Piggie belly dancing/hip swaying

[SuperC]

So I saw my Penelope doing something odd this morning. She was in the hay kitchen, munching on some meadow hay and she then stopped, held her front totally still but then started swaying JUST her back hips side to side like she was hula dancing or belly dancing. Just rhythmic (& not super fast) side to side movement. She then backed up to her “poo corner” and did it again so I figured she was maybe a tad backed up. She was hip swaying for probably 45 seconds?

But then she hopped out of her pan and sat on her sleeping pad and did it again- swaying for 45 seconds or so without making any sounds, any rumbles or anything- just hula hip movements. She backed up again and started the hip away again. (This was just a few minutes ago)

Is this just constipation? Usually when she need some help, she drinks a bit of water, does some high speed rodeo running laps around her cage and then goes off to the potty box, but I’ve never seen swaying or anything like it. I don’t think it’s rumble-strutting and she didn’t seem scared or anything (& there was no noises with the sway), but I’ve never seen that movement in the year we’ve had her. Google doesn’t help much beyond saying it’s rumblestrutting but I know what that looks like.

She looks and acts healthy, as of yesterday her pee and poo were normal (it’s early AM here so I don’t know what today output looks like) and the only change from her normal routine was yesterday she was HUNGRY (we had heater issues for 1 night and so it was 12* colder in her bedroom than normal so I think she burned extra calories that night keeping warm) but she was eating all day yesterday and ate tons of hay (meadow and oat), carrot and some banana (usual Daily amounts she gets) but she also ate probably 2 tablespoons of her dried kibble food (and she usually ignores the kibbles and only eats 2 tablespoons in 2 weeks). Maybe it’s constipation?

Anyone else see this “standing still hula hip sway” movement before?

 

[Piggies&buns]

It does sound like rumblestrutting. Was her cagemate nearby?
If you are sure it wasn’t rumblestrutting and think there may be something else going on, potentially medical, then seeing a vet would be a good idea

Piggies don’t get constipation - if they aren’t pooping at all then it’s because their food intake has dropped too low and emergency measures need to be taken.
If a piggy is not physically able to pass poops then this is a medical situation that needs a vet check, not constipation.

Ensure you don’t feed carrot and fruit daily, they are too high in sugar and should only be given as a very small amount for an occasional treat only.

I note you say she doesn’t eat much of her kibble kibble/nuggets/pellets but make sure she is not give access to them constantly. One tablespoon per day is enough and then remove the bowl and not give any more until the next day.

 

[Wiebke]

So I saw my Penelope doing something odd this morning. She was in the hay kitchen, munching on some meadow hay and she then stopped, held her front totally still but then started swaying JUST her back hips side to side like she was hula dancing or belly dancing. Just rhythmic (& not super fast) side to side movement. She then backed up to her “poo corner” and did it again so I figured she was maybe a tad backed up. She was hip swaying for probably 45 seconds?

But then she hopped out of her pan and sat on her sleeping pad and did it again- swaying for 45 seconds or so without making any sounds, any rumbles or anything- just hula hip movements. She backed up again and started the hip away again. (This was just a few minutes ago)

Is this just constipation? Usually when she need some help, she drinks a bit of water, does some high speed rodeo running laps around her cage and then goes off to the potty box, but I’ve never seen swaying or anything like it. I don’t think it’s rumble-strutting and she didn’t seem scared or anything (& there was no noises with the sway), but I’ve never seen that movement in the year we’ve had her. Google doesn’t help much beyond saying it’s rumblestrutting but I know what that looks like.

She looks and acts healthy, as of yesterday her pee and poo were normal (it’s early AM here so I don’t know what today output looks like) and the only change from her normal routine was yesterday she was HUNGRY (we had heater issues for 1 night and so it was 12* colder in her bedroom than normal so I think she burned extra calories that night keeping warm) but she was eating all day yesterday and ate tons of hay (meadow and oat), carrot and some banana (usual Daily amounts she gets) but she also ate probably 2 tablespoons of her dried kibble food (and she usually ignores the kibbles and only eats 2 tablespoons in 2 weeks). Maybe it’s constipation?

Anyone else see this “standing still hula hip sway” movement before?

Hi

The behaviour sounds like rumblestrutting and is a mild dominance behaviour that you can see in sows either during two weeks' bonding phase, when a sow is coming into a stronger season or if she has a strong hormone spike from ovarian cysts.
Without the rumbling, it could express some irritation or temporary discomfort; in this case see a vet if problems manifest more clearly and sustainably.

One-off occasions without video back-up are very difficult for us to judge just from your description and through the filter of your own perception.

More in-depth information here:
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours (see entry rumblestrutting)

 

[SuperC]

It does sound like rumblestrutting. Was her cagemate nearby?
If you are sure it wasn’t rumblestrutting and think there may be something else going on, potentially medical, then seeing a vet would be a good idea

Piggies don’t get constipation - if they aren’t pooping at all then it’s because their food intake has dropped too low and emergency measures need to be taken.
If a piggy is not physically able to pass poops then this is a medical situation that needs a vet check, not constipation.

Ensure you don’t feed carrot and fruit daily, they are too high in sugar and should only be given as a very small amount for an occasional treat only.

I note you say she doesn’t eat much of her kibble kibble/nuggets/pellets but make sure she is not give access to them constantly. One tablespoon per day is enough and then remove the bowl and not give any more until the next day.

