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MerryFriarTuck

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I wouldn't be that worried; I really don't think she needs to go to the vet ASAP as long as she's acting normally and drinking some! Reading the last post in this thread might make you feel better:https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/104833-How-much-should-they-drink . If you search "water drinking" here on the forum you'll find lots of threads about piggies drinking smaller amounts of water, and none of them looked to have ended in having anything going wrong.

In case it is something going on with the bottle, I would add a second one that's a different brand and/or size. To be safe you could add a water bowl temporarily, and for now I'd just give her nice wet veggies. If she's younger and smaller she probably naturally drinks less than a big adult piggy, and if she's been eating lots of lettuce that gives her a lot of water on top that. :)
 

MerryFriarTuck

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P.S. You're not putting any kind vitamin stuff in her water, right? Just checking because piggies will never want to drink that. Sometimes they don't like very cold water either, and that turns them off, but it depends on the piggy.
 

bpatters

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i never had a pig, or even a herd of pigs, that drank anything like eight ounces of water a day. Some drink a lot, some don't, and some take it by spells. If you're worried that she's not getting enough water, just make sure the veggies are especially wet. And you can get her something like cucumber, but start with very small amounts and increase it very slowly so you don't run into any bloat problems.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Apologies for the wrong info and false alarm. We change our water bottles out so often I wasn't sure from personal experience, and trying to look it up from multiple sources I was getting normal water consumption everywhere from four to ten ounces, and that it can vary by the day. Looking at our water bottles now, they've only gone down 3 ounces for both of my boys since this morning. Thank you for correcting me!
 

petluv

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Thank you GPPapa, bpatters and MerrtFriarTuck! I have two bottles in there now since last night. The “no drip” and the regular. Neither has more than a half inch gone, but they are 32oz. I am going to look for a good hamster size bottle, with the smaller nozzle, to see if she might prefer that. I guess the ounce or so might be in the bottom of the normal range, but I’m glad it can be normal. She does drink even less now with the lettuce. I never thought about feeding it with water on it. That might help too. Between pellets, hay and lettuce she is getting a lot to eat. I think I’m hypersensitive too because I’m waiting to see if she’s preggers or not. That is always the trouble in rescuing a girl piggy from Petco adoptions. Had I gone with the shelter this wouldn’t be an issue.
 

petluv

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Looked at the veggie nutrition chart in the nutrition section, now I see why everyone makes a big deal of the bell peppers. I had no idea they had that much vitamin c. I would very much love it if my piggy would eat them at all. She just won’t. Suggestions?
 

petluv

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She has started digging in her litter a lot and chewing on her hidey (pigloo). She has straw toys to chew on and I use paper bedding so it shouldn’t be causing any skin irritation or anything. She isn’t chewing on herself luckily. I cleaned her cage completely on day 5 so it’s fresh too. I put her in her playpen and she will just stay in hiding. She does still run cage laps when she thinks I’m not watching, so she does get some exercise. Maybe this is all normal adjustment behaviors, but I’m of course nervous with every little thing.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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Sounds like completely normal piggy behavior to me! :)

Both of my boys like to root around in their paper bedding and find tasty bits of hay, etc. Just like actual pigs--- they are guinea "pigs" afterall! lol Friar Tuck will push his bedding around into a nice cozy bed to sleep in. It's partly why I use carefresh type paper bedding; they enjoy doing those things with it. We spot clean it everyday and add extra fresh bedding as needed.

Friar Tuck used to chew on his plastic hidey a lot. We got him some wood block chews, and now he chews on them instead! He loves to nibble them and roll/ toss them around. Pet stores sell all sorts of fruit flavored colored wood toys. You can get parrot toys and take the woodblocks off of them, too.

She's just still adjusting to her play pen floor time. Some piggies are always nervous about it, others adore it.
 

petluv

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Sounds like completely normal piggy behavior to me! :)

Both of my boys like to root around in their paper bedding and find tasty bits of hay, etc. Just like actual pigs--- they are guinea "pigs" afterall! lol Friar Tuck will push his bedding around into a nice cozy bed to sleep in. It's partly why I use carefresh type paper bedding; they enjoy doing those things with it. We spot clean it everyday and add extra fresh bedding as needed.

Friar Tuck used to chew on his plastic hidey a lot. We got him some wood block chews, and now he chews on them instead! He loves to nibble them and roll/ toss them around. Pet stores sell all sorts of fruit flavored colored wood toys. You can get parrot toys and take the woodblocks off of them, too.

She's just still adjusting to her play pen floor time. Some piggies are always nervous about it, others adore it.

Thank you much for this reassurance.:)

Ive been reading these forums and realize I have a problem. I’m going to have to make a huge and difficult choice. My piggy is showing signs of needing another piggy for comfort and reassurance. My husband absolutely won’t allow more than one piggy, the extra responsibilities and costs are too much for him.

Im thinking I’m going to have to rehome her for her own health and well being. If I choose this route, i wouldn't even even know how to go about it. I’ve never had to do it. My previous single piggy was male and just as fine as could be living on his own. It’s so very different with her. She many signs of high and continued stress and I dont want her to suffer. She’s no longer squeaking today. She’s eating alright but not as well as my old piggies did. She just shakes in fear when I try to just touch her. Of course I don’t want her just to have any home, she would need to definitely have a piggy friend waiting and a good caregiver too. Otherwise she might as well stay with me as I take good care of her. I just don’t want to see her suffer anymore. I’m so torn on which road to take. I know for certain I will never get another piggy until my husband changes his mind on having multiples. It’s too risky as every piggy is different. I can understand him too though, two vet bills are way harder than one. I am unable to work right now. Can someone please explain the rehoming process to me? I haven’t decided for certain but I need to understand it thoroughly. I wouldn’t even know how to find someone in my area, and I’m NOT taking her back to Petco. That is the opposite of what I’d want for her. I’m just in tears and so confused. I want to make the right choice for her but am not even certain this would help her. Again, it’s so heartbreaking the amount of anxiety and fear she has. She hasn’t talked to me today. Something needs to change for her I just don’t know for sure what that would be other than finding her a good multipiggy home.

