piggy getting less active

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tyson_chan

Hi guys n girls, i need abit of help n advise from * ppl. My guinea pig was usually active n sometimes even jump around the fish tank. However just a few days ago, my guinea pig was not that active after all. Most of the time, it sits down quietly in a corner. My piggy still eats n drink so i guess it is not sick. Is it becoz i didnt spend enough time to play with it n it get bored? or mayb its diet is lack of vitamin C? or is there other reason to it? definitely i believe it is not dying as it still eat n drink n my piggy is only 1month,3wks old. pls reply...thks
 
is he getting lots of play time in his run? when you say fish tank how big is it and is it ventilated enough for him?
 
Here is a link to "early sign of illness", so you can check for yourself.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36332

Your piggy is still very young and feels probably rather lonely. It would be good if it had a companion of its own kind, as guinea pigs are group animals and not really geared to live on their own.

Has your piggy enough space and air? Ideally a 2x4 ft indoors cage is recommended for 1-2 guinea pigs, so they have space to run aound even as adults. Sadly, most pet shops sell cages that are far too small for guinea pigs, even if they are labelled as such. You may be more successful with looking for rabbit cages.

For a healthy and balanced diet look here:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37030
 
yes the fish tank is extremely big. I seldom spend time with it and after seeing it getting less active, i am worried.
 
he needs to spend an amount of time each day out of the fish tank so he can run about,he does sound lonely especially if he isnt getting attention from anyone
 
I suggest you find it a companion, especially if isn't played with daily for a few hours!

PS: I don't think a fish tank is the ideal home for a piggy. How big is "big"? Guinea pigs need more space than you might think, and a grown guinea pig can wigh anything from 900g to 1800g!
 
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ok thanks for all the reply. i will now play with it everyday and hope he get active again.
 
Better find it a companion! they are much happier that way!
 
i cant get it a company is becos i have 3 hamster at home already n my mum dont like too much animals. so i decided to play with it more...
Btw, if my guinea pig also loss in weight, what can i do? its not that terriblely skinny, just felt that its a abit lighter when i bought it till now. loss in weight is becoz of lack in vitamin C?
 
are you feeding it enough of a variety of fresh veg?weigh him regularly to check any weight loss and its its a lot take him to the vet.
 
one or two of my piggies can be not active for a day or so, even when they are in the run and they have company and they will just sit in their house come out for food then go back and stay there all day. I personally dont worry cos they are 3 now and they deffo not ill, they have off days I suppose like me!
 
the veg i giving him is not alot so i will change the diet n feed it with veg everyday. thks..
 
If you follow the guidelines in the diet thread your piggy won't lack in vitamin C.

Ideally, you weigh a growing piggy every week at the same time and write that down on a chart, so you know when something is not right and can take your chart to the vets, if necessary.

If you are so worried about to little vitamin C, integrate vitamin C rich veg into the diet - like slices of (bell) peppers (any colour) or some parsley every day. The more of a varied diet your piggy gets, the better.

However, I strongly suspect that your piggy is simply pining from lack of company!
 
Btw if i stroking my guinea pig on my lap n it dont move nor make a noise just sit there, it is fine?
 
If you got this piggy from a pet shop, it was most likely not handled. As long as you handle him/her(?) everyday, he/she will get used to it.

could you maybe get a picture of the tank and/or give us measurements of it? as others said, tanks don't provide enough ventilation and piggies really need exercise.

if you are not planning on getting a companion for your piggy, definitely spend twice as much time with your piggy.

also, your piggy needs some time out of that tank to run around and explore.
 
tyson_chan said:
Btw if i stroking my guinea pig on my lap n it dont move nor make a noise just sit there, it is fine?
Click to expand...

I have had some of my piggies now for over two years and they are exactly like this so I wouldn't worry. Mine are handled alot but to this day a have a few which hate being handled!
 
mine started making noise sometimes when i stroke it... hopefully it means happy
 
If you can make an area where your piggie could run around (somewhere where there's no places to get stuck in, or wires, or other animals) he/she would start to explore and you would see their character coming out a bit more.

Please consider getting a larger guinea pig specific cage for your pig too. In my experience 2 pigs are the same as one pig really as they share the same space and food. However dont get another one if you can't get a bigger cage.

There are plenty of guinea pig rescues around the UK that you could adopt a friend for your pig. They will be able to advise what would be best. Dont trust anything a pet store tells you regarding sex by the way so be very careful as a male with a female will produce up to 4 babies very quickly.

Where abouts are you? Someone on here will be able to point you to a rescue nearby if you like.

Please keep asking questions, you'll get to know your piggie much more by handling and learning about it on pages like these ;)
 
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