Guinea Pig Behavior Concern

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Martyna

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Hello ,

My guinea pig Fluffy has recently been lying down on its side with his legs kind of twisted but raised i hope you understand what I mean. Anyway , my older guinea pig who passed away 2 years did the same thing however this my old piggie lyed down on its side ALL THE TIME for a long time so we took him to the vet and he was severely underweight and sadly died a few months later. Fluffy reacts , eats, and acts completely normal. Its just him lying down on his side which concerns me , dont get me wrong he doesn't do it all the time.

What may be the course for this? We are taking him on a road trip as we are moving to a diffrent country, the journey will be 17hours with breaks , the other guinea pig already had a trip like that and was fine.

We want to take him to the vets for a check up in the new country.

Thankyou
 
Do you have any picture of Fluffy doing that? Because depending on how he lies down it can be normal. Anyways I'll tag @Wiebke, I'm sure she'll be able to tell you something about it x
ps. Have a look here too: Travelling with guinea pigs :D
 
Martyna said:
Hello ,

My guinea pig Fluffy has recently been lying down on its side with his legs kind of twisted but raised i hope you understand what I mean. Anyway , my older guinea pig who passed away 2 years did the same thing however this my old piggie lyed down on its side ALL THE TIME for a long time so we took him to the vet and he was severely underweight and sadly died a few months later. Fluffy reacts , eats, and acts completely normal. Its just him lying down on his side which concerns me , dont get me wrong he doesn't do it all the time.

What may be the course for this? We are taking him on a road trip as we are moving to a diffrent country, the journey will be 17hours with breaks , the other guinea pig already had a trip like that and was fine.

We want to take him to the vets for a check up in the new country.

Thankyou
Click to expand...

Hi! some guinea pigs lie on their side, but could you please post a picture for us to assess?
How To Post Photos
 
Was it something like this? He's just asleep in this photo, he's perfectly fine.

How old is he?

Is he peeing and pooping okay? My bloat prone pig sometimes lies awkwardly when bloat is starting.

20150523_124511.webp
 
Is he laying with his front feet down but his back feet kind of out to one side? I don't know how else to describe it. That's a normal 'relaxed pig laying down' posture. Some pigs lay in the position more than others. I'll try to find a pic of one on mine in that position to compare.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi! some guinea pigs lie on their side, but could you please post a picture for us to assess?
How To Post Photos
Click to expand...
peachysleeping.jpg
This isnt fluffy but a perfect example
 
Martyna said:
peachysleeping.jpg
This isnt fluffy but a perfect example
Click to expand...

That is a very normal sleeping position - many of my own guinea pigs sleep like that, too! Nothing to worry about. It is however worth to check a guinea pig that is suddenly changing its usual preferred sleeping position; usually there is a pain issue involved, especially with older guinea pigs. (Arthritis, internal growths etc.)

I call those my "sausage piggies" as opposed to the "pancake piggies" that prefer to sleep flat on the bellies. ;)
 
They do look a bit scary when they're sleeping like that, don't they!

I'd just keep a close eye on him to monitor everything else. If he's eating fine, peeing and pooping fine, and is as active as normal, then I would think he's just sleeping.
 
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