New guinea pigs worried 1st time owner

Rebeka

Rebeka

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
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Location
Swansea, Wales, UK
Hi please can someone help me out.
I adopted 2 sow pigs today when they 1st got here they would go under the housing platform (as told by the rescue center to take the front off and have as just a platform) they have been here 9hrs now and for the last 2hrs one of them have been chasing the other and now the one who was being chased is laying up on the platform while the other is smuggled up under it should I put something in the cage for the one on top to have a hide out or just leave them be they are both eating and drinking..
 
They are probably just working out who is the boss. As long as no one is being cut off of food or water and no blood is drawn let them work it out. It can be scary! Hoping they settle down!
 
Thank you I thought that may have been the case just wanted to check and didnt want the one left out to be without a hideout. I got them from a rescue center which they were together in the cage and they are sisters and have been together since birth they are only 8mths old they seem to be ok now.
 
Livia Rabideau said:
They are probably just working out who is the boss. As long as no one is being cut off of food or water and no blood is drawn let them work it out. It can be scary! Hoping they settle down!
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Thank you I thought that may have been the case just wanted to check and didnt want the one left out to be without a hideout. I got them from a rescue center which they were together in the cage and they are sisters and have been together since birth they are only 8mths old they seem to be ok
 
I believe a new environment can set off hierarchy squabbles even if they have always been together. It can sometimes be best to have multiples of all equipment (two bottles, two food bowls, two hay piles, several hidey houses) and just making sure they have a big enough cage with plenty of space. They need to be able to hide away from each other. Use open ended hideys so in the event of chase, they don’t end up running into a hidey house and then get cornered in by the other pig, being able to run straight through is useful!. The bendy logs are fantastic.
 
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new piggies.

It does take them a while to settle into a new environment.
Good advice has already been given but have a look through the forum threads for new owners, on housing and food.

Lots of us here always happy to share wisdom and experience - we learn a lot from each other.

Please let’s have pictures- it’s always good to see pictures of the piggies
 
Piggies&buns said:
I believe a new environment can set off hierarchy squabbles even if they have always been together. It can sometimes be best to have multiples of all equipment (two bottles, two food bowls, two hay piles, several hidey houses) and just making sure they have a big enough cage with plenty of space. They need to be able to hide away from each other. Use open ended hideys so in the event of chase, they don’t end up running into a hidey house and then get cornered in by the other pig, being able to run straight through is useful!. The bendy logs are fantastic.
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I agree! Sometimes if I change.ge my boy's cage around they rumble a bit. Silly boys!
 
Thank you everyone for your advice it means a lot being a new piggy owner they seem to be fine now back to the way they were at first but I will look into getting all the this mentioned sorted so theres 2 of everything. I will put some photos up later when i take some.
 
The lady I adoped my two beauties from yesterday told me to put some hey in a paper bag as they both love running thro it and i made a caboard tube for them as I want to wait for my to children to meet them so we can then all go shipping for toys and bits for them and since I have put these 2 things in there cage there's been less pushing they are chasing each other..I have attached a few pics for now will take more later. Can anyone point me in the right direction to know what the sounds they are making mean.20180824_135225.webp
 
Rumbling and bum wiggling is dominant behavior. Teeth chattering usually means they are irritated. Lol. Mine do this if I don't have a snack for them when I come in the room. Mine chirp when exploring. My submissive boar squeals sometimes when the dominant boar chases him. Hope this helps!
 
Beautiful piggies! It is scary having new guinea pigs! I knew nothing about them when I got them. I thought they were going to be my children's pets. 🤣. Nope. A lot more work than I thought, but I love them so much! I have learned so much from this forum and all of the wonderful people here. You can use the search option too at the top! I do all of the time!
 
Livia Rabideau said:
Rumbling and bum wiggling is dominant behavior. Teeth chattering usually means they are irritated. Lol. Mine do this if I don't have a snack for them when I come in the room. Mine chirp when exploring. My submissive boar squeals sometimes when the dominant boar chases him. Hope this helps!
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Thank you They making like a chirpy queaky noise when chasing each other n like a putting sound when they stop n eat/rest ect.
 
