Guinea Pig Acting Different

[Jessie Burk]

Hi Everyone! So my 5 month old female guinea pig is not acting the same. When I go to give her and the other two pigs their veggies she normally is out with the others eating, but in the past 2 days she has been taking a piece of veggie and taking it into a hide house. It's like she doesn't want to come out of there. Her coat is a bit puffed up around her neck which I'm not sure if that's a concern or not. She doesn't seem to have an issue eating since she is still eating veggies and hay. Should I be concerned or is this something normal?

 

[Betsy]

If your piggy is not acting normally then a vet check up is always advised. There is probably an underlying cause for this sudden change in behaviour. The slightest thing out of the ordinary and I am at the vets with mine. A vet would rather see a healthy pig with a worried owner than not see one that could be suffering. Dennis had slightly less fur on his nose than normal, I took him to the vets and it turned out he had mites.

 

[Jessie Burk]

Ok Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi Everyone! So my 5 month old female guinea pig is not acting the same. When I go to give her and the other two pigs their veggies she normally is out with the others eating, but in the past 2 days she has been taking a piece of veggie and taking it into a hide house. It's like she doesn't want to come out of there. Her coat is a bit puffed up around her neck which I'm not sure if that's a concern or not. She doesn't seem to have an issue eating since she is still eating veggies and hay. Should I be concerned or is this something normal?

Hi! Please switch from the regular weekly weigh-in to monitoring her daily at the same time in the feeding cycle. Since hay is making 80% of the daily food intake, it is the only way to check the uptake. If you notice a steady small weight loss or a sudden major weight loss, then please see a vet and be ready start offering additional support feed.
The Importance Of Weighing - Ideal Weight / Overweight / Underweight
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

Food bullying can be an early sign that something is not quite right. Guinea pigs are much more sensitive to subtle signals than we humans. A change in behaviour from other guinea pigs has often alerted me to a health problem.

 

[Merab]

I agree with advice already given.
My vet has always told me she’d rather a concerned owner came in rather than risk leaving a potential problem too late.

 

[Jessie Burk]

Ok Thank you all for the help!