Accidental Guinea Pig Whisker Trim = Depressive behaviour?

[bbddf]

Hi all!

I've recently given my guinea pig a good hair cut for summer, but seeing as he is black I sadly made a good few snips to his whiskers despite all of my best efforts.

Since then he has been different... He seems hunched over most of the time and isn't interacting with the other guinea pigs as much or being as talkative or excited. It's as if he is ill but for the life of me, checking him over every day in every way possible, I just cannot see a potential cause for it other than that. I know a lot of symptoms and conditions to be on the look out for because I have done a ton of research, but it just doesn't make sense.

He's not showing symptoms of life-threatening danger - he eats, he poops, he wees - which is why I don't want to take him to the vet at this point. This has been going on for about a week now.

So, can a guinea pig show depressed behaviour if their whiskers are cut short?

It is a strange question I know. He's probably got 2-3 whiskers about 4 cm away from his face and I am feeling terrible.

What in your experience too, is a good indication of a possible UTI? (Only other thing I can think of otherwise, but still doesn't make much sense as there are no sandy/gritty bits in his dried wee).

Thanks for your help.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I can’t see that accidentally cutting whiskers (which are used as a way to gauge whether they can fit through spaces) would cause a change like this.
A change in behaviour, particularly hunching, would warrant a vet visit. Guinea pigs can mask their symptoms so if you notice your piggy isn’t behaving the same then that in itself can be an indication of feeling unwell.
I would have your piggy seen by a vet. Please weigh your piggy daily to ensure enough hay is being eaten (which you can’t judge by eye) and step in with syringe feeding if weight has been lost.

 

[bbddf]

He hasn't lost any weight...

And I think I've been getting confused about what hunching looks like... I've been calling him sitting there with all four feet on the ground, in an upright sitting position hunching. His back is not curved over, it's straight. Is that what hunching is? Or have I got the term all wrong?

He also has a spikey furred back now from his haircut which makes it look like hunching too, as if his back half of body is slightly raised. I pressed it down flat and his back is not arched in any way.

At this point I feel I am overanalysing his behaviour and that it is all in my head. Because he is laid out flat on the floor now relaxing...

Do guinea pigs sit sort of upright to sleep when they are cold? I am wondering if his hair cut - it's VERY short now compared to what it was because it's coming into Summer time - is making him feel colder than what he's used to and he's adjusting....

 

[Piggies&buns]

A hunched up piggy will be sat huddled up into a small ball, perhaps with their fur looking puffed up and rough. That can be a sign of pain.

He might be feeling cold, it’s impossible for us to say though given we don’t know anything about their living arrangements (your location in the world, whether they are indoors of outdoors etc)

How many other and what sex piggies does he live with - you say he isn’t interacting with them anymore.
You may be overanalysing but as I said, a change in behaviour is something to watch. It can sometimes be an early indication that there is something brewing before any noticeable and diagnosable symptoms come to light.

 

[bbddf]

A hunched up piggy will be sat huddled up into a small ball, perhaps with their fur looking puffed up and rough. That can be a sign of pain.

He might be feeling cold, it’s impossible for us to say though given we don’t know anything about their living arrangements (your location in the world, whether they are indoors of outdoors etc)

How many other and what sex piggies does he live with - you say he isn’t interacting with them anymore.
You may be overanalysing but as I said, a change in behaviour is something to watch. It can sometimes be an early indication that there is something brewing before any noticeable and diagnosable symptoms come to light.

Hey Piggies&buns,

thank you heaps for your replies, I appreciate your help.

He is definitely not huddled up in any way, shape or form.. honestly I think I have just imagined it. He has been completely fine.

They live inside on bad days and at night, they go outside during the day (usually during summer time). It's not absolutely freezing here, but I think he's been adjusting to his hair cut and the change in his temperature from it.

He has been interacting with them. - It's one of those stupid things when you're in the room with them for an hour and base their behaviour completely on what they do in that hour.

I am very anxious about my guinea pigs' health, always over analyzing and most of the time over reacting.

 

[bbddf]

- He lives with one male next door to him, with bars to converse through. And two females at the end of their grids.

In two weeks (two weeks to go until we reach six weeks post neutering!) the females will be getting put with one of them each (they've already picked a favorite one).