New Guinea Pig Owner - with a few questions

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Claire5054

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Hello Everybody I am so thankful I have found this forum - found some great tips and advice so far. However I do have a few questions. I am a first time piggy owner so everything is very new, I suppose I just want to do my best for my new piggies so seeking some reassurance

I have two male piggy’s which we brought home on Thursday both around 9 weeks old. one piggy seems to be constantly making a vibrating noise at the other everytime the 2nd piggy comes near it. They then seem to tolerate each other for a little while, with a bit of bottom licking and eating near each other but then it all starts again! I’m sure u will say this behaviour is completely normal but the reassurance would be great.
Also one of the piggy’s seems to twitch his head quite a lot, he had no scabs and eyes are lovely are clear and he’s eating and drinking should I be concerned?

Final question ( well for now maybe 😂) is regarding exercise we have left our piggies to settle in since Thursday but have been spending time sitting with them and talking to them and today they took food from me and one let me stroke them, they are no where near ready for being handled yet though. I am a bit concerned that they haven’t ventured down the ramp to the run part of their hutch so have had little exercise? Is this ok while they settle in, they are living in the bed area and I think this may be causing some of the friction between them as they haven’t got enough space? Also when it comes to cleaning as their not ready for being handled what suggestions do you have to do this?

Apologies for all the questions - I just want to do the best I can for my new piggies
 
Welcome Claire!

Congrats on your new potato babies :) I'll give you want info I know on piggys in their first few weeks in a new home, based on your questions.

1: That vibrating IS normal. It's simply a territorial display from one boy to another to say 'I'm the boss around here!' It doesn't matter if you have two piggys or twenty, there will always be one dominant one, and this is their way of establishing it. I have my boy Sunny two and a half years and he's still at it every day. The only time you need to be worried is if the vibrating escalates to fighting. Keep an eye for the next few weeks but I'm sure they'll be fine.

2: Head twitching could be something as simple as a dirty ear, build up of wax right down to ear mites. It's not harm to source a good vet and bring them in for a check up ASAP, to give them a clear bill of health at the very least.

3: Don't worry about them not moving out of the sleeping nests too much yet. You only have them since Thursday and piggys can be very nervous and timid. Some can remain that way their whole lives! A simple trick is to move their food and water as far from where they sleep as possible so they are forced to come out of their hidy-hole. It will also give them an excuse to explore their new homes. The first time you do this, give them a couple of hours of quiet so they can get up the bravery to wander out themselves. Once they get comfortable with they new home (and the noises that come with it) they should be fine.

The fact that they took food from you and let you stroke them is a brilliant sign! All you need now is a little patience and perseverance and soon they will be harassing you for attention and nibbles! :D
 
ps:

(I forgot the cleaning bit!)

Personally, to get my guys used to it, I left them in the cage while I cleaned it. I would do it very slowly and always leave one hidey in place for them to scuttle into. Then, when they got braver, I left the dustpan and brush with them in the cage for a few minutes so they could smell/nibble it and see it means no harm. By doing this, I can now hop in and clean their cage with ease. They actually get really excited because they know it means clean blankets, fresh hay and things being moved around!

Other people might have other suggestions that suit your situation better though :)
 
Great advice given above!

You could also cover their cage with a thin fleece to give them courage to venture out for their food.

I used to clean one side first then they’d move over while I did the other side!

If you’ve got a shoe box with a lid, cut a little door hole for them to run into so that you can easily transfer them when you need to disinfect the cage.
 
Perhaps you could line the ramp with their smell (i.e., shavings/fleece) and put a hidey or two which also contain their smell in the run so they feel safer venturing out? :)

My piggos live in a stacking cage, so to get them used to the ramps, I started out by leaving them with everything they needed on the bottom level. After a few days, I moved them and their things to the top level, so their smell was in both places. They then started to explore the ramps themselves.
 
Welcome to the forum,

You can never ask too many questions here and everyone is very generous in sharing advice and experience.

I acquired 2 new piggies a couple of weeks ago and am still slowly getting them used to me.
They are now bonded with my 2 older girls and I'm hoping they will teach the youngsters about cage cleaning and getting themselves in and out the cage.

It does take time and patience though as they are prey animals and that's a strong instinct.

Please let us see pics of your boys
 
Thank you everybody for taking the time to comment it really is appreciated and put my mind at rest - my daughter was getting quite upset that her piggy’s didn’t like each other

One piggy has ventured to the bottom of the ramp today - we put a makeshift cardboard tunnel over it and a piece of carrot at the bottom which seems to of worked 😂 Not actually ventured into the exercise/run area yet - but slowly slowly and we will perceive

Great tips for cleaning the cage will give this a try tomorrow
 
Mine took a couple of weeks to gather up the courage to take to the ramps, and they still hesitate when they see me lurking around. :D However, they love them now and whizz up and down all day long! They'll just take little steps at a time.
 
Hi, my 2 piggies don't like ramps, so I got a flexible tube which I fastened to the ramp and they run up and down it, I figured it was too open for them.
 
I wonder if the head twitching is actually popcorning? My youngest boar when he popcorns starts at the head and does a little twitch which makes his ears flop about and then he does a little jump/skip into the air (it’s too cute). Popcorning is a sign of happiness and excitement.
In terms of picking them up, I would go for it. It takes a long time for them to get used to you, just build up the time of cuddles gradually. And good luck with catching them they are like lightning in the beginning!
 
G&C said:
I wonder if the head twitching is actually popcorning? My youngest boar when he popcorns starts at the head and does a little twitch which makes his ears flop about and then he does a little jump/skip into the air (it’s too cute). Popcorning is a sign of happiness and excitement.
In terms of picking them up, I would go for it. It takes a long time for them to get used to you, just build up the time of cuddles gradually. And good luck with catching them they are like lightning in the beginning!
Click to expand...
You are right about like lighting 😂😂just cleaned them out - feel like I have done a workout 😂😂
 
One more question all this is our hutch they have finally ventured downstairs and are now racing around the cage with lots of popcorning it’s been so lovely to watch. It has a little door at the top into the top compartment where they sleep.
at night should I close this off or just let them have the full rein of the hutch? 349F5538-292F-47A2-B267-F03B35B49F07.webp
 
That ramp looks fairly steep to me, however I have never had a ramp in a piggy’s cage so am not able to advise on them, it’s just an observation :eek:
 
One of my boys does a twitch thing right before he popcorns. Just wanted to throw that out there. It freaked me out at first 😂. One of mine rumble struts all the time even though I don't believe he truly is the dominant pig. Silly boys.
 
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