Switched to Fleece and having issues...

GodPuppet

GodPuppet

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Sorry for this being my first post, but I'm heartbroken.

I have a boar, about a year and a half old. I've had him since he was about a month old. I kept him in a good sized cage with aspen bedding.
We tried getting him a brother, but he would have none of it, and kept lounging at him, wasen't coping, and after a month and a half of this, I finally rehomed the other boar, so it's back to just him, and he seems more content this way.

We do floor time a lot, and I use a fleece blanket, so naturally, I thought that switching to a larger cage with fleece bedding would be ideal for him...easier on his feet, more room for all of his toys, and more hygienic with the daily spot cleaning.

The first day was great. He loved it and had a ball playing with his toys, running through his hidey holes, and laying in the dark fringey part.
The next morning however, he was sitting in the corner and refused to move. He also hadn't touched his food at all. Figuring that he just needed to adjust, I left him be, hand fed him some veggies so he's have something in his belly.

Well now it's progressed to him incessently gnawing on the bars, and flipping out to the point of .... what I can only describe as a piggy panic attack. He's shaking and panting very heavily.

Is this normal? Will he get used to it? I don't know what to do, I'm out a lot of money, and left with a very stressed piggy :C
 
GodPuppet said:
Sorry for this being my first post, but I'm heartbroken.

I have a boar, about a year and a half old. I've had him since he was about a month old. I kept him in a good sized cage with aspen bedding.
We tried getting him a brother, but he would have none of it, and kept lounging at him, wasen't coping, and after a month and a half of this, I finally rehomed the other boar, so it's back to just him, and he seems more content this way.

We do floor time a lot, and I use a fleece blanket, so naturally, I thought that switching to a larger cage with fleece bedding would be ideal for him...easier on his feet, more room for all of his toys, and more hygienic with the daily spot cleaning.

The first day was great. He loved it and had a ball playing with his toys, running through his hidey holes, and laying in the dark fringey part.
The next morning however, he was sitting in the corner and refused to move. He also hadn't touched his food at all. Figuring that he just needed to adjust, I left him be, hand fed him some veggies so he's have something in his belly.

Well now it's progressed to him incessently gnawing on the bars, and flipping out to the point of .... what I can only describe as a piggy panic attack. He's shaking and panting very heavily.

Is this normal? Will he get used to it? I don't know what to do, I'm out a lot of money, and left with a very stressed piggy :C
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Shaking and panting very heavily sounds serious. Like an illness. How long has this been happening? Anything else like a clicking nose?. Is he pooing atall? Do u feed hay? And vit c veg?
 
Skypipdot said:
Shaking and panting very heavily sounds serious. Like an illness. How long has this been happening? Anything else like a clicking nose?
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He was just at the vet for a routine check up, and was fine.
He's panting because he keeps flipping out and trying to jump out of his cage. It's only been happening since this change.
 
GodPuppet said:
He was just at the vet for a routine check up, and was fine.
He's panting because he keeps flipping out and trying to jump out of his cage. It's only been happening since this change.
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Ok, so does he have a hidey house. To escape under when nervous?
 
Oh, and yes, he gets a vit c tablet daily, has fresh hay 24/7, gets fresh veggies daily, and is still pooing normally.

He has 2 hidey houses in this new cage, but he doesn't seem interested in using them. He just sits next to me (his cage has always been next to my desk) and tries to get out.
 
Dont think this has anything to do with fleece bedding, it sounds like an emergency vet trip is needed... hope he's ok!
 
GodPuppet said:
He was just at the vet for a routine check up, and was fine.
He's panting because he keeps flipping out and trying to jump out of his cage. It's only been happening since this change.
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O wait a minute. Are you sure he isnt popcorning? Look it up on youtube
 
I'm positive it isn't popcorning. He's stressed and acting scared/nervous.

I prewashed the fleece 3 times prior to use, and also put it through a rinse cycle to be sure there was no residue to bother him. Is there anything else I should be cautious of? I'm using uhaul pads underneath the fleece...
 
GodPuppet said:
I'm positive it isn't popcorning. He's stressed and acting scared/nervous.

I prewashed the fleece 3 times prior to use, and also put it through a rinse cycle to be sure there was no residue to bother him. Is there anything else I should be cautious of? I'm using uhaul pads underneath the fleece...
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I really dont know what could be wrong. Is your vet a guinea pig specialist
 
Yes he is. There are only 2 vets in the area who specialize in small animals/guinea pigs and I'm lucky enough to live close enough to one of them.

I'm just wondering if like...it's ever been heard of for a piggy to have trouble adjusting to a drastic cage change like this? And hopefully he will get accustomed... He was fine until he realized he wasen't going back into his old cage anymore....
It breaks my heart to see him desperately try and get out constantly.
 
GodPuppet said:
I'm positive it isn't popcorning. He's stressed and acting scared/nervous.

I prewashed the fleece 3 times prior to use, and also put it through a rinse cycle to be sure there was no residue to bother him. Is there anything else I should be cautious of? I'm using uhaul pads underneath the fleece...
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All i can think of is that he had been spooked by something.or he is sick in some way. But you say hes eating which is real good stuff. Or maybe he could have mites. But u say u just had him checked. But thats why i ask does your vet know much about gpigs
 
He has been treated a couple weeks ago for parasites. I'm wondering if something DID spook him during the night.... because he was fine the first day and then by morning he was acting weird.
He's still eating...just not very much, and generally only when I hand feed him.
 
GodPuppet said:
Yes he is. There are only 2 vets in the area who specialize in small animals/guinea pigs and I'm lucky enough to live close enough to one of them.

I'm just wondering if like...it's ever been heard of for a piggy to have trouble adjusting to a drastic cage change like this? And hopefully he will get accustomed... He was fine until he realized he wasen't going back into his old cage anymore....
It breaks my heart to see him desperately try and get out constantly.
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Ok. I know what i would do, set both cages up. Put him in the old ones, if hes back to normal in that then slowly give him small amounts of time in the new one. Make sure you put something from the old one, to put his scent in there.
 
Skypipdot said:
Ok. I know what i would do, set both cages up. Put him in the old ones, if hes back to normal in that then slowly give him small amounts of time in the new one. Make sure you put something from the old one, to put his scent in there.
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But he could be sick so if you feel you need another check up. I would do that
 
omg, thats a fantastic idea and I have no idea why I didn't think of it sooner x.X Wow...

TYSM though! I could hug you rn. I'll post updates in a bit. If he's still acting weird I will call my vet right away!
 
GodPuppet said:
omg, thats a fantastic idea and I have no idea why I didn't think of it sooner x.X Wow...

TYSM though! I could hug you rn. I'll post updates in a bit. If he's still acting weird I will call my vet right away!
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No problem lol. If he is spooked it can take like a week to be back to normal. My girl got spooked and she took ages to trust her surroundings again. And all that happened was a bag of hay fell over near her cage lol
 
I put him back in his old cage for about a half hour. He immediately took a lil nap.
Placed him back in his new cage, but I sat right next to the door and talked soothingly to him, and would pet him when he started getting worked up again. This time, he still stayed right next to me, but he wasen't gnawing/trying to climb and jump out frantically.
I now am able to get him to eat some pellets, every so often he'll stop and start acting nervous again, so I talk to him, and he calms back down.

I think he will be okay, he's just a creature of habit, and this is a big shift for him.
I may stick him back into his old cage for the night before I go to bed, and switch him again in the morning.
 
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