alerz
Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2007
- Posts
- 116
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2007
- Messages
- 116
It has been several months since I've posted on the forums (I've been quite busy with school and my pigs), but I'm back now hoping for some help discerning what may be wrong with my guinea pig, Dudley.
About two days ago, after dinner time, I opened up the entrance/exit to the pigs' cage (routine) so that they could get some floor time. Both pigs quickly left the cage (which is normal) and about an hour later, I noticed them back in their cage (also normal, to eat on and off). Here is where the weird behavior began: I noticed about a half hour later that both pigs were still in the cage, just lying down. My other guinea pig, Babyman, follows Dudley wherever he goes, so if Dudley goes in the cage, so too does Babyman. From that point on, I noticed a change in Dudley's behavior. He now kind of slinks around the cage, very cautious of his surroundings, kind of like he doesn't know where he is and like he can't see. He usually tries to avoid confrontations with Babyman, who is generally dominant over Dudley, but I notice him walking right towards Babyman. I also noticed the morning after this first observation that almost no pellets were eaten (Dudley is a big pellet eater), so I moved the bowl near where he lies down most often, and sure enough, a few hours later, the bowl was slowly emptying. I'm 99.999% sure it is not a leg injury because when it's breakfast/dinner time, he runs to his hidey with whatever veggies he wants all to himself. Another strange thing he is now doing is SCREAMING at the top of his lungs when we whistle for food time (we've conditioned them to know when it's breakfast/dinner time by whistling and/or ringing a bell before feeding). Since I've had Dudley, I've noticed that he has trouble vocalizing his wheeks, possibly from the UTI he had when I first got him, so this new screaming is very noticeable. I'm wondering whether it is related to him not knowing where he is and also not eating as much pellets and hay as he normally does in between vegetable feedings.
Summary:
1) Walking around cage very cautiously
2) Allowing my boyfriend and myself to pet him (he normally runs away once he sees "the hands of death")
3) Not darting from the cage immediately when the gate is open
4) Not begging to come out of the cage at all
5) Came on very suddenly
6) No visible signs of trauma
I would really appreciate everyone's opinion on this. Sadly, I value all of your opinions about health issues more than my vet's, which I've discussed in previous posts. I would feel better going to the vet with an idea of what might be wrong so I could discuss it with him.
Thanks so much.
About two days ago, after dinner time, I opened up the entrance/exit to the pigs' cage (routine) so that they could get some floor time. Both pigs quickly left the cage (which is normal) and about an hour later, I noticed them back in their cage (also normal, to eat on and off). Here is where the weird behavior began: I noticed about a half hour later that both pigs were still in the cage, just lying down. My other guinea pig, Babyman, follows Dudley wherever he goes, so if Dudley goes in the cage, so too does Babyman. From that point on, I noticed a change in Dudley's behavior. He now kind of slinks around the cage, very cautious of his surroundings, kind of like he doesn't know where he is and like he can't see. He usually tries to avoid confrontations with Babyman, who is generally dominant over Dudley, but I notice him walking right towards Babyman. I also noticed the morning after this first observation that almost no pellets were eaten (Dudley is a big pellet eater), so I moved the bowl near where he lies down most often, and sure enough, a few hours later, the bowl was slowly emptying. I'm 99.999% sure it is not a leg injury because when it's breakfast/dinner time, he runs to his hidey with whatever veggies he wants all to himself. Another strange thing he is now doing is SCREAMING at the top of his lungs when we whistle for food time (we've conditioned them to know when it's breakfast/dinner time by whistling and/or ringing a bell before feeding). Since I've had Dudley, I've noticed that he has trouble vocalizing his wheeks, possibly from the UTI he had when I first got him, so this new screaming is very noticeable. I'm wondering whether it is related to him not knowing where he is and also not eating as much pellets and hay as he normally does in between vegetable feedings.
Summary:
1) Walking around cage very cautiously
2) Allowing my boyfriend and myself to pet him (he normally runs away once he sees "the hands of death")
3) Not darting from the cage immediately when the gate is open
4) Not begging to come out of the cage at all
5) Came on very suddenly
6) No visible signs of trauma
I would really appreciate everyone's opinion on this. Sadly, I value all of your opinions about health issues more than my vet's, which I've discussed in previous posts. I would feel better going to the vet with an idea of what might be wrong so I could discuss it with him.
Thanks so much.
