New Piggie Owner Needs Help

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NavajoChikondi

NavajoChikondi

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum and I just got my first little piggie a week ago. His new cagemate is arriving in a few days.:yahoo:
I'm quite unsure about a few things and I hope, some of you can help me out...
When I first brought him home, he was so scared and stressed and would purr at every little noise he heard. I was very concerned about his health because he was not eating or drinking. I soon found out, that he loved hearing people talk, but not on the radio. So I've been sitting in his room or by his cage, reading to him. He would be so relaxed after a few minutes, even eating while I was sitting beside him was not a problem anymore.
I've started to only give him veggies out of my hand, so he starts associating me with something positive. Hay is available at all times and I just started putting his pellets into a little ball that he has to roll over to get them out - he doesn't know what to do with just yet - :hmm:but I wanted to encourage him to play a little.
I tried lap time with him on Day 2, but after that he wouldn't eat for 6 hours, so I decided to give him more time.. But he also isn't interested in his cage AT ALL.. Once I try to change it up a little in there, he isn't checking anything out, he is only confused and stressed out. The only time I see him not just laying around and showing a little interest in me and his surroundings is at veggie-time. He doesn't come very close and also has a specific place where he takes the veggies off of me. This place is a little wooden tunnel that I put onto a plastic bottom filled with hay. He isn't squeaking for veggies and it also takes him some time to even recognize that I'm not a thread and actually bringing treads. He is also very picky .. :hmm:But other than that, he runs around (but only in the back of the cage, under the second level), checks everything out and is also looking directly at me and sniffing me, I guess?! :hmm:AND he makes those little cute noises while running and eating hay between coming to me and taking his veggies. He is alright with seeing me and he usually stays quite close but he always rips it out of my hand and takes a few steps back..
After all this rambling.. my questions are:
Should I start getting him out for lap time, into the play pen, even though he isn't interested anyways and just freaks out when my hand comes too close?
This little cute noise that he makes in between taking veggies, is this an expression of happiness? I checked videos on Youtube, but I can't make out if it's a happy talking or being annoyed or something like that. I also saw him peeing while doing the noise.. so is it a territorial behavior?
How can I help him be more comfortable in his cage, so that he explores a little more and maybe even goes up the latter to the second level?

Thank you so much in advance! :luv:
 
Hi sounds like normal piggy behaviour. First thing is A LOT of piggies show no interest in toys such as balls. I would offer pellets in a bowl as that is probably what he is used to! I know it's not as fun but at least then you can be sure he knows how to get his food. It's probably better to wait 3 days before trying laptime as this seems to be a good amount of time for a piggy to start exploring and feeling confident in his cage. The little noises you're hearing are content. Think of it as your little guy talking to himself. It's not wheeking for joy but it's also not an unhappy sound either. Simply content and probably curious about his new surroundings. Remember Guinea pigs are prey animals and the urge to run whenever something unknown comes close is VERY strong. A lot of members here say using hideys or tunnels of some sort is the easiest and less stressful way to pick up their piggies. I personally have never done this and use my hands and just hold them to my chest. Even tame pigs who LOVE cuddles or being out for floor time can be trouble when it comes to the actual picking up! Just try to limit the chasing as much as possible as this causes them a lot of stress. Territorial behaviour is more butt dragging from what I've read and witnessed, I own two young boars one of whom has hit his teenage phase. The rumbling you hear is a normal noise for boys. It's usually used to show dominance to another pig. But I've noticed that my younger boy Milo, will only rumble when he feels threatened or is scared by something that isn't scary enough to make him still/silent. The rumbling can be hard to interpret as even single boars rumble and some even rumble when happy. When approaching your piggies cage always let him know you are coming. Predators do not announce their arrival and I found this helped when selling my first pig. It sounds silly but I would always be like "I'm coming in " or "it's just me" before actually entering the room the cage is in. As for being scared of your hand definitely keep trying to associate yourself with food! It'll take time but he'll get braver especially if you discover a favourite treat! Another little tip I find worked is to make sure they see your hand. Remember their eyes are on the side of their head, and they can't actually see directly in front of them that well. I would always hold my hand to one side so my piggy was aware it was there, then slowly try to stroke them. Hope this helped!
 
