Introducing Prince Oreo!

[PrinceOreo]

I joined this forum on behalf of my daughter to learn more about her two pet piggies. They are both male and must be kept separated - unfortunately. However, we recently discovered that Oreo is deaf. Does anyone out there have a deaf guinea pig? He is very different from her other piggy in behavior and temperment - I want to learn how to keep him happy and secure with his apparent handycap.

Thanks,
Daisy

[Mommy Of One]

How did you discover he is deaf?
He is not like a dog, he will not respond to his name when called.
Explain how he is different? If for a fact he is deaf, there isn't much you can do, just give him lots of love and attention, and don't forget plenty of hay, veggies, and pellets.

[Toadies]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. If Oreo is really deaf, he may not going to be as adventurous as a hearing animal, but if he feels safe, he should be very interactive. His eyes, ears and nose still work. He may start if he doesn't see you coming, but that shouldn't be a problem. Since you have to keep them seperated, is a C&C cage an option? You could put grids between the two sides and they would still have company, but not be able to injure each other.

And I second Mommy's post.

[pigsforlife]

How come they have to be kept separate?

Many people separate their pigs, purely because they think they are fighting when really all they are doing is exhibiting normal dominance behaviours such as mounting, chasing, nipping etc etc.

I wouldnt be separating them unless blood was drawn. If blood was drawn, then I would question as to how big your cage is. 2 boys need a 10.5sq ft cage, any smaller and they will have trouble getting along.

[Laurenmae]

If your piggies fight when you introduce them, try bathing them together. Mine didn't fight, but they didn't seem to like each other until I bathed them together and now they are quite close. I didn't realize that the bathing might have been why they bonded until I read about that technique here. I figured they just passed their introductions, but now I bet the bathing helped a lot.

Does Oreo have a black head, white middle and black rear? I pig-sat for a friend's peruvian with that coloring and he was adorable. I am sorry to hear that he is deaf - I am really curious to know how you found this out. I think he should be fine as long as his eyes, nose and teeth are healthy.

[PrinceOreo]

Thank you, everyone, for responding! Oreo is MUCH more reserved, less active, and does not make any noises unless he is being held - unlike Cookie. Oreo does not eat ANY TREATS AT ALL other than a raisin now and then. He sticks to his food and hay - no matter how many times we have tried. Oh, yeah. He will eat a raw almond once in a while too. Cookie on the other hand is your "typical" piggie. He squeaks, whistles, begs, loves attention, eats treats of every kind and is extremely active.

Oreo was bought from a pet store, Cookie was not. BIG difference! Now I know what I didn't know then. Who knows what kind of neglect Oreo suffered. He was about six months old when we bought him about a year ago.

We suspected Oreo was either retarded, or something because he would startle even when we made plenty of noise coming in the room. It seemed he could see us, yet he did not really realize we were there. He is not dumb, or blind, so I decided to experiment with his ability to hear. We would sneak up behind him and clap. Cookie(who lives above him) jumped and ran into his house - Oreo did not even flinch let alone startle. When I make high pitch noises with my mouth, Cookie's ears twitch and he turns his head - Oreo's ears do not even budge. So, my conclusion is that he is deaf and maybe that is why he is so much more reserved and less social.

We keep them separated because it "appears" they are fighting. Cookie is far more aggressive in mounting - relentless actually - he even attempts to mount our pet rabbit that loves to run around with the piggies! When the rabbit gets tired of it, he runs back to his cage and hides! Anyway, I feel bad for Oreo. He will hold his own against Cookie, but usually runs away and hides in a box after about 10 minutes. When Cookie comes after him, he seems to eventually get fed up with it and it appears Oreo is attacking Cookie. We only allow them together during play time on a 6' x 9' rug - plenty of room for the two of them. Their cages are not big enough for two of them so I have not even considered putting them together in the cage when they don't appear to get along on a 6X9 rug! I guess I have never allowed them together long enough to find out if they are going to draw blood. That makes me a bit nervous.

I like the bathing suggestion. We will try that next time. I just bathed them this past week, so I will have to wait a bit for that experiment. Thank you for the link. I will look at that before their next bath time!

I just found this site and learned about the C&C cages, so I plan to see what we can come up with. They really enjoy their play time out on the rug, but the rug is getting soiled. I like the idea of a "playpen" for them that they can stay out in for longer periods of time. My daughter's room is small and she prefers they sleep in her room. So the C&C cage would have to serve as a daytime playground.

How do I put a picture of the piggies on here? I tried, but I think I may have accidentally posted an ad or something!

I look forward to hearing back - your suggestions are wonderful. Thanks for the input!

Daisy

[Prickle]

Welcome PrinceOreo!

I too used to have a deaf cavy who developed cataracts in her old age as well. She behaved the same as you discribed with your boy and upon realizing i took her to my vet who did some hearing tests and had a look.

