Help - Regressing piggie, corncerned piggie parents

[Marty]

Help.

I posted this thread in the behaviour forum but nobody seems to have replied and Julie and I are getting quite worried:

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=11973.0

Pepe now seems to be regressing back to his state of mind when we first got him, a very nervous, scared piggie frightened when we try and pick him up, and generally showing signs of being unhappy and we don't know why. :-\ We're really concerned that he may go the same way as Blaze as Scampy

Marty

 

[katiep]

Oh no, poor Pepe. Is he showing any signs of being poorly, or just getting nervous again? Could it be that he has noticed that Blaze and Scampy aren't there and is feeling scared or sad? Our Scruffy went quiet and withdrawn when we lost Fuzzy...
I hope that its nothing serious.. poor little chap.

 

[Marty]

Hi Katie

I think it unlikely Pepe is missing Blaze and Scampy as he had minimal contact (other than verbal) with them as he and Dylan were both housed above them.

We've just spent three hours playing with the grids and have now got them raised a foot or so higher than they were and already Pepe seems happier. Just that extra foot has given them more light. I'm wondering now if we made a huge mistake moving the piggies from one end of the room to the other, as both Blaze and Scampy may not have liked living in the shadier end of the house, but at the time we thought we were making it safer for them. I'm going to see how they get on for a day and take it from there.

How's Lucky btw?

Marty

 

[katiep]

I think they can sense when another one is ill or has gone though... they are funny little creatures aren't they? I never thought about it when we moved ours into their own special pig room (used to be my ironing room!) but they seem OK with it.. Like you we thought it would be better as it is out of the sun. I am very glad Pepe is happier - he is an adorable llittle chap!

Lucky is much the same, although his head movements are not so bad... the vet likened it to having 10 pints, so the poor little chap must feel so dizzy! he is having a doze on his snugglepad at the moment, and we have the heating on to keep him warm. Its good that he is still eating and drinking, thats what gives us hope. He is just so tiny and we feel so helpless!

Hope Pepe perks up! Its not nice when they seem unhappy.

 

[MemberY]

I read your other post Marty but couldnt think of any suitable response :-\
As Katie says, he may be regressing because Scampy and Blaze have gone and even though they were not interactive, he would have chattered to them. I have 4 piggies in c & c`s 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs and they chatter to eachother..it`s cute.
Other than that, I really dont know. You are in a position also where you cant get any more piggies for a while because of the mystery surrounding Scampy and Blaze`s illness
Is Pepe eating and drinking normally? Have a good check around where your c & c was previously located (I am sure you have) but check for draughts or extremes of hot and cold or anything you can think of which may have upset the balance :-\
Fingers crossed Pepe will be ok and hopefully you can get him a friend soon

 

[cavy love]

i'm really sorry to hear this, the only thing i can suggest is putting them in the other cage(s?) ans see. this seems very strange. sorry i can't be of more help, but *big hugs and loads a love to you and all your pigs* if it is the cage then that is very strange. :-\

 

[Marty]

That's okay, it's always good to hear other people's thoughts, after the last few weeks with our boys, we're suddenly like 'new parents' again! LavenderJade, you are right, it's a difficult one as we are in limbo until we hear back about the tests. of course in the meantime poor Oscar is having no friend and we are concerned that he may ultimately not be able to settle with another piggie :-\

 

[MemberY]

This is just a thought and probably a stupid one but what disinfectant did you use? Just wondered if they could possibly have ingested anything harmful to them? Please dont take offecnce, just thinking aloud really
Reading your other post, when you changed from hay to vetbed, that may have seemed strange to them and they were trying to burrow where the hay used to be?
I have two brothers together on the top c & c. It is nearly 6 foot long and prior to me getting them, they lived in a small hutch with hay. I put hay in their new cage in the two hidey places at one end of the cage and vetbed across the rest. They hated it and ran to snatch food and run back to the hay. I changed to all hay and they love it I think hay makes them feel more secure.

 

[Marty]

We used Vircom to disinfect everything recently, but normally we use the Johnsons Safe For Animals disinfectant. We actually wondered that ourselves but discounted it because it's supposed to be safe for them.

The odd thing about Blaze burrowing was that he never used to burrow before. He used to eat his hay out of a rack so that's why we found his actions strange.