Guinea Pig Acting Mental - Help

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ash231421

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so one of my guinea pigs is acting really weird, it was itching a few minutes ago and now its darting in random directions and jumping or popcorning (in a bad way). it looks like its trying to shake something off its head/body. honestly it scared me, i thought it was having a heart attack. only one of them is doing it and the house is really quite at the moment too so i dont think anything scared it. it's also the less dominant one thats doing it and the more dominant one sometimes chases it away. however i did pick them from the same pen. i've had these guinea pigs for only 4 days.
 
It sounds to me like a very excited and happy piggy. Can you post a video of the behavior of your piggy?
 
My littlest does the same thing. She runs laps until she flops over in the middle of the cage. I would just say it is very happy about its new home. How old is she?
 
Tim said:
It sounds to me like a very excited and happy piggy. Can you post a video of the behavior of your piggy?
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sorry i didnt get a chance to video it, but he seems to have settled down now. however i don't understand what may have excited him, it looked like he was really itchy or annoyed about something but now hes okay. i'll try and video it if it happens again.
 
BlueVictorian said:
My littlest does the same thing. She runs laps until she flops over in the middle of the cage. I would just say it is very happy about its new home. How old is she?
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the pet shop told me he was about 12 weeks old, honestly i was scared when i saw it haha.
 
Also since they are new I would get them checked by a vet and treated for mites. Just check their fur if they will let you for anything moving or out of the ordinary. Mites are VERY common when you first get pigs. But I really don't think this would cause the running and popcorning.
 
Sounds a bit like my Daisy..I must admit ive wondered if shes all there. Shes the happiest pig ive ever had, if shes awake, shes popcorning and running around. So much so its really annoying her bigger cagemate Delilah.. its the reason I picked her but blimey..I wish she would stop banging around up there so much :xd:
 
BlueVictorian said:
Also since they are new I would get them checked by a vet and treated for mites. Just check their fur if they will let you for anything moving or out of the ordinary. Mites are VERY common when you first get pigs. But I really don't think this would cause the running and popcorning.
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oh okay thanks
 
ash231421 said:
so one of my guinea pigs is acting really weird, it was itching a few minutes ago and now its darting in random directions and jumping or popcorning (in a bad way). it looks like its trying to shake something off its head/body. honestly it scared me, i thought it was having a heart attack. only one of them is doing it and the house is really quite at the moment too so i dont think anything scared it. it's also the less dominant one thats doing it and the more dominant one sometimes chases it away. however i did pick them from the same pen. i've had these guinea pigs for only 4 days.
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The behaviour is called zooming (running like mad) or popcorning (self explanatory) and is an expression of happiness and an excess of energy. Enjoy it!
 
Some young pigs get very exuberant, dashing around and popcorning, for no reason at all. One of my pigs used to try to popcorn laying down, under the pigloo (resulting in her bumping her head repeatedly), and pretty much anywhere. One of my kids remarked that she has never been as happy about anything as Leela is about nothing! LOL! As an adult, she is still a very cheerful pig, but has settled down some. Get some pictures/videos, as the super-exuberant state tends to be limited to young pigs!
 
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