Single Guinea Pig

Crystal.L

Crystal.L

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Feb 18, 2021
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Hello, I was in the same position as leahtyler1959 yesterday. I now have a single male guinea pig that's about a month old. He started eating as soon as I got him in his cage, he's very skittish which is understandable but, I haven't heard him squeak one bit. Is that normal for a single baby guinea pig?
 
He is very young and in a new environment, so being quiet and hiding a lot is perfectly normal behaviour. It is imperative that he gets the company of another pig as soon as possible. He is far too young to be kept alone (though no piggy should ever be kept alone).
Are there any rescues you can contact with regards to rehoming another boar?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Yes that’s normal - some piggies are more vocal than others anyway.
Are you looking to get him a friend?
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Yes, my friend's son has a male guinea pig, his other one passed at 7 years old. I'll be getting his guinea pig to pair with the baby one, my friend's son is going off to college next year and decided that he wouldn't be able to care for his guinea pig anymore.
 
I'm not sure if the guinea pig has drunk any water throughout the night. Should I switch the water bottle for a water bowl instead?
 
Crystal.L said:
I'm not sure if the guinea pig has drunk any water throughout the night. Should I switch the water bottle for a water bowl instead?
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The amount of water they drink can vary massively, and they don't always appear to drink a lot. Make sure you regularly check that the water bottle is working. There is no harm in offering a small dish too if you think they are not using the bottle.
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
The amount of water they drink can vary massively, and they don't always appear to drink a lot. Make sure you regularly check that the water bottle is working. There is no harm in offering a small dish too if you think they are not using the bottle.
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Okay thanks, I'll observe from time to time to see if the amount of water starts to empty or not.
 
Please don’t worry, he will come out and explore, find the bottle a d drink when he needs. You can add a bowl as well if you wish but the amount an individual piggy drinks varies widely.
Cover part of the cage with a blanket/sheet as that will help him feel more secure.
 
Crystal.L said:
Okay thanks, I'll observe from time to time to see if the amount of water starts to empty or not.
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You may not see a noticeable change in the water level. I barely notice anything with my two.
Best thing is to keep an eye for wet patches in the cage - if he’s peeing you know he’s getting enough fluids
 
Piggies&buns said:
You may not see a noticeable change in the water level. I barely notice anything with my two.
Best thing is to keep an eye for wet patches in the cage - if he’s peeing you know he’s getting enough fluids
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Okay, I do have about 1/3 of his cage covered. It covers his litter box, his hay feeder, and water bottle. The water bottle is on top of the little box and I did see a wet spot in the bedding but I wasn't sure if it was the water that leaked out of the water bottle or his fluids.
 
Crystal.L said:
Okay, I do have about 1/3 of his cage covered. It covers his litter box, his hay feeder, and water bottle. The water bottle is on top of the little box and I did see a wet spot in the bedding but I wasn't sure if it was the water that leaked out of the water bottle or his fluids.
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Is the water bottle at ground level and easily accessible for him?

There will likely be more wet patches, away from the bottle for you to look out for
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
Is the water bottle at ground level and easily accessible for him?

There will likely be more wet patches, away from the bottle for you to look out for
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That's what I was worried about, I kind of expected him to be bigger when I set up the cage, I tried to do it as quickly as possible to get him out of the box pet stores give you. I'll move the water bottle down and look for more wet patches.
 
I went to go feed him and add new water into his water bottle when I saw that he had drunk about 1/3 of the water bottle. Yay!:yahoo:
 
I have a couple of questions. I went to spend sometime with him and check if anything was out of the ordinary with him.
1. He had black little specks that kind of looked like dirt on his back, it wasn't there yesterday. I was able to get those little specks off with my fingers.
2. He had little crusts around one of his eyes, I read that it was a sign or URI but he's eating and pooping just fine and I was able to get rid of the crusts too.
3. Two of his nails are black at the very tip, he's mostly white so all of his feet are white but starting from the very tip of the quick to the end of the nail was black. The other nail was black at the very end of the nail so the quick was still pink. He does have brown and a black/brown mix on his face partially but I'm not sure if it affects the nail.
4. Is it normal for the fur around his genitals to be yellow? It was never a problem with my rabbits (yes I am keeping the two species away from each other, they have separate rooms in the house).
Thank you!
 
