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Teddy Is Acting Strangely

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kaycdee

kaycdee

Junior Guinea Pig
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I am worried about my 8 month old boar Teddy. A couple of days ago when I gave him and Muffin their veggies, Teddy just looked into the bowl and then started tearing around the cage whilst Muffin sat by the bowl as usual and chomped away. Normally Teddy would find his favourite piece of corn and take it away to eat, coming back for the next piece when he was finished. Anyway, after running around the cage for a bit Teddy went into his hidey and didn't come out again all day! I didn't see him eating anything. Later that day when I gave them their evening veggies the same thing happened so this time I got a piece of veg and offered it to him while he was in his hidey. He took it straight away and chomped through it as if he was starving. But still he wouldn't come out of his hidey to find more food. Again this happened yesterday and today. If I give him food from my hand he will take it and eat it but he won't take anything from the bowl and neither will he come out of his hidey to eat hay and muesli.

Please help!
 
Please weigh him daily at the same to check on his actual food intake and if necessary, place a bowl with his veg and pellets straight in front of his hidey. Something may have spooked him.

If eating from the safety of his hidey is not working and there is a weight loss over 50g, I would have him checked by a vet.
 
Thanks Wiebke. Teddy is currently running around in the dining room with Muffin and all seems well :)
But I will keep an eye on him.
 
So the situation today is that Teddy will still not eat from his bowl, even if I put it at the entrance to his hidey. He will eat his veggies if I put them on the floor of the cage or on the wooden bridge but he won't go near the bowl. I have weighed him and he isn't losing weight. He is active but seems more nervous than usual. He us usually quite skittish anyway but seems more so since his behaviour changed recently.
 
Have you changed any cleaning products are anything like that recently?
 
Nothing I can think of. I've been using the same cage disinfectant I've always used. Bowls are washed in the normal washing-up liquid. I've been using Aubiose bedding for a couple of months with no problem.
 
I'm not sure. I was at work this evening so I left instructions for my son to put a little pile of veggies in the cage away from the bowl but he didn't watch him to see if he ate them. He isn't eating at them moment as he is just sitting in his hidey. There doesn't seem to be much activity going on at all :(.
 
I would get him checked out then. Does he have a friend who is likely to have eaten the veg?
 
Muffin usually just sits at the bowl and eats but if Teddy didn't eat the pile of veggies I'm sure Muffin would have polished them off! I'll see if I can get him booked in with the vet tomorrow morning. Thanks Helen.
 
Just thought I would give you an update on Teddy. He has an appointment at the vets tomorrow. He has been running around the dining room again with Muffin today and I noticed some unusual behaviour. Teddy has been trying to mount Muffin which is unusual for him as it is usually the other way round. He is now about seven months old so could he be challenging Muffin for his place as top pig? When it happens Muffin turns round and Teddy runs away into the corner and squeaks very quietly. I have also noticed that they have both been scratching a fair bit today. On the plus side Teddy has been eating more today :)
 
It could well be bonding issues then as he hits the hormones. The scratching may be due to mange mites, live or even fungal so it is good you are getting them checked out.
 
Over the last few months I have treated them twice with microneem and lice and easy shampoo from GG as they were scratching and Muffin had little grey bits in his hair. Hopefully the vet can sort it out once and for all.
 
Lice n Easy won't kill mange mites, it's designed for things like hay/static mites that feed from the hair shaft & mange (Sellnick) mites are under the skin. I would take both of them to the vets tomorrow, that way the vet can check your other pig if needs be. Please mention the scratching & grey bits to the vet & also the unusual behaviour & whimpering. If you weigh him daily at the same time too, that will highlight any weightloss. It could be a behaviour issue so I would have Teddy out for some extra laptime & see if he will eat more veggies & hay whilst on your lap. Ensure all hidies have 2 exits so he can escape from Muffin if he needs to. Good luck at the vets :)
 
Just back from the vets. Teddy was given an anti-inflammatory injection just in case there were any pain issues with him. I have never heard him squeak so loudly as when that needle went in :blink:. She has also given him some baytril as he had VERY slight crusting on one eye and his nose. But she agreed that it could be a psychological thing with him, especially as he is a nervous little pig anyway. What should I be giving him as a probiotic whilst he is on baytril?
As for the mite/lice problem; the vet said she could see no evidence of this so I will just keep a close eye on things.
 
You can buy probiotics from a vet or pets ar home.Give them an hour after the baytril
 
Muffin is mounting Teddy, then Teddy runs away with a squeak? Does Teddy appear to be afraid of Muffin?

Not long before my pair of adolescent boars were separated, this is the exact same behaviour they had. Caramel was bullying Doughnut. Caramel would be mounting Doughnut the whole time while Doughnut tried to get away, squeaking. Doughnut hid the whole time, just like Teddy, because he was terrified of Caramel. I found wounds on Doughnut's back, so I knew why he was squeaking when being mounted, and it escalated into a full blown battle so they were immediately separated with a small dustpan.

Doughnut also had a small crust by his eye around when Caramel started bullying him. The crust went away, but sadly the bullying did not.

Check Teddy for wounds on his back. If there are wounds they may have to be separated, I'm sorry, but the adolescent period is around 4-8 months, and boars tend to challenge eachother for top piggy sometime during this time. Any wounds could also be causing him to itch.
 
It's Teddy who has started mounting Muffin. I think he is challenging him for top pig but hasn't quite got the courage to see it through! So when he mounts Muffin, Muffin turns round as is if to say 'get off me!' and Teddy runs away and sits in the corner. This doesn't happen a lot. I had two boars who used to fight and I had to separate them in the end but hopefully it won't come to that this time.
 
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