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Please help! 😰 - Skittish new piggy

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skittles_780

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PLEASE HELP! :((
I’m a new owner, i’ve never had a guinea pig before until now, i got mine just a few days ago and he’s 3 months old. As i’m typing this he’s just sitting in the corner of his cage. I went to sleep around one and when i woke up around 4 he was still in the same corner. He hasn’t done this until now, usually I can hear him moving around when i’m sleep but he’s still sitting in the same corner! i get up and when i go down near his cage that’s when he starts moving and eating but he’s still kind of nervous. When i go to lay back down he goes back into the same corner. I don’t know if we wants me to leave him alone or be by his cage.
 
:wel:

As he is new, then he is likely very scared. If he is by himself, then he will be even more scared. Cover part of his cage and leave him to settle in. If he is alone, please do look to get him a friend ASAP. Piggies should never be kept by themselves as they get lonely and depressed, particularly one as young as yours. Boars need to be kept in pairs only, so do get him one friend (Once you have double checked that he is definitely male and ensuring you have the correct sized cage for two boars which is a minimum of 150x60cm but 180x60cm Is recommended due to the fact a boar pair need a lot of room).
I have added links to guides below which contain further information

Companionship
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

If you are concerned he may unwell then please do see a vet. As a new piggy it’s always best to get a vet check done just to ensure they are in good health.
 
Please also make sure he has several different hides (these can be as simple as a cardboard box with a door cut into it), tunnels and lots of shelter, so he doesn't feel so open and explodes in his new home.
But as Piggies and buns has already said, a companion will also help him to settle and feel happier and more confident.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. Hopefully he is just scared and the ideas above will help. Make sure he has lots of hay close by. Are there poops in the cage and have you seen him eating? If you’re worried he’s not eating then get him seen ASAP by a vet as piggies hide any illnesses well and deteriorate very quickly. We would love to see some pictures when he’s settled in. 😃
 
skittles_780 said:
PLEASE HELP! :((
I’m a new owner, i’ve never had a guinea pig before until now, i got mine just a few days ago and he’s 3 months old. As i’m typing this he’s just sitting in the corner of his cage. I went to sleep around one and when i woke up around 4 he was still in the same corner. He hasn’t done this until now, usually I can hear him moving around when i’m sleep but he’s still sitting in the same corner! i get up and when i go down near his cage that’s when he starts moving and eating but he’s still kind of nervous. When i go to lay back down he goes back into the same corner. I don’t know if we wants me to leave him alone or be by his cage.
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Hi and welcome!

If in any doubt, please see a vet.

Please accept that guinea pigs are prey animals and not wired to be alone - you little boy is feeling very lost and cut off from his herd in unknown territory without any protection and guidance from another older piggy to teach him the way and master his environment.
Here is how arrival in a pet home looks from the piggy perspective: Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Here is information on how you can learn about how prey animal instincts in guinea pigs work, how you can avoid triggering them and how you can welcome your little boy into your own herd and make friends with him in his own social language without waiting for him to figure out humans first.
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

By far the best ever and most loving gift you can may any guinea pig is companionship of their own kind; nothing will help to bring your little boy out like another piggy friend. As a human, you cannot be with your piggy 24/7 round the clock for the next 5-7 years of a healthy normal life span - but his need for constant stimulation and company won't go away when you haven't got the time or develop other interests.
Companionship
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs
 
okay guys, i’m a new guinea pig owner, so i have two male guinea pigs both 3 months, i got one a few days ago and i got the other one today, i put them in a cage along with a hut for them to be in. The one i got a few days ago is showing dominance to the other guinea pig that i got today and he has also jumped on him a few times. is this normal? should i separate the two but have them visibly next to each other? please help, i don’t want them to fight or hurt each other .
 
Yes, dominance behaviour is normal. Chasing, mounting, rumbling are all normal.

Can I ask though, have you introduced them on neutral territory? Ie you didn’t just put the new piggy into the vase of the existing piggy? If you have done this, it will be seen as a territory invasion and will cause problems. All introductions must take place somewhere the existing piggy does not see as his own territory.

Leave them in neutral territory for several hours to enable them to get through the early stages of introductions. After several hours and if successful,, you must clean down the cage they are to live in thoroughly so they original piggy no longer sees it as his territory. You can then move them back into the cage they are to live in.
It takes two weeks post introduction for them to fully establish a relationship and during this time you will see a lot of dominance behaviours, particularly given as they are almost teenagers.

Its important you have a plan b. As the piggies have been bought on spec, there is a chance they won’t be compatible as they grow up, so a plan b for separate living arrangements is important just in case things do take a turn.

the guides below explain further

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
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can someone tell me what they’re doing and if this normal behavior between two males...?
the guy at petco told me that they are both males
 
I’ve commented on your other thread about introducing the two piggies to each other. All the guides on how to carry out an introduction and what behaviours to look out for are on the guides that I have linked in

Do check their sexes yourself though. Mounting between two piggies is perfectly normal but pet shops do missex piggies so it is important you can verify their sexes for yourself
 
Hi!

I have merged your threads about the same ongoing issue. Please keep any further questions to this one support thread in order to avoid unnecessary confusion. We are working along the lines of ongoing support, which is something social media cannot provide. But that is only possible if you cooperate and keep to your specific support thread which allows us to refer back, see what has been said alread and what kind of information has been linked in already. We are all doing this for free in our free time. It really helps us if you please kept things that are about the same piggies to just one thread so everybody has a fair chance of catching. Otherwise you will just get a lot of the same basic standard answer.

You can pick up any ongoing thread of yours via the Find Threads/Your thread button by the top bar.
Thank you.

Please always double-check the gender of your piggies upon arrival or before any bonding.
Here is our illustrated sexing link with lots of pictures of piggies of all ages and states: Illustrated Sexing Guide

Please also take the time to read and look through our bonding guide. It has a chapter specifically on boar bonding with all the characteristic bonding behaviours of which mounting is one. Making sure that you read up and watch the relevant videos and pictures will ensure that you are less anxious and understand more of what is going on and what to expect. It is worth looking at this link as well as the others in this thread because they give you exactly the kind of detailed practical information that you are looking for. Since it takes me several days to write a guide, we cannot repeat everything in every thread from scratch or we'd never be able to answer all threads. That is why we have our information links to give you more detailed in-depth information.
Here are the links to our bonding guide and to our dominance behaviour guide again. They will give you the necessary information to judge for yourself whether your boys are on course or not so you can become a more confident owner yourself and enjoy your piggies more - which, after all, is what you have got your piggies for.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ds/dominance-behaviours-in-guinea-pigs.28949/
 
skittles_780 said:
Thank you! sorry, i’m new to the website and was a little confused lol
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You'll get the hang. We are a bit different to social media but things work for us best the way they do because they allow us to provide a supportive, friendly, personalised and if needed longer term service that you cannot necessarily find elsewhere. ;)

New pet ownership is always a huge learning curve. Embrace it, read up and you will get there a bit sooner. ;)
 
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