Some advice on new guinea pig noises

[m4rty]

Hi everyone new to guinea pig keeping, last week we took ownership of a wee 3yr old girl from someone local who no longer had interest in her, tbh with the state the cage was in I think we rescued her... So we got her all new cage, bedding food toys etc she is very shy and hasn't really ate that much over the past few days or come out of her hide much, but last night we noticed she stared making some noises and we aren't to sure on if it's normal or not, is there away to post a recording on here? So that maybe someone with more experience could have a listen.

Thanks in advance

 

[m4rty]

We are going today to pick up a 2 1/2 year old female for some company for her, she did have a buddy but it passed away(unsure how long ago).
She was just forgotten about I think. My wife said the last owner was actually using the cage as a TV stand in the kids bedroom, poor thing was probably traumatized

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum.
It’s great you have taken her in.

You will need to upload a video to YouTube and then post a link to it here. We cannot host video directly on the forum. Make sure we can see her on the video as their sound is linked to body language.

Make sure hay is available inside her hide if she doesn’t want to come out. Cover the cage with blanket so she feels more secure (piggies fear being attacked from above) and safe to come
Out.

It’s great you’re getting her a friend.
It’s best to keep them side by side in separate cages for a week or two so they can both settle in. Trying to bond too soon and when they are both scared and out of their depth can make them defensive and mean they overreact and risk the bonding failing.
When it does come time for bonding, Make sure you bond them properly in neutral territory and never just put one pig into the territory of another.
If the bonding fails, they will need to live side by side permanently.

I’ve added links to our new owners section which will help you with lots of information on settling them in, companionship, housing, diet and routine care such as weekly weight checks

I’ve also added our bonding guide but we are more than happy to help with further information if needed

Thread 'New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection'

Apr 10, 2022

Contents Overview
1 What This Collection Is About
2 Guinea Pigs as Pets
- Family and Classroom Pets
- Sourcing Your Guinea Pigs, Common Pitfalls and Your Customer Rights
- Human Pet Anxiety: Practical Tips for Sufferers and Supporters
- Naming and Finding Out the Breed
- Guinea Pig Facts: An Overview
3 Living Environment
- Housing (with sourcing tips)
- Bedding (with...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 8
• Forum: New and Wannabe Owners Corner

• 

Thread 'Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics'

Jan 23, 2019

1 Introduction
2 Pre-bonding
- Quarantine and sexing
- The need for a plan B
- The rule-breaker: Youngsters under 4 months (sub-teenage)
3 Setting up an introduction
- Getting to know each other
- ‘Buddy baths’ – why not
- Scent swapping - why not
- Setting up a neutral bonding area
- How to start the bonding
4 Acceptance phase: Do we like...

• Wiebke
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Behaviour, Bonds and Species Understanding

• 

 

[m4rty]

Thank you, we did do quite abit of reading up before we took her in so we are up to speed on a fair amount but I'm sure we still have quite a bit to learn
Tho we didn't know about putting the hay in her hide kind of figured if it was outside it might entice her out.thanks

I will try get a video of her later and get it posted up only have a sound recording at the min

 

[fluffysal]

Welcome to the forum. Body language is a huge part of figuring out what they are telling us. One of my boys starts every lap time with at least 5 minutes of whinging noises. His body language however is utterly relaxed, as demonstrated below.
I have concluded that he is telling me all about how terribly his boisterous and unruly neighboar has been behaving. I make appropriate responses like "did he? That's not very polite" or "disgraceful, what a shame he's not as dignified as you"

 

[m4rty]

Welcome to the forum. Body language is a huge part of figuring out what they are telling us. One of my boys starts every lap time with at least 5 minutes of whinging noises. His body language however is utterly relaxed, as demonstrated below.View attachment 262883
I have concluded that he is telling me all about how terribly his boisterous and unruly neighboar has been behaving. I make appropriate responses like "did he? That's not very polite" or "disgraceful, what a shame he's not as dignified as you"

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum.
She is a very lucky girl to have found a home where she will be loved and cared for.
I have 2 rescues, Miriam and Moses.
They were probably never socialised before being dumped so it’s taking a long time to win their trust.
They hate being caught but after 4 months have stopped trying to escape if I’m doing a health check.
They still run and hide if anyone goes into their room so making sure there is plenty of hay in the hideys and plenty places to hide in is important.
It will take a lot of time and patience for your girl to settle and feel safe.
A companion will make a big difference to her.

 

[m4rty]

Welcome to the forum.
She is a very lucky girl to have found a home where she will be loved and cared for.
I have 2 rescues, Miriam and Moses.
They were probably never socialised before being dumped so it’s taking a long time to win their trust.
They hate being caught but after 4 months have stopped trying to escape if I’m doing a health check.
They still run and hide if anyone goes into their room so making sure there is plenty of hay in the hideys and plenty places to hide in is important.
It will take a lot of time and patience for your girl to settle and feel safe.
A companion will make a big difference to her.

 

[m4rty]

Hopefully you can hear her over my noisy toddler the best video I've been able to get so far...

 

[Merab]

Beautiful

 

[m4rty]

Beautiful

Would you say this is normal? She was doing the same noise earlier but with out the jumpiness, I was wondering was she just snoring? Also her new buddy is home as well. Got them side by side in their new cages to get used to eachothers presence until they get formally introduced lol

 

[Piggies&buns]

Is she moving about and otherwise eating and behaving normally at all other times?

