Should I Be Concerned?

[Maddisaur]

Hi! First time owner here.
I've had hamsters pretty recently, so I know it takes a while for new animals to warm up to me and their environment and I expected my two new guinea pigs to be pretty skittish at first. One of my males seems to be doing very well. He's active, looking around the cage, eating, drinking, etc. What concerns me is that the other one has been squished up against the very back wall of the hideaway since they got home. Though I did see him come out to get food on the drive home, since we've arrived he seems pretty unresposive, no whisker twitching or exploring like the other, and he doesn't even react to me moving the hideaway while he's in there. The only time he moves is when i completely remove the hideaway. Compared with the other, side by side, he is just a lot less responsive, and his breathing is much slower than the other, though his breathing doesn't seem labored. Is this placid behavior normal for a new pig, or should I be concerned that he's not as active as his buddy?

 

[sport_billy]

Hi there, Welcome to the forum

Sounds like normal behaviour to be. Piggies take a while to settle in, they are prey animals naturally so need to feel secure in their new environment

Here are a few threads that will be worth having a read of to help with the process
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up Your Guinea Pig

Best to make sure they have a hidey each. When we had our first piggies we didn't see them for days.... They would hide until we were out of the room.

Completely normal and sounds like he is just very scared, he will get better.

What are their names?

Could you add your location to your profile please as we have members all around the world.

Looking forward to hearing more about your piggies and any questions please just ask. Great to have you join the community here, hope you like it

Welcome again

Lee

 

[sport_billy]

How long have you had them by the way?

 

[Maddisaur]

Thanks so much for the reply. It makes me feel better to know that his behavior is normal.
I've only had them home for an hour or two, so I'm not sure on the names yet. But I'm thinking I'll probably name them Finn and Jake

 

[sport_billy]

Cool names.

Honestly perfectly normal.. We actually set up video camera to see if our s moved

Here are a few other threads that will be worth having to hand especially the diet ones

Diet:
Recommendations For A Balanced General Guinea Pig Diet
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time

Housing and climate:
Cage Size Guide
Bedding For Guinea Pigs - Overview
Hot Weather Management And Heat Strokes
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

Guinea pig body and behaviour guides:
Guinea pig body quirks
Companionship
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Sow behaviour
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

But if you need anything just give someone a yell, start a thread everyone is really friendly and helpful here.