Any help you can give me would be stupendous!
 
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MerryFriarTuck

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The only advice I can give is:

Be absolutely sure another piggy isn't an option. I totally understand if it's not, but I don't think having a second piggy costs quite *that* much more than one.

Don't make a rash decision either way... Remember you've only had her about a week. Piggies take time to adjust. It might be good to give her more down time and few days off from getting picked up and held, etc. Some people have luck with giving piggies something they can cuddle with to help.

Also remember if you do adopt again, there are the rare rescue piggies out there that really are loners and have to be an only pig.
 

ItsaZoo

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My opinion is to give her more time to adjust to you and your home. She’s young and probably wasn’t handled much. Guinea pigs are naturally fearful and it takes time for them to trust us.

I understand that most recommend pairs of guinea pigs, but that isn’t for everyone. I have a single pig, she didn’t have a buddy when I adopted her, and she is active, healthy, social and I have seen no signs of loneliness. Her cage is up off the floor in a high-traffic area with a view of the kitchen. I’m retired and home a lot so we interact throughout the day. And we have a small dog so the guinea pig keeps an eye on him to see if he’s getting treats, then she wheeks in case we forget about her.

Do you have hiding places so she feels safe? I know I’ve mentioned this on other forums, but the stacking bins from Dollar Tree make great hideys when you flip them over. Mine pulls the bin around with her so she can hide while she moves around the cage eating.

Continue to lure her out with food, and see if you can get her to take food from your hand. Also, try getting her a stuffed toy to snuggle by. Choose one without plastic eyes and nose, and take off any ribbons that she may chew on. Mine has a stuffed bunny that she snuggles with.
 

MerryFriarTuck

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I couldn't agree more, [MENTION=17564]Kelsie[/MENTION] and [MENTION=42766]ItsaZoo[/MENTION]! Also, my Friar Tuck was an only piggy many months before I got Robin Hood. He was always happy and content. He's shy and I didn't overly handle him; I just hand fed him veggies at least once a day , gave him toys and treats, and talked softly to him, and occasionally played him music ( I think he truly does have a soft spot for calm violin music... ;) ) All of it I still do, now just with Robin Hood too! :)
 

MerryFriarTuck

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I couldn't agree more, [MENTION=17564]Kelsie[/MENTION] and [MENTION=42766]ItsaZoo[/MENTION]! Also, my Friar Tuck was an only piggy many months before I got Robin Hood. He was always happy and content. He's shy and I didn't overly handle him; I just hand fed him veggies at least once a day , gave him toys and treats, and talked softly to him, and occasionally played him music ( I think he truly does have a soft spot for calm violin music... ;) ) All of it I still do, now just with Robin Hood too! :)
 

MerryFriarTuck

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( Sorry for the double post, I'm not sure how that happened )
 

MerryFriarTuck

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@MerryFriarTuck I just love that your piggies enjoy the violin music. I often play classical music for my pigs. They seem to really enjoy Vivaldi. Who knew piggies have such sophisticated tastes!

That's so neat yours do, too! Friar Tuck really likes celtic violin music, as long as it's not too high energy. Robin Hood is probably more indifferent, but Friar Tuck comes right out and lays down closer to the music source, and stretches out to relax :) I'll have to try Vivaldi for them sometime!
 

petluv

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Thank you all so much for your encouragement! I just really want what’s best for her, whatever that may be. I’m going to keep giving her some more time, stop with trying to touch her. She did start perking up again yesterday afternoon. After I had left her alone all morning. She started talking to me and running around her cage like crazy again. She’s eating very well again today. I think what Kelsie said might be somewhat true here. That I’m trying too hard and too fast and Abby can sense my anxiety, making HER more anxious. Probably, as many of you mentioned, it’s best to just back off and let her adjust in her way and time and see how she does then. Reevaluate in a couple of months, so long as her health doesn’t decline, she is probably alright trying to adjust to being and only piggy.
 

ItsaZoo

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If she's eating well, wheeking, and running around her cage, that's a really good sign that she's feeling happy. And if she has a favorite veggie, I would feed that to her by hand through the cage while talking to her. Eventually she'll associate you and the sound of your voice with her favorite food, but right now she's still getting adjusted to her new surroundings.

Also, guinea pigs can get frightened by simple things like the vacuum cleaner or pulling down window shades or turning on a ceiling fan or dozens of other things. Mine scared herself one time by doing a popcorn jump inside one of her plastic hideys. The hidey flipped over and scared her so bad she sat in the back corner of her cage for 3 hours. Over the next few days she just darted from place to place with big scared eyes, and finally she came around again. I wouldn't have known what happened to her but my husband saw her popcorn. So if she hides or seems scared for a short time, it could be something she saw or heard.

You're both still learning about each other so just take it one day at the time and keep us posted on your progress.
 

petluv

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My baby girl is starting to put on weight, in the lower abdomen. I don’t know if it’s cause she’s still relatively young and growing some because of the age and more nutritious diet, or if she might be preggers! It’s getting to be close to the time where she could be starting to show, especially if things happened a while before we got her. According to my most conservative calculations (she mated the day before we got her and being two weeks late for delivery) we will know for certain by March 1st. I’m going to have to start weighing her, though with as much as she’s still squirmy and determined to attempt piggy suicide whenever I take her out, I’m not sure how that’s going to work. Suggestions?
 
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