New Little Boy, Pre-exisiting Anxiety/Behavioural Issues

BurtsMum

BurtsMum

Junior Guinea Pig
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Location
Warrington, UK
Hello there

I used to breed and show guinea pigs in my teens, but I then lived in small flats in London after moving out of my mum and dad's, so had been pet-less for like 12 years

I'm a rat mother, and went into Pets at Home (the devil, I know) the other day to get them a new toy for Christmas.

While I was there, I saw a staff member take a piggie out of the enclosure, but there was no customer there to indicate he'd been sold.
I spoke to the staff member, and he said he was being removed and put in the back, as they wouldn't be able to sell him as he had 'issues', particularly with interacting with other piggies. He said he's a loner and very shy and overall a bit of a submissive, so he wasn't getting as much food due to bullying.

He wasn't even a 'reject' but still for sale, like the poor 'returns' pets they have, where customers buy a pet but take it back (usually because the novelty has worn off for their kids, etc).

I was horrified - god knows where he would go after being 'put in the back'.
I said I'd take him, as I have experience with piggies and would take good care of him.

As we all know, piggies need friends, but as he has these issues with others, I'm keeping him on his own for now, at least until he has some time to himself to heal.

He's obviously an indoor boy, and he's in my living room where I spend most of my day (work from home) - I have two rats, but they've now been moved to another part of the living room as they're manic and so would upset him if they're nearby. I don't have any predator animals.

He has a fully enclosed hidey hole in his cage, so he's been there since he came home yesterday - I popped some hay, a carrot and a bowl of very small amount of water in there (there's no bars in that part, so can't move his bottle there), and there's some poops this morning, so he's eaten, maybe drunk something, during the night.
I've kept all but fairy lights on in my living room, so it's dark - he also has a thin, large scarf covering the whole top and sides of the cage

I took him out last night to sit on my knee for a bit, with him covered with a towel, and he was nuzzling and burrowing into me - I think my body heat and heartbeat helped calm him.

So, does anyone here have experience with psychologically fragile piggies? Anxiety and general sadness with this guy

Any advice on how to help him would be greatly appreciated - I know Pets at Home are horrible, but I just couldn't leave him to their devices

Sorry for the essay!

Thanks all

(PS: eyes, ears, bum and coat all clear, and he's going to the vet this week, just to be sure)

x
 
Giving him time to settle and keeping the cage covered as you have been will be the best thing to do. And then finding him a friend who isn’t too dominant (boar dating at a rescue centre would be the best way). I imagine he will be perfectly fine with other pigs once you find the right friend for him.
Or having him neutered and finding him a nice wife.
 
I adopted a Sow on Friday who is terrified of Humans. I haven't attempted to handle her much yet as I'm letting her settle in.

Already she isn't as jumpy but having Betty to "teach" her is helping her a lot.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Giving him time to settle and keeping the cage covered as you have been will be the best thing to do. And then finding him a friend who isn’t too dominant (boar dating at a rescue centre would be the best way). I imagine he will be perfectly fine with other pigs once you find the right friend for him.
Or having him neutered and finding him a nice wife.
Click to expand...


Ooh, excellent ideas!

A rescue would be perfect - it's probably too early to introduce a friend to Burt Macklin (my pets have full, human names, lol!) right now, but my heart goes out to all the poor little guys who'll inevitably be dumped by Boxing Day, and I would have loved to have taken one

Thanks very much for the advice

x
 
*kate* said:
I adopted a Sow on Friday who is terrified of Humans. I haven't attempted to handle her much yet as I'm letting her settle in.

Already she isn't as jumpy but having Betty to "teach" her is helping her a lot.
Click to expand...


Oh bless her heart!

My wee guy is actually great with cuddles - I think maybe a staff member must have given him one-to-one time - but I'm not overdoing it.

Betty sounds like a good teacher - not exactly the same as piggies, but my two (female) rats have a really intricate education/discipline dynamic going on. It's fascinating to watch, and sometimes hilarious!

x
 
BurtsMum said:
Ooh, excellent ideas!

A rescue would be perfect - it's probably too early to introduce a friend to Burt Macklin (my pets have full, human names, lol!) right now, but my heart goes out to all the poor little guys who'll inevitably be dumped by Boxing Day, and I would have loved to have taken one

Thanks very much for the advice

x
Click to expand...