She doesn’t have a cage mate (I know… I wish we did have a second one, but it was a hard sell to my husband to get even 1 piggie and he won’t go for 2) so that’s why I question the rumblestrutting (will a single female do that? We used to have a single male when I was a kid and he would do it all the time but I’ve never seen our current girl do it).

I’ve been watching her since I saw it and she’s not done it again and has continued to much her hay and stands on her hind legs, squeaks and begs for extra oat hay each time we walk by (she loves the oat bits & is always looking for extras) so her personality seems normal.

She really shows no interest normally in her pellets/kibble so we have always left it in there for her to “free feed” off of it since she pays it nearly no attention. We use a 2 tablespoon scoop to put it in her little kibble bowl and usually it sits there untouched (or maybe a nibble or 2 gone) and at the end of the week I throw it out, and give her fresh stuff but she mostly ignores it, (and almost all of it gets thrown out every week) so it was just surprising to me that she actually ate it yesterday since she usually pretends it doesn’t exist. She prefers to munch on her hay all day and her kibbles are ignored- she normally eats maybe a teaspoon a week of them or less.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes she will still show dominance behaviours, she will transfer her behaviours onto you.
Please do try to get a second piggy though. No amount of human contact is enough for them.

It’s good she doesn’t eat a lot of it - hay is the most important part - but If she doesn’t eat it, then I personally would give her a few pieces every day and then remove them daily rather than leaving her with access to them for a whole week. If she truly doesn’t want it, then you could save yourself money and not buy them - they are afterall the expandable part of the diet!

 

[SuperC]

Hi

The behaviour sounds like rumblestrutting and is a mild dominance behaviour that you can see in sows either during two weeks' bonding phase, when a sow is coming into a stronger season or if she has a strong hormone spike from ovarian cysts.
Without the rumbling, it could express some irritation or temporary discomfort; in this case see a vet if problems manifest more clearly and sustainably.

One-off occasions without video back-up are very difficult for us to judge just from your description and through the filter of your own perception.

More in-depth information here:
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours (see entry rumblestrutting)

I’ll keep an eye out… she might be starting a heat cycle… she was very snuggly with me last night and wanted to cuddle and fall asleep, but she’s also been twitchy about sounds in the last few days (normally she doesn’t blink an eye at stuff) and the vet had told me that these can be signs of her going thru a heat (affectionate but more nervous than normal). But I’ll be watching her closely to see if she is acting up and differently than usual. Thanks!

 

[Wiebke]

I’ll keep an eye out… she might be starting a heat cycle… she was very snuggly with me last night and wanted to cuddle and fall asleep, but she’s also been twitchy about sounds in the last few days (normally she doesn’t blink an eye at stuff) and the vet had told me that these can be signs of her going thru a heat (affectionate but more nervous than normal). But I’ll be watching her closely to see if she is acting up and differently than usual. Thanks!

Is she an only piggy?

 

[SuperC]

Yes she will still show dominance behaviours, she will transfer her behaviours onto you.
Please do try to get a second piggy though. No amount of human contact is enough for them.

It’s good she doesn’t eat a lot of it - hay is the most important part - but If she doesn’t eat it, then I personally would give her a few pieces every day and then remove them daily rather than leaving her with access to them for a whole week. If she truly doesn’t want it, then you could save yourself money and not buy them - they are afterall the expandable part of the diet!

Yeah- I (& my daughter) have been working on my hubby since the first day we got her to get a second one but he’s not budging yet. We try hard to keep her “companioned” as much as we can, she is in a pen in my hubbys home office and she spends her days a few feet away from him and they spend all day talking to each other .I am a SAHM and between the 2 of us, she gets held, petted, loved on at least once or twice and hour all day. Then when his work day is over, she gets transferred to the “night cage” in my daughters room where the 2 of them play and snuggle until bed time. She’s never away from one of us for more than an hour (at dinner time) so we’ve tried to do our best to nurture her in her “singleness”… but I wish we had another!

I’ve contemplated not getting any more pellets/kibble… we only buy the Oxbow Organic Select (or garden select) and that stuff is expensive and I throw 90% of it away at cage cleaning so I might just discontinue using it. She really just doesn’t care much about it

 

[SuperC]

Is she an only piggy?

Yes… sadly. I wrote about it in my other replies, but my hubby is standing firm on the one pig only rule (it was a slick talk to even get one) so for now she is a single lady….. but I am going to keep trying to get a friend for her.

 

[Wiebke]

Yes… sadly. I wrote about it in my other replies, but my hubby is standing firm on the one pig only rule (it was a slick talk to even get one) so for now she is a single lady….. but I am going to keep trying to get a friend for her.

We are all doing this for free in our free time aside from our day job, private life and our own guinea pigs, so we never get to read everything on a lively forum like this; especially when our real life is busy and demanding.

 

[Swissgreys]

Yes… sadly. I wrote about it in my other replies, but my hubby is standing firm on the one pig only rule (it was a slick talk to even get one) so for now she is a single lady….. but I am going to keep trying to get a friend for her.

It is fantastic you are trying to get a friend for her.
Sadly no amount of human playing and companionship can replace having a friend of her own species.
Honestly 2 piggies are not much more work than 1, and they are herd animals whose nature really requires them to have companionship - keeping her as a single in the long term is depriving her of a vital and enriching part of her life, and the opportunity to form a bond with someone else who speaks the same language.

Maybe try explaining to your husband that her welfare needs are not being met by keeping her a single piggy and look into rescues nearby?
It doesn't need to be another baby piggy - there are plenty of wonderful piggies out there who would love a good home.