Hello, I picked up two new guinea pigs yesterday morning. They are boys, 10 weeks old. I expected them to be nervous of their new environment and they spent all day hiding yesterday and didn't eat or drink anything. Overnight there has definitely been activity! Food and water has been consumed, cardboard tubes nibbled and toys moved. My worry is, one of them has taken food out of my hand and seems to be settling in ok but the other is absolutely terrified. He freezes when he sees me - which is fine, I appreciate he may take longer to adapt, but I've not seen him eat anything (I watched his brother eat both carrot slices that I had put in the hutch) The only way for me to be sure that he's eating is to seperate them but they are bonded, have been together since birth and he is obviously already very stressed, I don't want to make that worse by putting him alone. At the same time, I need to be sure that he is eating and drinking! He will hold onto food when offered but will not take a nibble, the poor thing looks frozen with fear. They came from a children's activity farm so are well used to people and handling so I am sure he's just freaking out over his new environment but how long do I leave it with not seeing him eat/drink, especially if his brother is eating everything?!
Unsure if new guinea pig is eating
- Thread starter Trudy
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Merab
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Welcome to the forum.
Don’t panic.
Guinea pigs take time to adjust to a new environment - it can be quite scary for them and yours are still very young.
Be gentle and patient.
Scatter pellets or put them in 2 bowls, put hay and veggies in several piles so that the more nervous one can eat easily.
A guinea pig will eat to survive- he may just not want to risk coming out to eat when you’re there.
As a prey animal the default attitude is: “You’re going to eat me.”
Give them time and keep on watching over them.
They sound very lucky to have such a caring owner
Don’t panic.
Guinea pigs take time to adjust to a new environment - it can be quite scary for them and yours are still very young.
Be gentle and patient.
Scatter pellets or put them in 2 bowls, put hay and veggies in several piles so that the more nervous one can eat easily.
A guinea pig will eat to survive- he may just not want to risk coming out to eat when you’re there.
As a prey animal the default attitude is: “You’re going to eat me.”
Give them time and keep on watching over them.
They sound very lucky to have such a caring owner
I thought one of my recent boys was dead by the second day because I hadn’t seen him at all (hidden in the dark at the back and he’s mostly black 
) but no, he was coming out and eating. They can be like little ninjas when they want, so your new pig will definitely be eating, but only in secret at the moment.
They’ll be super skittish to begin with, maybe for a couple of months even, but that is totally normal, so don’t worry. Daily interactions, talking to them and introducing laptime and snuggles (maybe in conjunction with tasty food treats) will all help them to realise their new owner/home are safe!
) but no, he was coming out and eating. They can be like little ninjas when they want, so your new pig will definitely be eating, but only in secret at the moment. They’ll be super skittish to begin with, maybe for a couple of months even, but that is totally normal, so don’t worry. Daily interactions, talking to them and introducing laptime and snuggles (maybe in conjunction with tasty food treats) will all help them to realise their new owner/home are safe!
Bill & Ted
Forum Buddy
hello and welcome
When I brought my two four week old boar brothers home, they stayed in their little hidey together for two days and I did not see either eat but don’t worry both will be eating, just not when you are around! The shy one will start to come round in his own time, just be gentle, slow and talk to them when you are around them, they will get used to you
When I brought my two four week old boar brothers home, they stayed in their little hidey together for two days and I did not see either eat but don’t worry both will be eating, just not when you are around! The shy one will start to come round in his own time, just be gentle, slow and talk to them when you are around them, they will get used to you
Thank you for your replies and advice, he seems ok today, I made sure he didn't have to venture too far for food. I still haven't seen him eat but there's lots of poo (and mess!) everywhere in the morning so I can only assume they are both venturing out and eating under the cover of darkness. I will continue to keep an eye on him - the other guinea pig is loving life and getting all the fresh veg to himself at the moment!
PigglePuggle
Senior Guinea Pig
Please don't seperate them, the bolder piggy is probably bringing food to his nervous friend if he is scared to come out! When we adopted our first 2 baby girls, big brave Piggle used to take veggies into the hidey for her smaller nervous cousin Puggle who didnt come out for almost a week. They are very social animals and will usually look after a nervous friend, and reassure them about things they have learned are safe 
Mrs Sport_Billy
Forum Donator 2022/23
We were so worried about our very first guinea pigs Pitch and Putt (in Mr SBs avatar) not eating that we set up guinea cam and recorded them while we weren't around. They were eating and exploring fine just scared to do it while we were in the room.