around. Fluctuations of 10-40g within weekly weighs are totally normal. We use scales like these http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produ...+laundry|14418476/Trail/searchtext>SCALES.htm and pop the pig in a shoe box on top.

Hope this helps

 

[Poppy'sMum]

Honey sounds like she is pretty scared Have you had them checked over by a vet? The lack of eating by Honey is a worry, & she isn't acting normally so I would consider getting her checked over by a vet in case she's ill.

Can you say how you came about getting them? I am wondering if the previous owner knew Honey was poorly & maybe didn't want the cost of vet's fees? Just a thought, hopefully I am completely wrong!

I put lots of food scattered in my new ones' cage, & left them pretty much alone for a few days to get used to the sounds of our voices. They are best left to settle in without being handled for a little while. They should come out & eat when you are not watching or at night though, so if they don't I would be a bit concerned.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi and welcome!

Mummy is still in shock and may stay so for some time to come; you will notice when she starts becoming wiggly and communicating what she doesn't like - eeven telling you that she won't like being cuddled is a GOOD sign because it means she's trusting you enough. It can take quite a while for some mainly unhandled, traumatised rescue piggies to come round, but when that happens, it is such a special moment that makes it all worthwhile!

Up to 80% of the daily diet should be hay; place it nearby and you do not have to worry much about your piggies not being fed right. Weigh them weekly throughout their life - it is a very important tool to spot health problems early on when they can still be treated.

Veg is always rather hit and miss at first with piggies who have had none or only a very limited selection. Just persevere. Don't add more than one new veg at a time but continue with the "old" veg and try different ones - cucumber, celery stalks, lettuce, spinach (it is too calcium rich for a lond term daily diet, but it is one of the first veg piggies will eat; the same goes for parsley).Fresh coriander/cilantro can be fed daily and may be a hit. Anything dark green tends to go best at first. If you can, get hold of some grass that has guaranteed not been peed on by dogs - that is a surefire option! Offer veg by hand, but don't be disappointed if they don't take it yet. It will come in good time. Patience and persistence will see you through.

When cuddling them, do so in towel or cosy to give your piggies an additional feeling of safety;as prey animals they don't like being exposed. You can also use them to pick up your girls.

Always talk to your piggies the whole time - a predator that makes noises is not hunting and try not to loom over the cage if possible for the same reason. Avoid abrupt sudden movements. Give lots of encouragement and praise.

 

[mrspiggy]

Hi

Thanks for replys.

We actually have a friend who is a veternary nurse and she is coming this week to check up on them for us and show us how to cut their nails etc. I don't get the impression that Honey is poorly, although obviously I am no expert. She looks bright eyed, and they are drinking plenty of water.

Thats really useful to know about the food, I did not realise 80% diet was hay, in which case I do think Honey is eating plenty of Hay.

We rehomed them as they came from a family who's teenage daughter had lost interest. Honey had a litter of 2 boys and a girl, 2 boys went together and I took Honey and Coco. They had been well looked after as far as I could see, kept in a big cage etc with lots of toys and everything was clean.

Thanks for the link to the food sport billy, I shall check that out and will weigh them also. How old is a piggy when classed as full size?

 

[mrspiggy]

Thanks Wiebke, really useful advice. I have 2 daughters myself and shall encourage them to speak to Honey and Coco all the time, they love to cuddle them constantly but we have fashioned a cosy that we are using for cuddles with my kids(8 and 4).

 

[mrspiggy]

piggy update

Just wanted to let you know that 2 weeks in and honey and coco are settling in remarkably well. They are now eating from the kids hands, coming out of their house even when we are in the room, eating and drinking a lot in general in fact. Tonight I was giving honey a cuddle(she is still very quiet and does not run around much) and she snuggled and relaxed her head down on mexoxo

 

[copper3383]

its sounds similar to my piggy she used to be the same but is now fine i always gave her tlc and she still dosent eat out of my hand. this could be because they had a previous owner who badly treated them. i got my shy piggy from the rspca. if in doubt talk to your vet especially for food advice!