Holding problems

MortyJojo

MortyJojo

New Born Pup
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I managed to pick up my boy Jojo in a cuddle sack and he keeps making sounds and running around wheeking pretty loud. I sat down on the couch and tried to give him some bell pepper which he refused and even climbed on. He kept climbing in and out of the cuddle sack and running around on the couch and would continue wheeking. He kept trying to burrow into the cuddle sack too and would bite and pull on it. What does all this mean? Is it bad? If so what should I do?
 
How old is your piggy? How long have you had them? Are they eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing normally?
 
Hope4gem said:
How old is your piggy? How long have you had them? Are they eating, drinking, pooping, and peeing normally?
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He’s about two months old, I work 6am - 3pm so idk how much he drinks but when he’s in the cage he eats just fine but hides a lot
 
2 months means he's still getting used to you. Hiding is normal. Guinea pigs are prey animals and as such are always prone to hide as they feel safer this way. Guinea pigs wheek for different reasons...sometimes because they want food, but there can be other reasons too. Chewing on the cuddle sack is probably fine. Guinea pigs explore their world in large part with their mouths so they taste everything to see if it's food or not. He may be afraid to eat the veg while you're holding him. They take time to get used to eating out of your hand. You could put the veg in his cage for a while, leave him be, and he may eat it. Does he have a cagemate? Guinea pigs are social creatures and really need a guinea pig friend to live with. It also helps them to learn how to be a guinea pig like what's safe to eat, etc. Has your piggy ever been examined by a vet? It's good to have new piggies get a check-up, but even more important if you have any concerns. On the main page of The Guinea Pig Forum there are alot of great guides with useful info for new owners. You may want to give them a read.
 
Hope4gem said:
2 months means he's still getting used to you. Hiding is normal. Guinea pigs are prey animals and as such are always prone to hide as they feel safer this way. Guinea pigs wheek for different reasons...sometimes because they want food, but there can be other reasons too. Chewing on the cuddle sack is probably fine. Guinea pigs explore their world in large part with their mouths so they taste everything to see if it's food or not. He may be afraid to eat the veg while you're holding him. They take time to get used to eating out of your hand. You could put the veg in his cage for a while, leave him be, and he may eat it. Does he have a cagemate? Guinea pigs are social creatures and really need a guinea pig friend to live with. It also helps them to learn how to be a guinea pig like what's safe to eat, etc. Has your piggy ever been examined by a vet? It's good to have new piggies get a check-up, but even more important if you have any concerns. On the main page of The Guinea Pig Forum there are alot of great guides with useful info for new owners. You may want to give them a read.
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He has a cage mate (Morty) who he is dominate over always mounting and rumbling and such. He will eat out of my hand while he’s in the cage but the slightest movement and he’ll run off while morty usually continues eating. He’s in his cage popcorning and roaming around at the moment.
 
MortyJojo said:
He has a cage mate (Morty) who he is dominate over always mounting and rumbling and such. He will eat out of my hand while he’s in the cage but the slightest movement and he’ll run off while morty usually continues eating. He’s in his cage popcorning and roaming around at the moment.
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Glad to hear he has a cagemate! Each piggy nas their own personality so he may be more skittish than Morty.
 
Hope4gem said:
Glad to hear he has a cagemate! Each piggy nas their own personality so he may be more skittish than Morty.
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He definitely is from what I see, Morty is much more likely to come up to my hand and sniff nibble lick and even climb, Jojo not so much. My concern is that he is too scared of me to interact with or if he is just naturally jumpy. He’s hard to get a read on
 
He might be too scared to cuddle. Some guinea pigs are like that and never want to be held. It's understandable seeing they are prey animals.
 
Hope4gem said:
He might be too scared to cuddle. Some guinea pigs are like that and never want to be held. It's understandable seeing they are prey animals.
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Very understandable, still trying to get used to it all. My family has had cats as long as I’ve been alive so that’s what I’m used to. Still learning how to take care of these gentle little creatures. I began reading a guide I found on the home page, thank you so much for your helpfulness and kindness!
 
MortyJojo said:
Very understandable, still trying to get used to it all. My family has had cats as long as I’ve been alive so that’s what I’m used to. Still learning how to take care of these gentle little creatures. I began reading a guide I found on the home page, thank you so much for your helpfulness and kindness!
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Happy to help. You've come to the right place. I've found so much help and support from the wonderful people on the forum.
 
Siikibam said:
Siikibam said:
If he’s wheeking while out the cage then he may be looking for his friend. I think going forward you should take them out at the same time. Be aware of and respect their hierarc
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Siikibam said:
If he’s wheeking while out the cage then he may be looking for his friend. I think going forward you should take them out at the same time. Be aware of and respect their hierarchy.
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Should I hold them both during lap time in that case? Cuz yeah it can be hard to hold two piggies at once but I don’t wanna disrespect them. Or should lap time come later down the road?
 
MortyJojo said:
Should I hold them both during lap time in that case? Cuz yeah it can be hard to hold two piggies at once but I don’t wanna disrespect them. Or should lap time come later down the road?
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They should really be kept together as much as possible. It sounds as if he either doesnt like it or is looking for his friend and doesn’t want to be by himself. Do you have a cage set up which allows you to sit in the cage with them (a c&c cage can allow for this)? This can help if possible as you can sit in with them and they don’t have to be separated.
You should always handle and do everything for the dominant piggy first to respect their hierarchy
 
Have you got a small safe area you could make into a play area? I sit with my two every evening in my bathroom. Then they are together and can run around and come to you if they want. One of mine will sit on my lap 69717EB1-43B0-4994-A5FC-44A8F8267E7C.webpto eat his veggies.
 
