out in the front

[cat]

hello,

i have 4 guinea pigs. 2 boys teddy and muffin and two girls Rita and Pickle.

teddy and muffin are always out in the front of their cage. i think teddy is quite dominant so muffin thinks that if teddy is out its ok to be out himself.

i used to have 3 females living together but sadly Currant died last month. currant always seemed to be out the front of the cage and so the others would come out aswell. since currant has died, rita and pickle don't seem to come out as much as they used to. they are eating and squeaking etc and they seem fine but i just wonder if they have lost their leader and now they don't know what to do.

my piggies are in the front room for winter so they are not cold. when currant died i talked to my boyfriend about getting another one but he said no.

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

thank you Cat

 

[cat]

these are there cages:

 

[Sarah from Chucklebunnies]

If they are acting as though they've lost their leader then that's how it is. Piggies do take their 'cues' from other piggies - mostly from the leader.

I'm not sure how to encourage them to the front. Do you have a treat to put there at the bars? Do you have a set time to sit with them and feed little bits of lettuce through? You may have to just get them more used to being out at the front without the leader, they may have to relearn that it's safe. (If you sit with them at a certain time they will get to know that this is 'sitting and chatting' time and will respond better, they are fans of routine just like any other mammal)

Have fun with your piggies!

 

[cat]

they are starting to come out a bit more now and Rita is squeaking alot whenever i rustle a packet! i am looking forward to christmas and spending more time with them.

 

[Wiebke]

Can you peg little treats to the outside of the mesh or feed them through the mesh? Spending more time with handfeeding bits will help to boost their confidence.

The loss of the dominant piggy creates a huge vacuum, and it takes time for the others to cope and fill the gap.

 

[cat]

thanks Wiebke i will try that.

i would love to get another guineapig but my boyfriend says no. i guess he is right because if they didn't get on with another quinea pig i wouldn't have the space to keep them seperate.

the hardest thing is working out what veg they like. what i thought was their favourite foods turned out to be Currants favourite foods!