need advice! gus wont come out of his hide house

[witthoeftfamily]

we are first time guinea pig owners. we got gus a little over a week ago and had him in a regular pet store cage that had a small lofted second level where his food was. he didnt have a hide house in that cage but he seemed content hanging out under the lofted part. he would come out from there when i would go up to the cage and he would start jumping around. we just put him in his new c&c cage yesterday and seemed to love it. he was squeaking and popcorning around. we also put a hide house in the new cage since it was so big we thought he might like to go in there. at first he didnt seem to really notice it, but all today he hasnt come out of his hide house even when i come up to the cage. is this normal? should i take the hide house away? or does he need more toys so he comes out and plays? i am just concerned because in his smaller cage he would come out and jump around and let me pet him and now he is not doing anyof that. i just feel like we took a huge step backward in our progress. any advice and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated!! thank you so much!!

[bpatters]

Does he come out to eat? Or will he eat if you put food in front of his hidey?

If he was playing and isn't now, I'd think illness more than shyness. Do his eyes and nose look normal? Is he drinking? pooping? peeing?

I'd weigh him daily for a while and see if he's losing weight. And if you think he's ill, I'd get him to a good vet. Where did you get him?

[witthoeftfamily]

the only thing i can think of is that we changed from "regular" bedding to fleece, but yeah he comes out and eats. if i leave him alone for a while and come back in he's usually on the second level eating, but when he sees me, he runs right back into his hidey. i did get him to come out to eat a treat and then he went right back in. he is peeing and pooping normally.

[kourt1313]

Shelby does this to me too and I've had him for 3 weeks. I'll come in my room and he'll be out and playing and once he sees me would go hide. If everything else is normal then I'd say he's okay. You can coax him a little by removing the hidey when you come in the room (mine is a puzzle type hidey so I just lift the roof off) and this should encourage him to interact with you. When I do this and start talking to Shelby and playing with him a bit he will liven up and come out to play. Be sure you are handling him enough too so he gets used to you.

[witthoeftfamily]

Thanks so much that makes me feel so much better!!