Possibly, but he may become more withdrawn by being alone. You’ll have to keep a close eye on him and see how he goes. A little time away from boisterous boys may help but depression and loneliness can set in.
 
Aw, poor little guy, thank goodness you’ve rescued him. It’s such a shame for all these piggies who don’t get a loving home. I expect there will be more after Christmas so sad. Whatever happens now he will be in a loving home, and will settle down soon, I’m sure. The right companion will be lovely for him too x
 
BurtsMum said:
Hello there

I used to breed and show guinea pigs in my teens, but I then lived in small flats in London after moving out of my mum and dad's, so had been pet-less for like 12 years

I'm a rat mother, and went into Pets at Home (the devil, I know) the other day to get them a new toy for Christmas.

While I was there, I saw a staff member take a piggie out of the enclosure, but there was no customer there to indicate he'd been sold.
I spoke to the staff member, and he said he was being removed and put in the back, as they wouldn't be able to sell him as he had 'issues', particularly with interacting with other piggies. He said he's a loner and very shy and overall a bit of a submissive, so he wasn't getting as much food due to bullying.

He wasn't even a 'reject' but still for sale, like the poor 'returns' pets they have, where customers buy a pet but take it back (usually because the novelty has worn off for their kids, etc).

I was horrified - god knows where he would go after being 'put in the back'.
I said I'd take him, as I have experience with piggies and would take good care of him.

As we all know, piggies need friends, but as he has these issues with others, I'm keeping him on his own for now, at least until he has some time to himself to heal.

He's obviously an indoor boy, and he's in my living room where I spend most of my day (work from home) - I have two rats, but they've now been moved to another part of the living room as they're manic and so would upset him if they're nearby. I don't have any predator animals.

He has a fully enclosed hidey hole in his cage, so he's been there since he came home yesterday - I popped some hay, a carrot and a bowl of very small amount of water in there (there's no bars in that part, so can't move his bottle there), and there's some poops this morning, so he's eaten, maybe drunk something, during the night.
I've kept all but fairy lights on in my living room, so it's dark - he also has a thin, large scarf covering the whole top and sides of the cage

I took him out last night to sit on my knee for a bit, with him covered with a towel, and he was nuzzling and burrowing into me - I think my body heat and heartbeat helped calm him.

So, does anyone here have experience with psychologically fragile piggies? Anxiety and general sadness with this guy

Any advice on how to help him would be greatly appreciated - I know Pets at Home are horrible, but I just couldn't leave him to their devices

Sorry for the essay!

Thanks all

(PS: eyes, ears, bum and coat all clear, and he's going to the vet this week, just to be sure)

x
Click to expand...

Hi

You may find these guides here helpful in understanding your boy and interacting with him in ways that he instinctively understands. I have found them very helpful with my own rescue adoptees, some of which come from very bad backgrounds.
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

These guides and more are also part of our new owners guide information bundle, in which we specifically address all the areas that we get the most questions and concerns about. You may find it very helpful in getting up to speed quickly on guinea pigs! You can access our full information collection on a wide range of topics via the guides shortcut on the top bar. A lot has changed in the guinea pig world in recent years, like it has with rats.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

In the longer term, adult gentle, laid back single boar or - if you have your little boy neutered - one or two sows would be best for company.
The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue or Merrypigs Guinea Pig Sanctuary in the Stoke-on-Trent area would be your closest good rescues that we can recommend and guarantee that you are in good hands.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Possibly, but he may become more withdrawn by being alone. You’ll have to keep a close eye on him and see how he goes. A little time away from boisterous boys may help but depression and loneliness can set in.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

Yeah - definitely closely monitoring him. I've moved his cage so he's still covered with the big scarf, but he can see me better, and he ventured out of his hidey hole last night! Had a big drink and a big feed, so I'm so relieved as I was panicking about dehydration when he was hiding.

Even gave a few chirrups! OMG, my heart at that!

A friend would be a good plan - boar dating mentioned above could be a toe in the water for him, and maybe ease him in with more mature, chilled piggies for a few minutes regularly

Thanks for the advice!

x
 
Bill & Ted said:
Aw, poor little guy, thank goodness you’ve rescued him. It’s such a shame for all these piggies who don’t get a loving home. I expect there will be more after Christmas so sad. Whatever happens now he will be in a loving home, and will settle down soon, I’m sure. The right companion will be lovely for him too x
Click to expand...

