A Few Questions

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nicky

nicky

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Edward has really started to settle in he is such a love and as bright as a button , I changed his bedding from newspaper and hay to puppy pads,vetbed and fleece and the clever chap has toilet trained himself but I do have a few concerns the first is he will not eat pellets I have been mixing them in his normal food bit he just leaves them,he ate them at first but has grown fussy as he has settled in.The second thing is I gave him a toy rabbit to cuddle and he spends a lot of time doing boy things with it ! I have never seen him at this deed but the evidence is all over his nice new fleeces! Is this normal ? The third and am sure it won't be the last is he lives upstairs and usually spends free time in our bedroom but as I have grown more confident in carrying him around I have brought him down stairs a few times,he is fine at first but has then started frantically started sniffing the air and panicking then squealing loudly as if something has frightens him,we have two dogs but he has never met them any ideas?
 
1. Piggies, like humans, can go off food. Their tastes change, so it may be worth trying a different brand of pellets (introduced slowly so as not to upset his stomach). How is his appetite generally? Is he eating plenty of hay? It may also be worth asking a vet to check his teeth. When my Marley needed some dental work, he stopped eating his pellets - it wasn't that he didn't want to eat them, but he couldn't eat them because his mouth was a little sore (though he still managed hay and veggies)
2. I'm afraid that humping teddies is normal boar behaviour (when given the opportunity), particularly when they are going through their hormonal phase!
3. It's possible that he can smell the dogs. Piggies are prey animals so the smell of a possible predator could potentially spook them. I'm afraid I'm not certain about this though, as I don't have any other animals in my house.

Does Edward live alone? Piggies are very sociable animals and thrive when they have company. Would you consider finding him a piggy friend?
 
Firstly I wouldn't worry too much regards pellets as long as he is eating hay and veggies I wouldn't worry. Like Jerrybelly said they can go off pellets so it might be the brand. I have 23 and majority eat one brand then I have 4 who won't touch them and like another. How much hay and veg does he get daily?

Regards the boy behaviour its natural as he is alone. If they have friends they will hump them and vice versa. Are you sure its boy juice on the fleece or wee? Piggies tend to leave calcium deposits from time to time which are white marks. Boar glue tends to be hard and glue like whereas calcium deposits are white. If I see them I tend to cut back on any calcium rich veggies for a week or two.

Regards the smelling the air and shouting, mine do that when out. They sniff the air to assess where they are and what is around them and for noms (treats). They wheek for treats and chatter away. It might be that he is talking to you rather then afraid. When scared they tend to run for cover not wheek. I have dogs and a cat as well as chinchillas here so a lot for them to smell and see :)

I agree he would thrive with a friend :)
 
Thank you for your replies, its not that he has gone off pellets its he has never really been on them I am mixing them with the food we got him with to try and change him over to them.Am sure its boy stuff as his rabbit was stuck fast to the fleece lol .And yes we do plan to get him a friend
 
I wouldn't worry I also have 23 and I finally found food they all eat, selective scince plan guinea pig food, i have had them on wagg crunch, they all went off it, harringtons, p@h nuggets, excel. so fussy. ensure plenty of hay and veg (green/red peppers etc.)

i have some boys that hump each other alvin is the pro, he has 5 buddies and he gets round all of them in a night he is the naughtiest.

the sniffing and wheeking is something all my boys do, I feed them at certain times, and they start shouting about 10mins before they are due anything. this is a normal cute behaviour, only if you have 23 of them shouting at once, ear plugs needed, love them x
 
Thank you all,its lovely to have a site like this where there is so much help and information and you don't feel judged
 
nicky said:
Thank you all,its lovely to have a site like this where there is so much help and information and you don't feel judged
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Glad you're feeling welcome! We all started somewhere and needed advice and still do sometimes so feel free to ask anything!

Humping is one of the most unfortunate sides of having boys... There's lots of it goes on in this house I can tell you!

Edward sounds like a lovely little guy and doing everything normal little boy piggies do. He may be fussy but they all have their food quirks. Like Sport_billy says, try our rescue locator when you consider getting little Edward a friend so you can have peace of mind and he can have the best shot of finding someone he gets on well with. It's lovely to have the support of a local rescue too.
 
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