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Behavior 2 new guinea pigs, just wondering what's normal (shy, young or scared?)

snuffzandnibbz

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Cavy Gazer
Joined
Jan 29, 2015
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Joined
Jan 29, 2015
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Hi Everyone,

I just got 2 female guinea pigs, Snuffz and Nibbz, and they are both around 3-4 months old. I've had them for 2 weeks now and they were very skittish at first but have seemed to warm up to us. I've had many hamsters but never any guinea pigs before or have known anyone who has had them so I was wondering if this is normal or something to be worried about. They have a 2 X 4 cage, plenty of toys , hay, pellets, 2 houses and get veggies 3 times a day. While I'm away at work during the day, I monitor their activity from a camera, so I can see what's going on. Here are some things I've noticed:

1) Is it normal if a guinea pig doesn't drink a lot of water? I've only seen Nibbz drink from the water bottle 1 time. I sprinkle extra water on their food to make sure they're getting water. Snuffz on the other hand, drinks water all night (or plays with the bottle) to the point where I have had to remove the bottle and replace it with a bowl during the night to get sleep!

2) Is it normal for their appetite to die down? The first 3-4 days and nights we had them, they were ravenous and ate SO much but now they have slowed down and I don't see them eating so much hay. I have changed hay brands and they do eat it, but just not as much. I'm not sure if it's because they don't like the new stuff or are just slowing down now. Or if it's just something young pigs do?

3) Is it normal for guinea pigs to sleep all day? They rarely even come out for food (maybe once every 3-4 hours) and are otherwise very skittish and run back inside their house right away. They are situated in a quiet place with no one home during the day and I've seen them scramble at the sound of a car passing by the street. Are they sleeping during the day and awake at night because they're getting used to things or they're scared? When I turn off the lights, Snuffz comes out right away and just sits and lounges around. Once the light is on, she scrambles back in her house.

4) They only stay in 1 area of their cage, where the house is. I've tried to move pellets away from the hay to get them to come out and move around more. They have an open area with toys and a place to lounge but they don't seem to care for it. We've also tried floor time with them but they literally just freeze up. They let us pet them and hold them but I want to see them more active and like they're happy, not just frozen up!

Just wondering if these things are just normal behavior for young pigs and I want to make sure I'm doing the best I can to keep them happy. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
 

joys_cavies

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Cavy Slave
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They're still settling in. It can take awhile. Only be concerned if they stop eating and drinking entirely
 

pinky

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All normal. They're prey animals so it will probably take them some time to settle down and realize they're not in danger.
 
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