Broke my heart that he was a reject for being essentially complex needs/mental health problems
I'm bipolar, so I can relate, so us two loonies can help each other, lol

Pets at Home hand out animals like sweeties, especially this time of year, so rescue centres always have crazy busy Januarys, when kids have gotten bored by their piggie present. People should know better

I'm thinking boar dating once he's fully perky and active, just to ease him into socialising

Thanks for the advice!

x
 
Just so you know, you can’t ease them in gently to socialising. It has to be all or nothing. Once a piggy meets another piggy, they need to be left together until it is either clear that they will get on (and then they must remain together permamently) or it is clear that it has failed. They can’t do little and often as every time being introduced and separated is stressful and causes the bonding process to restart each time so they never fully bond.

With bonding sessions st rescue centres, often it is that you take your pig there and leave them for a few days. The centre try your pig with various other pigs until they get a match. You then bring both piggies home a few day’s later.
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

You may find these guides here helpful in understanding your boy and interacting with him in ways that he instinctively understands. I have found them very helpful with my own rescue adoptees, some of which come from very bad backgrounds.
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths And Facts

These guides and more are also part of our new owners guide information bundle, in which we specifically address all the areas that we get the most questions and concerns about. You may find it very helpful in getting up to speed quickly on guinea pigs! You can access our full information collection on a wide range of topics via the guides shortcut on the top bar. A lot has changed in the guinea pig world in recent years, like it has with rats.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

In the longer term, adult gentle, laid back single boar or - if you have your little boy neutered - one or two sows would be best for company.
The Potteries Guinea Pig Rescue or Merrypigs Guinea Pig Sanctuary in the Stoke-on-Trent area would be your closest good rescues that we can recommend and guarantee that you are in good hands.
Click to expand...



Oh wow, thank you so much for these! This is awesome

Yes, I think a rescued, matronly older lady piggy would be perfect for him, once I try him with brief sessions at dating centres.

Thank you so much for the links, these will help immensely

x
 
Piggies&buns said:
Just so you know, you can’t ease them in gently to socialising. It has to be all or nothing. Once a piggy meets another piggy, they need to be left together it is either clear that they will get on (and then they must remain together permamently) or it is clear that it has failed. They can’t do little and often as every time being introduced and separated is stressful and causes the bonding process to restart each time so they never fully bond.
Click to expand...


Oooh, that's important to learn - thanks very much for that

Alone time for now, then, then probably the snip and a rescued older, motherly figure, perhaps.

x
 
*kate* said:
Just to add, I really do think he would benefit from the right friend and that a date at a rescue would be ideal!:D
Click to expand...

Fab advice - I might give the rescue centres a ring in the new year and see if they have either an equally lonely baby, or maybe an older lady who can replace his poor breeding-machine real mum. Maybe even a (health checked) ex-piggy mill lady would be perfect, to give Burt a mum and her a baby she can finally keep

Thanks for the advice
x
 
BurtsMum said:
Fab advice - I might give the rescue centres a ring in the new year and see if they have either an equally lonely baby, or maybe an older lady who can replace his poor breeding-machine real mum. Maybe even a (health checked) ex-piggy mill lady would be perfect, to give Burt a mum and her a baby she can finally keep

Thanks for the advice
x
Click to expand...

Awww lovely! Elsie so needed a calm piggy friend and Betty is just that!
 
Oh poor Burt. I'm so glad that you decided to take him and give him a loving home. It's not his fault he has suffers from anxiety. My lovely late Mum had bipolar too so I know how hard it is to live with.
 
A new companion for him after Christmas will be so good for him x I’m sure there will be plenty of piggies for him to choose from, a new friend x
 
Just an update on Burt - it's been just over a month since I rescued him from the horrors of the Pets at Home back room, and he's come out of his shell a fair bit!

VERY food motivated, so right now it seems that lots of variety and interesting treats are working really well at keeping him entertained.

My rat daughters' shenanigans always draw him out of his hidey hole, especially when they squeak as they play fight - I think he thinks they're mini pigs, lol!

Taking it easy with cuddles, but he's becoming a bit more confident, so that's really reassuring.

Going to start looking into sourcing a friend for him, but it needs to be really carefully done given his issues, and I don't want to set him back, psychologically

Thanks again for all your help everyone

x
 
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