Guinea Pig Blues

Question
Hello and Happy New Year!

I have been on this website before with a problem and found it really helpful so I have decided to come back.

I am inexperienced with Guinea Pigs, this is my first time living with them. I have three baby boars and they had to be separated because they wouldn't stop fighting.

In an attempt to stop the one on his own becoming lonely, I put them together in the spare bathroom (spacious and floor is easy to clean) so they can socialise. Sometimes they have a spat, sometimes they're okay.

However, I have now noticed that one of them has a poorly paw. It looks as though he's only walking on three paws and when I touched it to see if it was tender or cut, he squealed.

I can't see any cuts or bruises but he's drawing it into his body so that it doesn't touch anything. However, i'm not 100% sure that this is caused by one of the other pigs.

I hold each one at least twice a day as we haven't been together long and I want them to know that i'm not going to harm them. But, I struggle to get them back in their cages without them trying to leap out of my hands. I worry that i'll hurt them if I hold them too tight but if I don't they jump and on a couple of occasions, all three of them have landed heavily or caught the cage bars. How can I handle them in a way that wont allow them to do this?

I also have a problem handling one of them period. He hates being picked up. I try to hold him in a way where one hand is supporting his front paws/torso and the other hand is cupped under his bum and back legs. This prevents him from moving too much but it doesn't stop him completely and even if I wear something with a high front, his scrabbles pull the top down and I have some rather nasty scratches on my chest and boobs. I know this isn't his fault but can I improve on what I am doing to help him and myself? Some of the scratches look bad enough that my friends think my cat has been taking a swipe at me (I have a some battle scars from a cat that did not want to go to the vets).

All three of them are beautiful and I am happy that my cats don't mind their presence. Except Diamond gets jealous when I am holding one of them and will try and get mt attention by headbutting me.

Thanks for any advice!

Cali

Answer
Hello,
I am sorry I have taken so long to reply and Happy New Year to you and your guineas too. It would be best for your guineas to have eachothers company so as long as they are not too aggressive to eachother and do not fight regularly then it is best to leave them together.

How is your guineas paw? Is there anything on the floor of your bathroom that he may have got his foot caught in? As long as he is still getting around easily, he hasn't stopped eating or drinking and still looks happy then you don't need to worry immediately. You need to hold your guinea, preferably on the floor if you are afraid of dropping it and gently check the paw to see what has happened to it. I would suggest a visit to the vet if he isn't putting any weight on it or he seems in pain at all. You wouldn't want him weak as the other boars may become aggressive to him when they realise he is weaker.

Are you sure that the boar with the poorly leg hasn't hurt his leg by being caught on the bars. Dropping a guinea is something everyone will do unless we know how to hold them correctly. Do not let your guinea run up to your shoulder as it can result in some bad scratches and the guinea being hurt.
It is safer for both the guinea and you to hold him properly. As long as you don't sqeeze too tightly it is better to have squeezed the guinea a little rather then dropping him or letting his legs get caught on the cage.

It is good that you hold them alot as they should get used to your touch, talk to them gently (don't raise your voice) or sing to them so they know who it is that is there. Then gently place one hand under his belly and one under his bottom firmly and lift him to just over your belly button. Hold him sidewards with his head to one of your elbows to prevent him running up your top and talk and stroke him gently.
I hope this works and please let me know how you get on, hope this helped
Aleksandra