Mine too! It's normal! Noisy little things sometimes 😂. Every time I walk into the room my girls wheel loudly, which makes my boys sqeal too. I love that sound!
 
Livia Rabideau said:
Beautiful piggies! It is scary having new guinea pigs! I knew nothing about them when I got them. I thought they were going to be my children's pets. 🤣. Nope. A lot more work than I thought, but I love them so much! I have learned so much from this forum and all of the wonderful people here. You can use the search option too at the top! I do all of the time!
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Thank you they are for my children 🤔 but I know I'm the one who will be that cares for them I really don't mind I knew that before we got them its my youngest daughter's birthday sunday and my eldest daughter's is in a month all they asked for is pigs, my youngest was 2yr old in nursery and they had 3 pigs there and the children were involved in the care for them and they were able to have them home for the weekends and we had them nearly every weekend as not a lot of the other familys wanted them so we were the go to family to have them and my sister in law has 2 pigs so my 2 children love it when they stay over there.
 
Aww. How nice! I don't mind either! My family thinks I am crazy though 😂. Oh well! My father in law gives me the most grief. We all have things that make us happy I told him. For him, it's gambling. For me, it's guinea pigs 💕.
 
Rebeka said:
Thank you they are for my children 🤔 but I know I'm the one who will be that cares for them I really don't mind I knew that before we got them its my youngest daughter's birthday sunday and my eldest daughter's is in a month all they asked for is pigs, my youngest was 2yr old in nursery and they had 3 pigs there and the children were involved in the care for them and they were able to have them home for the weekends and we had them nearly every weekend as not a lot of the other familys wanted them so we were the go to family to have them and my sister in law has 2 pigs so my 2 children love it when they stay over there.
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I’ve got all my pets on the premise that they are for our children...my husband knows it’s all a lie though and that they are all really for me! I’ve always had rabbits since I was very young, still have a rabbit now, but within the last year I have also ventured into tropical fish - for my youngest child you understand, and the guinea pigs for both my children, of course.. 😉😂. I couldn’t be without animals in my life
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’ve got all my pets on the premise that they are for our children...my husband knows it’s all a lie though and that they are all really for me! I’ve always had rabbits since I was very young, still have a rabbit now, but within the last year I have also ventured into tropical fish - for my youngest child you understand, and the guinea pigs for both my children, of course.. 😉😂. I couldn’t be without animals in my life
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Me neither! I have always had cats, hamster, fish, rabbits, and now guinea pigs. Lol. We were pet free for about 6 months. I had lost all four of my cats and 2 bunnies in 5 years. I was done having my heart broken. Well now we have 2 cats and 4 guinea pigs! Hahaha. I know my heart will break again, but it's so worth it!
 
Piggies&buns said:
I’ve got all my pets on the premise that they are for our children...my husband knows it’s all a lie though and that they are all really for me! I’ve always had rabbits since I was very young, still have a rabbit now, but within the last year I have also ventured into tropical fish - for my youngest child you understand, and the guinea pigs for both my children, of course.. 😉😂. I couldn’t be without animals in my life
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😂 When I was going to get them yesterday I was so excited my husband said who are they for you or the kids 😂 My reply was well they are for the kids but I will be the one that will be doing all the looking after ect. I've always had dogs growing up, when me and my husband 1st got together we found a baby kitten that the mother had pushed away from the burrow as it had a bad eye so we took it home it was so young I had to feed it formula milk from a syringe every 2hrs dsy and night. Come to think of it all my pets have been reduce animals.
 
Livia Rabideau said:
Me neither! I have always had cats, hamster, fish, rabbits, and now guinea pigs. Lol. We were pet free for about 6 months. I had lost all four of my cats and 2 bunnies in 5 years. I was done having my heart broken. Well now we have 2 cats and 4 guinea pigs! Hahaha. I know my heart will break again, but it's so worth it!
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Yes, the loss is devastating but having them in our lives is so lovely 😊
 
Livia Rabideau said:
Aww. How nice! I don't mind either! My family thinks I am crazy though 😂. Oh well! My father in law gives me the most grief. We all have things that make us happy I told him. For him, it's gambling. For me, it's guinea pigs 💕.
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And guinea pigs are much better for you than gambling
 
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