2 steps forward one step back 😭

hannahj

hannahj

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
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Location
Peterborough
Hi guys,
I got my boys at the beginning of November and the bonding seems to be going well, they will now sit on me and eat peppers bit they don't like the picking up part of getting them out (I have ordered a c&c for them which I hope will help), however I feel a bit like it's 2 steps forward and one step backl - for example the two videos linked below show one of my little boys giving me kisses and being adorable but then this morning he is all wary and jumpy again? My other boy loves a chin scratch but again he will let me scratch under his chin and then rub his nose etc one minute and the next can't get away fast enough!

Is this normal in the bonding process? And is there anything I should be doing? I do make sure I talk to them when I'm around them and try hard not to loom over their cage so they know I'm not a predator and I have done the face washing actions which did help when I first got them.

AAny advice much appreciated!
Bruno 1
Bruno 2

Thanks, Hannah
 
This is totally normal behaviour and not likely just due to you bonding with them but more of a natural thing to them as prey animals. Mine are like this all the time. Don’t see this as a step back, they will become more calm around you etc, but they will never lose their instincts that they may be eaten at any minute.

To add, it is normal for them to not like being picked up, not many of them do like it. I see it is probably hard to get a carrier in to a cage like yours so using a snuggle sack or something to herd them into can help. Being in a c&c does make that easier with it being open topped to get a carrier or box into it though.
 
Piggies&buns said:
This is totally normal behaviour and not likely just due to you bonding with them but more of a natural thing to them as prey animals. Mine are like this all the time. Don’t see this as a step back, they will become more calm around you etc, but they will never lose their instincts that they may be eaten at any minute.

To add, it is normal for them to not like being picked up, not many of them do like it. I see it is probably hard to get a carrier in to a cage like yours so using a snuggle sack or something to herd them into can help. Being in a c&c does make that easier with it being open topped to get a carrier or box into it though.
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Thank you! Yes, it seems to be the part where I have to bring them through the side door they hate, I do have a cuddle cup but you have to carefully squish the sides to get it through so I'm a bit wary of using it. I'm very excited about their c&c cage arriving - I've bought so much stuff for them they may need and extension! 🤣
 
I don't think many guinea pigs ever learn to like the 'being picked up' part. It will be nothing you're doing wrong. Of my current herd, my two adult sows - one aged 3, one aged 4 - have both been with me since about 8-10 weeks old, they are both calm and confident, happy to have a cuddle and, in the summer, will trot over and jump into a cuddle cup when I come to collect them from their grass run to go back indoors. They live indoors in a C&C palace, they will take food from my hands either in the cage or their floor-time playpen. They know my voice and squeak when they hear it. All they have ever known from me is love and care and nice food and hay.

They still skitter away instinctively at the moment I try to actually pick them up. Even when I talk to them as I approach the cage, etc etc etc. They're just wired to run away as prey animals. Once I've got them in my arms though and am holding them against me they are perfectly happy and content. My gorgeous mellow abyssinian girl has been known to relax so much on my lap that she almost goes to sleep, she goes all floppy and dozy. Still runs away like a loon when I try and catch her though!

Good luck with the C&C, they are brilliant. I could spend a fortune extending and adding to mine if I had the room.
 
LunaPig72 said:
I don't think many guinea pigs ever learn to like the 'being picked up' part. It will be nothing you're doing wrong. Of my current herd, my two adult sows - one aged 3, one aged 4 - have both been with me since about 8-10 weeks old, they are both calm and confident, happy to have a cuddle and, in the summer, will trot over and jump into a cuddle cup when I come to collect them from their grass run to go back indoors. They live indoors in a C&C palace, they will take food from my hands either in the cage or their floor-time playpen. They know my voice and squeak when they hear it. All they have ever known from me is love and care and nice food and hay.

They still skitter away instinctively at the moment I try to actually pick them up. Even when I talk to them as I approach the cage, etc etc etc. They're just wired to run away as prey animals. Once I've got them in my arms though and am holding them against me they are perfectly happy and content. My gorgeous mellow abyssinian girl has been known to relax so much on my lap that she almost goes to sleep, she goes all floppy and dozy. Still runs away like a loon when I try and catch her though!

Good luck with the C&C, they are brilliant. I could spend a fortune extending and adding to mine if I had the room.
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Thank you! That's made me feel a lot better! I will carry on, I'm actually debating not taking them out until the c&c comes apart from for cleaning as I've been poorly the last couple of days so not picked them up but have fed and fussed in the cage and they seem much more chilled. So I may build that up and go back to cuddle cup training when we have a better cage. 😊
 
hannahj said:
Hi guys,
I got my boys at the beginning of November and the bonding seems to be going well, they will now sit on me and eat peppers bit they don't like the picking up part of getting them out (I have ordered a c&c for them which I hope will help), however I feel a bit like it's 2 steps forward and one step backl - for example the two videos linked below show one of my little boys giving me kisses and being adorable but then this morning he is all wary and jumpy again? My other boy loves a chin scratch but again he will let me scratch under his chin and then rub his nose etc one minute and the next can't get away fast enough!

