Piggy doesn't like being touched...

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little_mascara88

little_mascara88

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Hey guys, I didn't expect to be posting a problem so soon but here goes!

I'm a bit worried about Paddy, we've had him nearly a month now and have been getting him used to being handled. I thought he was doing quite well, he would purr when being stroked and seems a lot less fearful. However, the past couple of days he's been flinching and darting away from being stroked or touched during cuddle time. He's okay when being picked up, it seems to be when he's settled on us that all of a sudden he does this.

He's about three months old, eats and drinks fine (although he refuses veg). Has anyone else come across this with their pigs? He's really worrying me :(

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
little_mascara88 said:
Hey guys, I didn't expect to be posting a problem so soon but here goes!

I'm a bit worried about Paddy, we've had him nearly a month now and have been getting him used to being handled. I thought he was doing quite well, he would purr when being stroked and seems a lot less fearful. However, the past couple of days he's been flinching and darting away from being stroked or touched during cuddle time. He's okay when being picked up, it seems to be when he's settled on us that all of a sudden he does this.

He's about three months old, eats and drinks fine (although he refuses veg). Has anyone else come across this with their pigs? He's really worrying me :(

Thanks in advance for any advice!
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I'm not really sure, but maybe his skin is sore for some reason? I hope you find the course:)
 
Sometimes young boars can just be a bit skittish.

My youngster is just desperate to play all the time and run around like an idiot so he objects loudly to being stroked and cuddled. He's getting better at settling down though and he's usually better at sitting to be stroked if he's had a good runon the floor first.

It's a bit like kids - run their energy off with games for a bit first then they find it easier to sit and be handled.
 
our abyssinian is like this, but our smooth haired boy isnt , is your s rough coated? i think they find it more uncomfortable to be stroked as their fur does nt lie flat.
 
Bumble my boar is about 10 weeks old - just a furry ball of energy - a flying duracel battery - wont keep still for 5 mins on your lap - must have at least an hours floor time to tear through tunnels or he keeps me awake all night popcorning and chatting - as long as he has had his run he settles down and will then put himself to bed by 10pm -all my piggies put themselves to bed by 10pm -( just wish my children did lol! ) - which is just as well because Bumble likes to sleep about 12 inches from my head!:))
 
Thanks, I'll try letting him have a run around first instead of after handling and see if that makes a difference. :)

He's a smooth coat, I've had Abbys before and I agree they seemed quite twitchy when stroked.
 
WHy dont you take him boar dating and let him choose a friend? Having a friend will make him more confident. You have only had him a month. I have had Peronel over three years and she runs like crazy to prevent being picked up!
 
piggyfan said:
WHy dont you take him boar dating and let him choose a friend? Having a friend will make him more confident. You have only had him a month. I have had Peronel over three years and she runs like crazy to prevent being picked up!
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I've thought about boar dating but would like to have a group of piggies rather than the two. I may change my mind though! Either way he is not going to remain alone, the only reason he is is because he was given to me after his previous owners after his brother died. I do realise he is young and I've owned lots of guinea pigs before but never seen one behave like that upon being touched during handling. He pretty much twitches and flinches, especially as he had no bother before. I'm beginning to wonder if his skin is sore, as has been suggested, it looks like he seems in a bit of pain. Think I might take him to the vet to rule it out.
 
You really do need to take the poor little thing to a vet. I will be interested to know what the vet says.
 
Well, Paddy's been to the vet this morning. He said this behaviour can sometimes indicate mites, but he hasn't been scratching excessively, his skin is not inflamed, and his hair is not thinning, so he doesn't think this is the case. So the verdict is to keep an eye on it. As a precaution I've boiled and scrubbed out everything in his cage, chucked out the bag of hay I had and got a new one, replaced his tunnels and blitzed everything with insecticidal spray and gave him a bath.

I have seen a improvement over the last few days with giving him his floor time session before rather than after handling. He seems to be able to sit and be stroked for longer before flinching away. So I shall keep this up as well as keeping an eye on any signs of mites.

Thanks for all your advice and suggestions!
 
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