Starting Free Roam Time

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

ChaosTheory

New Born Pup
Joined
Mar 31, 2017
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Points
40
Location
Adelaide, Australia.
Hey there everyone :) recently got my first guinea pig (2 weeks ago) and have slowly been trying to bond with him while giving him the space he needs to get used to everything. He hates being out of his cage in any sort of way as I give him some time to free roam in an area but he'll just hide, I'm not sure if this is completely normal and is supervising him so he knows I'm there when doing free roam time a good idea or should I give him some more alone time when its free run time?

I'm just quite worried he has been scared or traumatized by a child or something as he's from a pet store.

Also how much itching is a lot? I noticed him scratching quite a bit here and there which seemed more then normal, got the mite/ lice spray for him as a precaution so if he had them I'm hoping he'll be more comfortable, just waiting to see if he scratches much still.

Thanks everyone :)
 
Hello and welcome to the forum!
The fear of open spaces sounds quite normal. Mine only like to explore if they can go from one hiding place to the next, e.g. through a tunnel, under a cardboard box (with entry/exit holes cut out) or under furniture. They just love tunnels! Being prey animals, they are wary of being exposed, especially in a new environment. In the garden mine were the same, they only like to be enclosed in the run and dislike running loose. And after a bit of exploring, they seem to like to lie down and relax for a quite a while!

Also, I think they feel more safety in numbers. I currently have one lone piggy (Lily) as George sadly died a couple of weeks ago. When there were two of them, they would go out exploring in a "piggy train", one right behind the other, making little "put put" sounds to each other. Lily will explore a bit now in the house, but is less confident without George.

About the itching, I don't have any experience of mites. Maybe someone else will be along with advice. But it's best to get any problem like that checked out by a vet so that you can be sure you're using the right treatment.
 
Thank you so much for the advice :) I was planning on getting a second but after spending what I did to get him set up nicely and getting him himself I couldn't really afford it at the time but plan on getting him a buddy from the same place so he should be quite comfortable with him I presume. I'm getting tunnels and pipes I'm going to modify so he can have some fun while running through them haha :)
 
There are some brilliant info guides on here which explan everything really well. If you look in this section, there is one on "settling shy new guinea pigs" and another on "how to understand guinea pig instincts". Sorry but I haven't figured out how to put in a link to them! Also, if you are thinking of getting him a companion, have a good read of the "boars, sows or mixed pairs" guide and then go over to the "behaviour and bonding" section - there is a wealth of info there about how to introduce a new piggy.
 
It's pretty normal for guinea pigs to be hesitant or scared in new places, especially when they are on their own. It will take time for him to feel comfortable exploring. Giving some tunnels and places to hide, as you say, may make him feel more confident. I also tend to put food around the roaming area to encourage mine to go foraging, which is a normal behavior for them.
 
Hi chaos, he probably does have mites, especially if he came from a pet shop. The vet can tell you if he has, it's always good to have a check up anyway. Anyway the vet can give him drops on the back of the neck & I think it's the next dose in a couple of weeks.
Do not be tempted to skip the vet & get something from the pet shop. These medicines are total useless & are heavily watered down.

welcome to our friendly forum
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top