1 and 2 - please see a vet for those. Black specks on the back end can sometimes be an indication of mites - black specks being the egg casings. Crusts around the eyes - it depends what you mean exactly here, but crusty eyes can sometimes be associated with a URI but it isn’t the predominant sign, flakiness or white scaling around the eyes would potentially be associated with ringworm. As a pet shop piggy, then ringworm or mites would unfortunately not be unexpected.
3 - it’s normal for them to have different coloured nails
4 - as a white piggy, yellow urine staining wouldn’t be uncommon. Keep fur short and ensure bedding is always kept clean and dry.
 
Piggies&buns said:
1 and 2 - please see a vet for those. Black specks on the back end can sometimes be an indication of mites - black specks being the egg casings. Crusts around the eyes - it depends what you mean exactly here, but crusty eyes can sometimes be associated with a URI but it isn’t the predominant sign, flakiness or white scaling around the eyes would potentially be associated with ringworm. As a pet shop piggy, then ringworm or mites would unfortunately not be unexpected.
3 - it’s normal for them to have different coloured nails
4 - as a white piggy, yellow urine staining wouldn’t be uncommon. Keep fur short and ensure bedding is always kept clean and dry.
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Okay, thank you!
 
I’m not sure what the specs on his coat are? The scabs near his eye sounds worrying, it could be caused by ringworm, lice/mites or skin problem. I think the best thing you can do is get him checked out at an experienced piggie vet. he seems to have one or two issues there, it would give you piece of mind too 😀
 
In truth it is useful to have any new pig checked over by a vet. It is also a good opportunity to phone around a few close by and ask prices for a consult... heaven forbid you ever have an emergency in the future but if you do shopping around for a suitable vet will be the last thing on your mind!

I know the US is kinda big compared to the UK but the Guinea Lynx website has some international recommendations if any of these are useful?
Guinea Lynx :: GL's Vet List If he has mites or lice these are easy enough to treat with the correct medication - fungal issues are trickier but also treatable so don't sweat it too much. All these can be passed on to another piggy though, and anywhere in the world it's cheaper to treat one than two!
 
He took a couple of pieces of grass off of my hand earlier. He tried to bite my thumb too.😆 He did start squeaking when I put him in a little exercise pic this morning. However, whenever I pick him up and massage his back, he starts squeaking. Does that mean he's in pain? The black little specks were near the similar area.
 
Also, I just read that guinea pigs hardly ever blink. Literally every time I look at Buffalo (the guinea pig) for about 30 seconds, he blinks! Is there anything causing him to blink? Maybe it's just because I'm staring at him? His eye will twitch for a second or two then he'll blink, about 1 minute or two later (if I'm still staring at him) he'll do it again!
 
They don't usually blink but don't stare at him for too long as you look like a predator and it can freak them out!
None of mine have ever liked being stroked or patted on the rump - I suppose it feels too much like being dominance mounted by another guinea pig and I suspect they can't see what's going on back there. My long haired girl has eyes so deeply embedded in fluff I'm surprised she can see anything at all sometimes!
Good luck at the vets ☺
 
So far, good things from the vet! Buffalo doesn't look like he has ringworm or mites, he's not scratching at himself too much(I've only seem him scratch himself once since I've got him) and he doesn't have any bald spots or crusty fur. The vet said the black specs were probably from me accidentally smashing his poops when I was petting(/smashing) down his bedding to even it out. Buffalo probably sleeps in the area where I smashed the poops (by accident) and that's probably where the black specs were coming from. They could've been dark brown specs for all I know.
 
That must have been very reassuring to hear! Thanks for keeping us updated ☺
My pigs have washable fleece snuggle-tunnels that they are very fond of. Here's a pic:
triangle peg in a triangle hole.webp
This is Louise (loving the heat pad underneath) taking her turn, but when my boar gets in you can't get him out! The plus side of this is that it is very easy to tip the poops out straight into the bin and turn the triangle so if there is a wet patch it is no longer underneath them and it dries out. Bonus!
 
Free Ranger said:
That must have been very reassuring to hear! Thanks for keeping us updated ☺
My pigs have washable fleece snuggle-tunnels that they are very fond of. Here's a pic:
View attachment 172222
This is Louise (loving the heat pad underneath) taking her turn, but when my boar gets in you can't get him out! The plus side of this is that it is very easy to tip the poops out straight into the bin and turn the triangle so if there is a wet patch it is no longer underneath them and it dries out. Bonus!
Click to expand...
AWESOME! I need to get one of those!:))
 
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