Is this normal in the bonding process? And is there anything I should be doing? I do make sure I talk to them when I'm around them and try hard not to loom over their cage so they know I'm not a predator and I have done the face washing actions which did help when I first got them.

AAny advice much appreciated!
Bruno 1
Bruno 2

Thanks, Hannah
Click to expand...
So cute. That's going really well given you've not had them long. Isn't it the wide open that they're nervous about approaching rather than you? Background noise would affect how brave my piggies would be in that situation.
 
They look lovely & inquisitive piggies! They will love you for sure when you bring them food! Only 1 of my 6 piggies is tame enough to pick up straight away, the others dart off in all directions but when they are settled on my lap they purr & snuggle in. Completely natural & normal to display wild instincts sometimes to protect themselves 👍
 
Black piggies said:
So cute. That's going really well given you've not had them long. Isn't it the wide open that they're nervous about approaching rather than you? Background noise would affect how brave my piggies would be in that situation.
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I'm not sure what it is as somedays Bruno will practically climb out the door to get to me and others he just hides and watches me warily. He was skittish this morning but I've been home poorly today and he's come round now. In fact stevie has come round as well and he usually takes longer. Stevie is the laid back bigger boy and Bruno is a little scamp who runs around and pesters Stevie to play 🤣
 
Darcey15 said:
They look lovely & inquisitive piggies! They will love you for sure when you bring them food! Only 1 of my 6 piggies is tame enough to pick up straight away, the others dart off in all directions but when they are settled on my lap they purr & snuggle in. Completely natural & normal to display wild instincts sometimes to protect themselves 👍
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Thank you - Bruno particularly (little ginger boy) is VERY nosy and chats alot. Stevie is more laid back and likes to just chill, he only makes a lot of noise if he hears the veg bag rustling! 🤣
They were popcorning like absolute nutters yesterday morning too which I'm told is good! 🥰
 
hannahj said:
Thank you - Bruno particularly (little ginger boy) is VERY nosy and chats alot. Stevie is more laid back and likes to just chill, he only makes a lot of noise if he hears the veg bag rustling! 🤣
They were popcorning like absolute nutters yesterday morning too which I'm told is good! 🥰
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It certainly is....all good 👍
 
Lovely little piggies... some pigs never get used to being picked up... I have a fleece house which I used with my previous girls, Pippin & Gladys, this was used every day at dinner time to pop them into their floor run.. They knew when I said dinner time to get in.. and then it would be bed time same again - it really was a game changer.. it also made it easy for me to get them into it then pick them out of it..
I now have 3 piggies (sadly I lost Pippin & Gladys).. Winny ( who was bonded with Pippin until she passed at xmas) and Daisy and Brownie ( Betty ) who Winny was recently bonded with.. Winny will run the hills if i put my hand in the cage now... which is a shame as she used to get into the house no problem,,,they have not been together for long so lots of dominance behaviour going on.. sorry I am proper rambling!
 
They never seem to get used to being picked up.
However, I’ll say to just keep investing your time into them and they will bond with you lovely. I have one particularly soft pig who would sit on my lap and have cuddles all day if I let him. I remember early last year, the boys were having floortime and there was a noise which spooked them and the soft pig darted passed all the shaded & safe areas and the hideys and ran straight into my lap. It told me that I was his safe place. If you put the time and care in, they will bond with you and show you they love you in their own individual way. Have patience!
My rescue pig who I’ve had six months went from being so afraid of people and noises and movement to being so trustful and comfortable and happy. It’s only in the past few weeks that he’s become comfortable entirely. The last thing he needed to overcome was when a person sneezed or coughed. Since it’s a sudden noise, he’d be scared of it. First he’d hide and not come back out, then he’d progress to hiding but then emerging more or less straight away, now he isn’t fazed at all. It took six months to get here, to not be afraid or apprehensive to live, but all of it was worth it. Just give it time, trust can be so hard to build but it’ll come. Floor time helped me a lot with this as it meant he began to trust and be familiar with all his surroundings :)
 
I have a brown one called Bruno :) had my two since May and they still don’t like being picked up, it would be an endless chase if they didn’t corner themselves or go in a hidey
 
my boys will only let me near the cage without running and hiding if they hear the rustle of a bag of lettuce first even though one of my boys in particular loves cuddles so much he will squeak non stop when he's on my lap and has even fallen asleep on me a couple of times. don't take it personally it's just the piggie way of life everything is terrifying if it's swooping in like an eagle to carry you off to an unknown land so that it can... wait I know this place it's the sofa and ooh cuddles.
 
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