Very scared new Piggy :)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Pickles

Pickles

Joined
Feb 10, 2011
Messages
62
Reaction score
2
Points
0
Hey everyone! I just got my new piggy today after the quarantine period imposed by the rescue (he spent it alone in his cage and seems to be a lonely piggy).
His name is Dr Pepper (he is all black) and he is only 4 months old but already bigger and heavier than my other pigs (1 year and 6 months old). He is not obese but is it normal that he is so big? He is twice the size of my 1 year old pig!! He is also VEEEEERY heavy! I'm wondering if he might just be a chubby one? lol!

Anyways, the three boys settled together and they seem to be just fine the three of them. No fighting, just bottom sniffing, mounting and running around the cage.

However, Pepper is VEEEEEEEEEERY shy and super scared of my hand. I'm wondering whether he has been used to being handled or not and it seems not! He was from an unwanted pregnancy and the owners gave the babies to the rescue very quickly so he lived with his brothers and then spent one month by himself. I bet he was not handled a lot! Any advice would help to get the trust of this shy (however big!) little guy!

I'm gonna give him the time to settle down and I hope he'll be fine. Anyways, just wanted to share my excitement and also my surprise to get such a big boy! Welcome Dr Pepper :D ! (I will post pictures when I have the chance, but now I think the camera would scare him to death XD)
 
my piggies were shy when i first got them as they were used to a hutch cage where you approach from the front not a c & c where you approch from above but a week later they are now lots better and even come out for veggies.

Sorry not much help really but I'm sure someone will be along soon.
 
liquorice allsorts said:
very glad someone else has three boys together!
Click to expand...

my piggies i just lost lived as a 3 when we got them smokey was 7 months, Dylan 4 months and Basil 6 weeks and we never had a problem they were a proper gang. So i too am glad to see other people with groups of 3 boars.
 
dylansmummy said:
my piggies i just lost lived as a 3 when we got them smokey was 7 months, Dylan 4 months and Basil 6 weeks and we never had a problem they were a proper gang. So i too am glad to see other people with groups of 3 boars.
Click to expand...

well that is good news, as i have read, and been advised that three could be a real problem, ours are 4 yrs, and two at 8 weeks, they are not brothers, but came as a pair, i feel much better now thankyou!
 
Yeah it's awesome to see people with 3 boys :D !
The poor fella is very scared but I managed to take some pics !
p1050133g.jpg


With his friends:
p1050130e.jpg


p1050131z.jpg


By himself:
p1050132o.jpg


:D :D :D
 
oh bless him! our babies were just like that when we first got them, but with patience, and cuddles they are so much better, they eat out of our hands now! your piggies are beautiful x
 
Hi there
I suggest you invest in a fleece bag in a dark colour (have a look on here as a number of members make them and sell them to raise funds for rescues). Whenever you handle your piggie make it as difficult as possible for him to run from y ou to start with, so box him in before picking him up. Avoid chasing him all over the cage. Pop him in the fleece bag and put that on your knee next to something fairly firm (arm of chair, your leg etc) and put your hand into the bag. To start with just let him get used to the smell of you, and reward him after five mins with a treat. Repeat over several days, and gradually, build up the period that your hand stays next to him. You can build in gentle stroking etc as you go. Eventually, he will realise that you don't mean him any harm and he will become more confident. He will start pushing his head out of the bag and will gradually be able to go onto your lap, first on the bag, and eventually, all by himself.

I did this with my (now) 7 month old boar who came from P@H as a friend for a bereaved piggy. He had presumably never been handled and it took several weeks of consistent handling as the above before he settled. He's now a chilled piggy although he does go back to the ladies in his cage when put on the floor in preference to staying with me lol!

Good luck!
 
Hi, I just got two piggies from a pet-store who hadn't been handled all their life, and this is what I did:

They were sooo scared of me at first. First of all, I gave them a couple days to settle into the routine. I didn't try to push anything on them.

Second, I started holding them. I'm sure a lot of you think that I jumped a couple of steps, but I've come to believe that if you ignore a piggie and very slowly get him/her used to you, it often doesn't work and your piggie just tries to ignore you for their whole life.

I needed to teach my girls that I was a prominant part of their lives and they couldn't ignore me. So, I've been picking them up three times a day, for ten minutes each time.

I have to chase my girls around the cage to grab them, but once I've got them I find that they completely relax and are very easy to hold. Don't be afraid that you're scaring your piggies, be confident and relaxed, and your pig will learn that you aren't a threat and you are a very important part of his life.

Once I started handling them regularly, they are completely relaxed and will not run into their hutches when they see me come in the room. They go about eating and playing even when I'm sitting right next to the cage!

They still run away when I try to pick them up, but I have found, from working in a petstore, that no matter how friendly guinea pigs are, they just don't like being picked up from their cages. Once you have them though, they are totally relaxed in your arms.

Well, hope this helps! Maybe this is a little controversial, but it's what worked for me, so maybe it will help you. -c
 
Thanks for all the good tips! I'm trying to handle him as often as I can and he seems to warm up a bit. He is also extremely shy/scared with the others and seems to have trouble finding his place in the group. He is often by himself :( .
Could it be because he is used to be just by himself?

I hope he will warm up to his roommates. It's fun to watch because there is still a lot of running around/ bottom sniffing going on and sometimes very mild teeth chattering but absolutely no fighting. I love having the opportunity to observe such wonderful boys :D
 
If he is always used to being alone it may take him some time to be part of the group. As long as he is not fighting or being picked on I would not worry. He is still in a group and having the company of the others even if you may not see him interacting with them. You are doing all the right things. You may like to bath him along with another piggy to help them bond. I did that with my Sophie as she was always living alone and I think it really helped.
 
Soooo... Coming back here because there was a little fighting today. NOthing serious but impressive, with teeth chatering and rumbling around and growling :D. Anyways, I gave them a bath together and now it's okay but the new piggy still sits in his corner frightened and not interacting with the others.
He is just here and doesn't move much except when another comes near him (then he picks a fight).
I wonder if it's gonna calm down and what I can do so they can get along. If they can't, I will have to give away the new piggy because I don't have the space to get a separate cage....
I'm quite sad about that though...
 
Oh no that must be difficult deciding what to do.
I'd give it a few days,, or at least until (hopefully there won't be) any major fighting where blood is shed.
I've got 3 boys, there about 3 months old & I got them at different times over the course of three weeks. There was a bit of 'deciding who's boss' each time I introduced another one,, but they all learnt there place & now they're the best of friends. Freddy (the last one I brought home) sat alone a lot for about a week,, but now he's the star of the party! :)
It just takes time for the adjustment.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top