Concern for my guinea pig

Question
I have a new piggie. he is a male, rex breed, he is 8 weeks old and ive had him for 2 weeks now (his name is Bobby). his mobility is absolutely fine but he appears to have discomfort when i stroke his back end. his squeels get higher pitched, as if hes in pain, if i brush the fur the wrong way he jumps and squeels, again like he is in pain. i tried to have a feel of both of his hips and he really squeels and pulls away as if it causes him great discomfort. i am a bit stumped and dont really know whats wrong.

he is an inside pig with another male friend, who he gets along with great, he jumps and plays and has no problems there but i do notice his chatter in the cage is a lot lower pitched than his chatter when im stroking him, im not sure if thats something to worry about, but im obviously very worried that he seems to be in pain and discomfort when i stroke him and try to examine his hips.

i would appreciate any advice you could give me.
many thanks
Emily -x-

Answer
I think I know exactly what's wrong. I raise Teddy's, which are the American equivalent of the Rex. Their hair grows from the back to the front which is why you should ALWAYS stroke him from his bum to his head, not from the head backwards.

Although it is not necessarily painful it is extremely irritating to the animal when you stroke his hair backwards. Think of how you would like to have someone put their hand in your hair at the back of your neck and run it through over the top of your head to your forhead. Basically that's what you're doing to Bobby.

He's squealing because he cannot speak and tell you he doesn't like that AT ALL. There's nothing wrong with his hips that you need to be examining them. The high pitched squeal is his way of hollering STOP IT, IT DON'T LIKE THAT!

He's very young to start brushing, but if you want to get him used to the brush use a very soft one. Don't use a stiff brisle brush. Start by running the back of the brush over him very slowly. Once he gets used to that touch you can turn the brush over and stroke his hair very softly. He has to learn that the brush is not an instrument of torture.

When you hold him just gently scratch the top of his head with one finger. If you want to stroke his hair do it slowly and gently from his bottom to his head. Doing it backwards is like trying to stroke a cat backwards. We all know what will come of that. Bobby is desperately trying to tell you what he likes and doesn't like. Failure to listen to him will result in a bad bite.

He's still a baby. He's learning about you just like you're learning about him. Go slow and be gentle. He has to learn to trust you and the way to achieve that is to be a source of comfort for him, not irritation.

You also must remember that these are what we call 'flight animals.' When danger comes they run. Predators will attack from the rear so they have a built in warning system that tells them to jump or run when touched from behind. All guinea pigs will do that, they're trying to protect themselves. Babies can't fight back so they do what all babies do......... they scream for help.

I know you didn't mean to hurt him or irritate him. This is a learning process for both of you. Soon he will recognize you as a safe and comfortable zone and learn to love being held. I would love to see pictures of Bobby. Please send some.