Moonlight had a developmental problem (something grew wrong eardrum wise as a baby). She used to follow my 'stamping' as i walked. Later when she went blind i had to send her over the rainbow as she had had a long great life but i didn't think it fair that she couldn't hear let alone not see either.

I hope your boy copes well. Depending on what your after you could get him checked at your vet.

[PrinceOreo]

Thanks, Prickle....

Oreo seems fine other than the hearing thing. I have put the two male pigs together as suggested by another member - bath and all! I even made our own C&C cage that is large enough for the both of them. They are actually getting along okay. They still do not seem to like each other much, but they are not seriously fighting. Oreo holds his own even with his disability - he has no problem reading Cookie's body language!

[PrinceOreo]

Thank you so much for the info! Yes, Oreo is black-white-black. My daughter named him, then set out to find a piggy that fit the name she had chosen! I was amazed we found one.

I did give the boys a bath together after putting them together in a large pen in the living room. Cookie harrasses Oreo to no end, but they do not actually engage in serious fighting. There is occassional teeth chattering, nipping, mounting, and the strutting thing they do. Cookie challenges Oreo CONSTANTLY, but Oreo seems to hold his own. I really appreciate the info you posted. I followed the link and learned a lot! As a result, I have made a C&C cage and they seem to be doing alright.

I guess I still feel bad for Oreo, as Cookie seems to harass him most of the time. It has been three days since I made the pen in the living room, bathed them, and put them in their new shared cage. How long will it take for them to settle in and actually get along? Will Cookie ever stop harassing Oreo? Not that I expect any actual answers, I just wonder if Oreo is really happy.

[HowietheGreat]

Almonds should not be fed, and raisins only once in awhile if you must. Please check out Ly's nutrition thread. Are you feeding fresh veggies every day? It is a must. THe squabbling will occur until dominance is decided between the two. As long as there is no blood shed or "fur flying" they should be okay. Did you quarentine the two before placing them together? Have they had their first vet check ups yet? Also pigs and rabbits should never be placed together. A rabbit could very easily injure a pig by accident. If it accidently kicks or lands on the pig, an permanent injury could occur. Please do not place them together. Glad to hear you built a C&C cage, they really are the best.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

Sounds like the boys are acting "typical". In a couple weeks I would expect that they will settle down, and should become great friends with time!

As far as Oreo being deaf- sometimes I WISH my pigs were deaf so I could open the fridge without being harassed with squeeks! Sounds like he is doing just fine despite his hearing issue. Hope you can post pics soon, I would love to see your guys. (I'm not much help with technical know-how).

[PrinceOreo]

Howie the Great - Okay on the almonds. Cookie wouldn't eat them anyway, and Oreo only ate a bite. Why are they bad? We do feed fresh veggies everyday, but Oreo has never eaten any of them, only Cookie does. But now that they are together in the same cage so maybe Oreo will learn from Cookie? They have been in the same room in a split cage for the past 9 months, so I did not quarantine them before I placed them in the same cage. I only quarantined them when we first brought the second piggy home. C&C cages are the best!

[PrinceOreo]

Piggie Mama Kelly - Thanks for the encouragement. They do seem to be doing better each day. Cookie has finally stopped mounting Oreo every chance he gets. He still "guards" the food, water, and Oreo's Igloo entrance, but it seems that when Oreo is ready to come out to eat or drink, he will push past Cookie's guard. Sometimes Cookie will sulk! What a piggy!

I would love to post photos, I just haven't figured out how to do so yet. Anyone who can help me with that, please do!

[Toadies]

Cookie looks like a Nutter Butter cookie, my husband's favorite. I put two of everything in the cage at opposite ends. Cookie can only guard one water bottle, food dish, etc, at a time. One of my boys was quite a bit larger than the other and would hog the food too. I started to give them their leafy greens together but things like bell peppers, carrots, kale (only a little bit) and such that the fatso, Slick, had a tendency to steal, I send them to their own hidey house to get the goodies. Now, when I say "hidey house", they scurry to their own hideout and stick their heads back out to make sure that they get their share. I'm glad the Oreo is starting to hold his own. Once he and Cookie settle the boss issues, he may well become more extroverted. I appreciate the care and consideration that you give your boys. They are wonderful creatures.

[HowietheGreat]

THey are difficult for them to digest. All nuts should be avoided-that is why the "treat bars" are bad. How petstores get away with selling them is beyond me but typical of the "quality of care" they offer. With veggies, it sometimes takes introdcing the foods several times before they become interested. Some they may never like. My pigs hate zucchini and squash and turn there noses up at red delicious apples as a special treat, yet like Gala apples. Pickie little buggers. Keep introducing them and he may catch on when he sees his buddy-and competition eating them.

[rhonda_j1954]

Welcome Prince Oreo!
Sorry to hear about your piggie problems. Sorry to hear about your little deaf one. Poor little fella. But he can still have a safe and happy life. You seem to really carring, and hope you give this little piggie lots of love. Too bad the other little piggie picks on him.