New Rehomed Piggie Advice Please!

Cooper & Chris Farley

Cooper & Chris Farley

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 5, 2021
Messages
54
Reaction score
79
Points
220
Location
USA
Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the love after I lost Cooper last month. I sure do miss him, he was just the absolute sweetest boy.

I brought home a one year old male abyssinian mix last night, Pinocchio, as Cooper’s brother Chris needed a new cage mate. I’m excited that Chris will no longer be alone, but poor Pinocchio is terrified! He’s been in hiding since he got home last night, which I suppose is normal.. but i’m very worried he isn’t drinking any water.. Pinocchio ate his romaine (which I lovingly shoved into his hidey😭) last night and I believe he ate his green pepper. I just put a tiny little water bowl near his hidey to try to encourage drinking. I don’t believe he is drinking from his water bottle, unless he is doing it while I’m not around.

They are in separated cages (with plenty of room of course). Chris is going about his business as per usual but i’m scared Pinocchio is just too terrified..

Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable? I just feel so awful for the little guy! I know I would be scared if I were him too.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_8473.webp
    IMG_8473.webp
    104.6 KB · Views: 2
Some piggies do drink less than others, and he may be getting enough from his veggies. He also might be coming out for a drink at night when it’s quieter, this is what my rescue girlies did when i first brought them home. My advice is to make sure he has plenty of hides, you can also cover the cage with a blanket to let him settle in as well. Does he have through the bar interaction with Chris? I found when my new girls saw Winston out they weren’t as frightened since he was nice and relaxed. since mine are inside I also try to go about day to day life like normal to settle them into the normal house noises and realise it’s not all as scary as it seems. He’s absolutely gorgeous though :wub:
 
Freya1234 said:
Some piggies do drink less than others, and he may be getting enough from his veggies. He also might be coming out for a drink at night when it’s quieter, this is what my rescue girlies did when i first brought them home. My advice is to make sure he has plenty of hides, you can also cover the cage with a blanket to let him settle in as well. Does he have through the bar interaction with Chris? I found when my new girls saw Winston out they weren’t as frightened since he was nice and relaxed. since mine are inside I also try to go about day to day life like normal to settle them into the normal house noises and realise it’s not all as scary as it seems. He’s absolutely gorgeous though :wub:
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the response & love. He really is so pretty!
He does have interaction thru the bars with Chris, they are side by side. Hopefully he will get brave enough to leave his little hidey.. but the blanket over part of the cage is a great idea as well. As I was typing that last sentence Pinocchio stuck his sweet little head out for some hay I put beside his hidey 😭! Progress, I suppose!

Everyone on this forum is so kind and helpful, so grateful for all of you guys ❤️
 
Our current foster pigs took a little while to try the water bottle, I tried everything & all our assorted bottles & bowls.
I am sure he will feel more comfortable around you all soon.
 
When I first got one of mine he was so terrified that when I went to put him in his cage he went completely limp and I thought he had died. He was then absolutely terrified for a few days. He had to be in a tiny quarantine cage (2x2, it was all I had at the time) and it had really tall black correx sides, I then put a towel over all but Ken tiny corner. It meant that he started to run between the hay and his hide, I was eventually able to slowly remove the towel.

I think it really just depends upon the personality of the pig.
 
Pantalaimon said:
When I first got one of mine he was so terrified that when I went to put him in his cage he went completely limp and I thought he had died. He was then absolutely terrified for a few days. He had to be in a tiny quarantine cage (2x2, it was all I had at the time) and it had really tall black correx sides, I then put a towel over all but Ken tiny corner. It meant that he started to run between the hay and his hide, I was eventually able to slowly remove the towel.

I think it really just depends upon the personality of the pig.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your response. It’s so odd because when I adopted Cooper & Chris, they were pretty much out and about the moment I brought them home! Granted, they were together, so that contributed a great deal to their comfort.. but it really is so interesting how different piggies have such different dispositions!
Pinnochio is eating, thankfully.. But he’s just barely poking his little face out to grab some hay that I have set aside for him. Better than nothing 🥲

Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top