Keiko The Pig said:
Hi sounds like normal piggy behaviour. First thing is A LOT of piggies show no interest in toys such as balls. I would offer pellets in a bowl as that is probably what he is used to! I know it's not as fun but at least then you can be sure he knows how to get his food. It's probably better to wait 3 days before trying laptime as this seems to be a good amount of time for a piggy to start exploring and feeling confident in his cage. The little noises you're hearing are content. Think of it as your little guy talking to himself. It's not wheeking for joy but it's also not an unhappy sound either. Simply content and probably curious about his new surroundings. Remember Guinea pigs are prey animals and the urge to run whenever something unknown comes close is VERY strong. A lot of members here say using hideys or tunnels of some sort is the easiest and less stressful way to pick up their piggies. I personally have never done this and use my hands and just hold them to my chest. Even tame pigs who LOVE cuddles or being out for floor time can be trouble when it comes to the actual picking up! Just try to limit the chasing as much as possible as this causes them a lot of stress. Territorial behaviour is more butt dragging from what I've read and witnessed, I own two young boars one of whom has hit his teenage phase. The rumbling you hear is a normal noise for boys. It's usually used to show dominance to another pig. But I've noticed that my younger boy Milo, will only rumble when he feels threatened or is scared by something that isn't scary enough to make him still/silent. The rumbling can be hard to interpret as even single boars rumble and some even rumble when happy. When approaching your piggies cage always let him know you are coming. Predators do not announce their arrival and I found this helped when selling my first pig. It sounds silly but I would always be like "I'm coming in " or "it's just me" before actually entering the room the cage is in. As for being scared of your hand definitely keep trying to associate yourself with food! It'll take time but he'll get braver especially if you discover a favourite treat! Another little tip I find worked is to make sure they see your hand. Remember their eyes are on the side of their head, and they can't actually see directly in front of them that well. I would always hold my hand to one side so my piggy was aware it was there, then slowly try to stroke them. Hope this helped!
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Thank you so much for all the advice! :) It helps a lot, knowing that my boy is doing normal piggie things :wub: It's good to know, what the noises mean! I'm so confused sometimes.. :( Even though he doesn't say much at all during the day..
The little one has been with me for a week now and I always talk to him, even when I'm just walking through the room! I found out, that he is more comfortable when I leave the doors open and he can hear me in the kitchen and in my room and so on.
I had his pellets in a bowl for a week now and just changed it to the little ball, but I'll probably put out a bowl as well and do half, half. Maybe he will play with it eventually..
So, do you think, I should start lap time, as it has been 7 days now? Or rather wait until he got more comfortable?
His favorite treats are cucumber, watermelon, carrot and romain lettuce so far :)) But I've read that it's not good to give those to him everyday.. It's a little hard though, because he is veeeery picky.. he won't eat red or yellow pepper, other types of salads and he's not sure about celery.. herbs like basil and parsley are a no as well.. he's also not big on chewing wood but nibbles at the one plastic item all the time :hb:
When I'm not in the room, he is very quiet. Is that normal? I thought piggies get out and explore when nobodies watching?
 
It's possible he's just a shy piggy taking longer to settle in. Start lap time but if he's being statuesque then don't keep him out long. First few times with my boy he wouldn't move or squeak and I kept him under a blanket so he felt safe. Eventually I lengthened the time he was out based on the signs I was getting from him. He started sniffing, turning his head, and eventually crawling around making his little noises. This soon turned into full popcorning as soon as I put him out of his cage lol. He might come out more when he has a friend. It might make him more confident to not be the only piggy in a new place. Bonding and taming can take many weeks or even months as each pig is different
 
That sounds good! Thank you so much :) I'll try to get him out tomorrow and see how he's feeling.. I'll probably take him out with a tube or something, because he is really fast and skittish! I wanted to show him the way into his hidey this morning, after I rearranged it and he couldn't find the entrance and was getting a bit nervous while I was cleaning the cage.. but he jumped all over the place and I didn't manage to get a hold of him! He was eating hay shortly after and taking his veggies from me, so he was doing fine, I hope..
What are your thoughts on the veggies? Can I feed him cucumber daily? Just until I found more veggies he enjoys?
 
They can have one piece of cucumber per day is what I read. It's really high in water content so can cause diahrea if too much is given. My boys get lettuce each day and one slice of cucumber at night before bed as it's gotten quite hot here for the summer. Try dandelion greens, these are a hit with most piggies and they aren't a watery veg but do have a higher calcium content so also need to be fed in moderation
 
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