Behavior Piggies not talking to each other

[Katie Bonner]

Apologies if this has already been posted, but I can't seem to find what I'm looking for.

I bought my two piggies home yesterday (21 November) and I'm not sure if they're still recovering from the stress but I'm a little worried they're not talking to each other.

Odysseus is the elder male. He's the last survivor of 4 abandoned pigs that my friend rescued whilst out on a dog walk. Of the 4 my friend rescued 2 didn't survive the trauma and one escaped and got caught by a fox only last week. After the fox my friend asked if I could take Ody. How could i refuse!!

I contacted a shelter and they let me adopt Adonis. He's about 8 weeks old and was instantly a cuddler!
Both Ody and Ady were introduced to each other on neutral territory and after a bit of wheeking and a little teeth chatter it seemed that Ody had taken the role of boss pig. However when I popped them in their new cage (which had been cleaned, disinfected etc.) Ady stayed upstairs whilst Ody got settled downstairs.
When I came in this morning the pair had swapped places, but they haven't spent any time together. Ady is huddled up in a corner downstairs. He is eating, but not in front of me. Ody seems a bit more settled and is eating his hay and pellets but hasn't been downstairs with Ady at all yet.
There is just silence from the cage and I don't know if this is normal or not?

Like I said, I may be worrying too soon. It's only day 2 since they've moved in together and they could just be recovering from all the trials they've been through so far.

Any thoughts?

 

[pigmommy89]

I think ignoring each other is good. At least they are not fighting.l

 

[miniver]

Agreed, it's a good sign. They have a lot of new things in their world, new home, new cage, new cage mate. It will take a while for them to adjust to all of this. Watch them closely to make sure it continues, and that they are both eating and otherwise healthy.

Also, congradulations on the additions to your home. I'm sure we would all love to see pigtures.

 

[Katie Bonner]

Thanks guys, that's made me feel much better!

I'm relieved they're not fighting, and I will certainly keep an eye on them over the weekend.
I've been spending a bit of time with them so they get used to my presence and I even heard the smallest of mutterings from them whilst I was reading Harry Potter out loud (thank goodness I live by myself and my neighbours were out; I felt quite mad haha!) I'm going to pop the rugby on so they can hear the match from the spare room

Of course! Pictures... here we go

The first picture is Adonis (Ady for short) and the second is Odysseus (or Ody)
The shelter didn't know what Ody looked like, so it was complete coincidence that Ady has the same colourings!

We're a family of blondes when you add me to the equation

 

[Guinepig]

They are so cute!

 

[janinehunt]

Hi Katie, welcome to the forum! Very cute pigs! Thanks for taking the poor little guys in. They will get used to each other in time and hopefully become friends. I agree that the fact that they're ignoring each other and not fighting is very good! Don't expect them to cuddle with each other. Lots of pigs don't.

I don't know how you're set up of course, but you could have their food all on one level so they would get together to eat, and also give them a couple of hideys on each level, so that they have the option to be together on one level, but each in their own hidey. You could even take out the ramp, so that they both live on the same level for now.

Piggies love grass, so if you have access to nice clean, untreated grass, you could give them a little pile, and probably they would come out and eat it together. Just don't overdo it, as it is better to accustom them to it gradually to avoid digestive upset. Good luck!

 

[Katie Bonner]

Thanks Janine, I think i'll see how this weekend goes and try the food and water on one level. Next time I'm at my dad's I'll clip the lawn and bring back a treat for them both

The last time I had guineas was when I was much younger, so a lot of my expectations are based on how my last two piggies behaved! (They were two brothers and were very close and cuddly with one another!) I'm quickly learning that pigs, like humans, are all different

 

[Rywen]

Oh my goodness they are adorable piggies! Congratulations, they just need time to get used to everything and each other. Talking to my piggies and hand feeding them veggies really helped them warm up to me faster. I live alone and my neighbors probably think I'm crazy as well, I talk to my piggies a lot.

 

[Katie Bonner]

**UPDATE**
I walked in about 30 minutes ago and both pigs were upstairs together
I changed food and water and we've had a good old time eating pepper and cucumber together to get to know one another.

Things seem good

 

[dani_starr]

Oh yay! I bet you were very excited to see that.

See, all that worry for nothing. I think we need to see a pigture of them together!

They are very cute, I love how they "match." Very pretty and handsome piggies.

 

[Katie Bonner]

Here we go: Ady and Ody getting on upstairs:


We've had a bit of a rumble and a wheek from Ody, but for the most part they're sharing the space, the food and the water.
Ady is a little character; when we were all eating cucumber earlier he kept stealing Ody's chunks! He'd take a nibble, Ody would steal it back and have a nibble, Ady would nick it again and so on until it was all finished. I can tell these guys are going to be a right little double-act!

Thank you all for your reassurance, it's helped me feel less nervous at this early stage
I know I can ask any question on here and won't get yelled at for being a "noob" - it's such a positive atmosphere!

 

[janinehunt]

What a couple of cuties! Looks like they're getting used to each other.

Guinea pigs are great entertainers. We have our girls in the living room, and they are so funny to watch interacting, stealing veggies etc. My piggies are big goosers, meaning they nose-poke each other in the butt a lot, to get her out of the way.

 

[aqh88]

It takes a few days for them to start making noise. Especially if you don't have an established guinea pig who is already comfortable in the house. My new ones have been here a week and they are finally starting to call out for food and rumble in the cage. Now if only Mazeru would eat something besides carrot. Apparently he did not have a good veggie selection in his previous home.

 

[PiggyG]

Such an adorable piggie, on my goodness!!!

I just got a friend for mine a week ago. The new one didn't really talk or come out much until about day 4. It also took them about 3 days to start showing dominant behavior. No rumblestrutting until yesterday at 6 days. It will happen, you just have to give them some time to adapt and get used to each other in a new space.

Although, my first pig won't shut up now, it's hilarious. She's so happy to have a friend!

 

[BlackCat]

So cute ... congrats on the new additions

 

[starrgazerr]

They are adorable and you seem like a lovely piggy parent!

 

[labeadel]

They are very cute! Glad they are getting along!