Piggies&buns said:
They should really be kept together as much as possible. It sounds as if he either doesnt like it or is looking for his friend and doesn’t want to be by himself. Do you have a cage set up which allows you to sit in the cage with them (a c&c cage can allow for this)? This can help if possible as you can sit in with them and they don’t have to be separated.
You should always handle and do everything for the dominant piggy first to respect their hierarchy
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weepweeps said:
Have you got a small safe area you could make into a play area? I sit with my two every evening in my bathroom. Then they are together and can run around and come to you if they want. One of mine will sit on my lap View attachment 176101to eat his veggies.
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I don’t really have anywhere I could sit with them atm, found some Langxun brand panels on amazon that I could use to set up a space, tried having them in my kitchen at one point but they squeezed under the bathroom door and ran off to hide
 
Unfortunately that cage doesn’t appear big enough for a pair of boars. There’s only really one hide and with the stool like one, it doesn’t leave any room for them to run around. I’m not sure how old they are, but small housing can cause issues with boars. Also, was this after a clean? Where does the hay go? I would also add another bottle at the other end. Does that wooden hide have two exits?

You’ll need to upgrade them to a minimum 150x60cm as soon as possible. You could set them up in the kitchen, as long as you block off access to the door. Make sure it’s blocked off and they can’t move the grids (or what you used) to escape.
 
Siikibam said:
Unfortunately that cage doesn’t appear big enough for a pair of boars. There’s only really one hide and with the stool like one, it doesn’t leave any room for them to run around. I’m not sure how old they are, but small housing can cause issues with boars. Also, was this after a clean? Where does the hay go? I would also add another bottle at the other end. Does that wooden hide have two exits?

You’ll need to upgrade them to a minimum 150x60cm as soon as possible. You could set them up in the kitchen, as long as you block off access to the door. Make sure it’s blocked off and they can’t move the grids (or what you used) to escape.
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The cage is 47” L x 24” W. I have the little table thing there for the hammock. The hidey has 3 openings and a bed inside. The red thing by the bottle is the hay feeder and a little bowl next to it for pellets. I just made them a 5 ft by 3ft play pin that I’ll set up for “floor time”. Should I ditch the hammock and put in more hides?
 
Siikibam said:
Unfortunately that cage doesn’t appear big enough for a pair of boars. There’s only really one hide and with the stool like one, it doesn’t leave any room for them to run around. I’m not sure how old they are, but small housing can cause issues with boars. Also, was this after a clean? Where does the hay go? I would also add another bottle at the other end. Does that wooden hide have two exits?

You’ll need to upgrade them to a minimum 150x60cm as soon as possible. You could set them up in the kitchen, as long as you block off access to the door. Make sure it’s blocked off and they can’t move the grids (or what you used) to escape.
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p.s. I took that before cleaning the cage
 
Siikibam said:
Unfortunately that cage doesn’t appear big enough for a pair of boars. There’s only really one hide and with the stool like one, it doesn’t leave any room for them to run around. I’m not sure how old they are, but small housing can cause issues with boars. Also, was this after a clean? Where does the hay go? I would also add another bottle at the other end. Does that wooden hide have two exits?

You’ll need to upgrade them to a minimum 150x60cm as soon as possible. You could set them up in the kitchen, as long as you block off access to the door. Make sure it’s blocked off and they can’t move the grids (or what you used) to escape.
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P.p.s. Thank you! I wouldn’t have known if not for the feedback
 
Oh yes I see, you can’t sit in with them. All I can really suggest is taking them both out together in a larger snuggle sack.

As siikibam has said, the cage is small for a boar pair. They need a cage measuring 60 inches by 24 inches at a minimum, 72 inches by 24 inches is best. Boars need a lot of room, particularly once they become teenagers.
I would not clutter their cage with too many hides as they don’t have much space and adding more will make it worse But they do need a proper hide each (with two exits)

The playpen is a really good size but as it isn’t their permanent home, then it doesn’t count.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Oh yes I see, you can’t sit in with them. All I can really suggest is taking them both out together in a larger snuggle sack.

As siikibam has said, the cage is small for a boar pair. They need a cage measuring 60 inches by 24 inches at a minimum, 72 inches by 24 inches is best. Boars need a lot of room, particularly once they become teenagers.
I would not clutter their cage with too many hides as they don’t have much space and adding more will make it worse But they do need a proper hide each (with two exits)

The playpen is a really good size but as it isn’t their permanent home, then it doesn’t count.
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I have a cage on the way that is 60”x30” it should be here in a couple of days. For the time being, I put in another water bottle and another hay rack both on opposite sides of the cage. Took out the hammock table and but in another hide with two openings and a tunnel. Thank you for the feedback, Y’all are a big help!
 
That looks much better 🙂. I’d consider taking the tube out as well, it takes up space and I think they need that. At least they have two hides so that should be okay. Does the blue hide have a hole at the back? I’d also put hay on the floor. They like to lie in, sit on as they eat, run through and even sleep in/on it. You may find they eat more when it’s out the hay rack. And you don’t have to refill as many times.
 
Siikibam said:
That looks much better 🙂. I’d consider taking the tube out as well, it takes up space and I think they need that. At least they have two hides so that should be okay. Does the blue hide have a hole at the back? I’d also put hay on the floor. They like to lie in, sit on as they eat, run through and even sleep in/on it. You may find they eat more when it’s out the hay rack. And you don’t have to refill as many times.
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Good to know, I’ll give that a shot! Yes the blue hide his an opening in the back
 
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