To be honest, I would get her to the vet for a check up (advisable for any new pig anyway that hadn’t come from a reputable rescue centre).
I would do that before you introduce them.

It’s important you carry out weekly weight checks, so I would get her weight asap so you have a baseline.

 

[m4rty]

The earliest vet appointment we could get was for Monday, unfortunately just 10 mins ago I checked on her and I pretty sure she has passed I can't feel a pulse she is limp and unresponsive to touch/movement we are in pieces especially the kids we couldn't get to see a vet any sooner not even an emergency check up or anything. Feel like we've done her so wrong.. but she wasn't well looked after before either, my wife actually just told me today when we were talking about her that the last owner was actually feeding her small dog food, like what the hell some people should never have any pets.
RIP chi chi

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m so sorry to hear that.
I was afraid the movements didn’t look good but from a short clip it was hard to tell.

You didn’t do her wrong - you showed her kindness by bringing her out of that environment.

 

[m4rty]

Definitely no movement atall from her since, she was definitely love for the short time she was with us, I was concerned myself it seemed like trouble breathing or something but before that clip she was just still while making the noise and had eaten in-between that time.

I guess we will have to find another buddy for the wee girl we picked up today heart afraid she will be stressed out now.

Could a younger girl co exist with an older female if say we were to get one from like pets at home?

Or is anyone on here close to Lisburn in northern Ireland selling a suitable buddy?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Definitely no movement atall from her since, she was definitely love for the short time she was with us, I was concerned myself it seemed like trouble breathing or something but before that clip she was just still while making the noise and had eaten in-between that time.

I guess we will have to find another buddy for the wee girl we picked up today heart afraid she will be stressed out now.

Could a younger girl co exist with an older female if say we were to get one from like pets at home?

Or is anyone on here close to Lisburn in northern Ireland selling a suitable buddy?

I’m so sorry

Any bond comes down to character compatibility so we can never predict which two piggies will bond
- all you can ever do is try and see what happens.
If you get a piggy from a pet shop, then you would need to have a back up plan for them living side by side if the bonding failed

 

[fluffysal]

I'm sorry you lost her. Don't blame yourself, you ensured that she had known comfort, care and good food before she left for the rainbow bridge.

 

[m4rty]

I’m so sorry

Any bond comes down to character compatibility so we can never predict which two piggies will bond
- all you can ever do is try and see what happens.
If you get a piggy from a pet shop, then you would need to have a back up plan for them living side by side if the bonding failed

We do have two cages so they would have their own personal space, it was just the social aspect we were wondering about would they get along so they weren't lonely( they would have human interaction of they were willing) but just so they were like the last Mohican as it were..

 

[m4rty]

I'm sorry you lost her. Don't blame yourself, you ensured that she had known comfort, care and good food before she left for the rainbow bridge.

I know it's just sad we didn't get the chance to give her a better quality of life for longer, we did try but I guess we were just too late we appreciate all the uplifting comments we know in our heads we did right but you know yourselves your heart tells you otherwise

 

[KatieM]

Definitely not normal piggy nosies, I’m so sorry for your sudden and tragic loss you did absolutely everything right by her and thank goodness she got to end her days out in a loving home and clean cage. Depending on how old she was and the extent of her neglect, it’s possible even a vet wouldn’t have been able to save her….perhaps they could have given you an answer of what happened but it was not your fault she couldn’t be seen sooner, all that was very sudden.

There is so much great advice for bonding on here, I incidentally ended up adding two extra piggies to my herd in the last 2 weeks…all the information on here helped me so much in forming successful bonds! Although it is of course up to the pigs personality. It would totally be okay to just get to know the new pig and grieve the sudden loss of this girl before adding the second…of course she will need a buddy eventually though! But I found having a strong grasp on the current pigs temperament helped me pick a better personality match for the additional pig. Generally it is best to pair a younger pig with an older pig but it’s not a sure fire way. I have pet shop piggies from here in the US…although I’m a big advocate for rescuing instead I would not blame you guys for wanting to get a pig who has been health checked, There are I believe many rescues over there in the UK and somewhere on this site is a big long list of them. A reputable rescue could help you choose the right second pig and make sure it is healthy!

So sorry for your family and your kids, you guys sound like absolutely wonderful owners and I can’t wait for you all to experience the joyful side of piggie ownership hugs

 

[m4rty]

Thank you all for your advice this site is brilliant for information and full of helpful compassionate people. I think we will get to know our new piggie (Mochi) for abit and see how her temperament is and more importantly get her into the vet tomorrow for a check up and take the time to find the right buddy for her

 

[KatieM]

Thank you all for your advice this site is brilliant for information and full of helpful compassionate people. I think we will get to know our new piggie (Mochi) for abit and see how her temperament is and more importantly get her into the vet tomorrow for a check up and take the time to find the right buddy for her

Mochi is such a precious name! I hope she gets an l clear at the vet and that one day you can get her the perfect friend

 

[Merab]

So sorry that you lost your little one.
You gave her a loving home, even if only for a short time.
Guinea pigs live for today and so you ensured she had happy todays.
Be gentle with yourself as you grieve.

Hope all goes well with Mochi