After seperation Guinea is scared of people (Possible TW bad handling)

[Hundo]

Hi all, I'm going to leave a trigger warning for bad, some may call it horrible handling out before posting but this is going to be a post more about my own mistake or mistakes with handling guinea pigs as a new owner. I say "my" because my girlfriend wasn't involved in any of it.

We ended up trying to get a trio without any prior knowledge of how Guinea's behave, thus causing a separation between the new and the old piggies. Our new Guinea Milo, now has a little baby youngster that he's bonded incredibly well now so he's not alone anymore and hopefully it stays that way. In a previous post I've made, I talked about the trio in trouble which has now ended and both pairs are doing great with a side-by-side cages so they have contact with each other.

After I made the post, there was numerous attempts at separation between the the trio to see what combination worked and who needed to be separated before things got worse. Brownie and Milo, Milo and Oreo, Oreo and Brownie. The separation was even a thing when we first bonded them because while Milo was new he slipped through the cage to be with the other two and got bombarded with dominance from both Brownie and Oreo then they began to get pretty "aggressive" with each other for top piggie. First separation was pretty rough as I was too concerned about the Brownie and Oreo so I grabbed them as quick and reckless as possible to stop before it escalated just to make sure the two don't hurt each other and let Milo breath for the night. Next day we tried again and it was so much calmer and they seemed to get along for at least a few weeks before slightly more aggressive nature came out. Lunging from Brownie and intense nipping, which was explained to me to be sort of a power move but yet it just seemed like to me, Oreo had some intent to hurt which was also spreading towards Brownie as well. Maybe I was also a factor when this "aggression" or these power moves would continue because I would pick him up afterwards and hold him sometime stroking his butt as a "taste of your own medicine" for a moment before putting him back in. Which then later found out to never punish guinea pigs as such and was an incredibly stupid move on my part. I ended up coming to the realization that punishment was my mistake in handling Oreo and I feel as if I may have scarred him. Call me a bad owner or say "I shouldn't own Guinea pigs or any animal", I tend to think the same but I'm wanting to try and make up for this and only to Oreo since he is the only Guinea that received my poor and unjustifiable vindictive behavior.

He used to be a very curious and outgoing Guinea but now he likes to hide a lot and runs as fast as he can whenever someone moves an inch and runs when I try to pick him up now and when I do, he sometimes screams to as we've been slowly working on getting him comfortable again. When he's put down to be with my girlfriend he'll calm down as we comfort him and give him treats veggies and we even got places for him to hide whenever we bring him out to get him comfy and have him feel safe when he's out, but for the most part he'll just stay put nosing around and be himself when he's not being held up in someone's arms. He definitely comes out to eat when we bring Oreo and Brownie veggies in the morning, and loves to drink water as he's always been like that. He's definitely himself though not as curious and outgoing as before and of course, he enjoys being with my girlfriend more than being around me, which is completely understandable.

I wanted to know how to fix my mistakes with Oreo and attempt to regain the trust back, if that's even possible in this scenario. My girlfriend says it'll just take time to get him back to himself but I have a feeling it'll take a little more than that. Sorry for the long read, again some may even go as far to call me an abuser but I do deeply apologize for my actions and to my girlfriend for my actions and just want to make it right to the little guy.

Found out Oreo's not a Teddy, he's a Sheltie (He doesn't have red whiskers, just my girlfriend's hair on his face):


The big boss Brownie:


Lastly, Big boy milo with little boy Pepper:

 

[Siikibam]

The majority of guinea pigs don’t like being picked up by hand, it cuts too close to their prey instinct. So Oreo running away when you go to do so is entirely normal. It shows he does trust you enough to tell you he doesn’t like something.

What many members have done here is to get their piggies used to walking into a box/carrier/hide and taking them out that way. As far as holding him, he may not like it so I wouldn’t do it - unless you are carrying out weekly health checks.

The other thing you can do is to make your presence known to him if you’re approaching or going to move. That way he doesn’t see you as a predator. Is he living next to Brownie? Some piggies do fare better living with another, but living as neighbours is the next best thing if this isn’t possible.

 

[Hundo]

The majority of guinea pigs don’t like being picked up by hand, it cuts too close to their prey instinct. So Oreo running away when you go to do so is entirely normal. It shows he does trust you enough to tell you he doesn’t like something.

I used to use a little cuddle sack to pick them up but once they realized that's what it was there for they kind of stopped using it. I'll try to stop picking them up by hand and get them in the cuddle sack before picking them up. Once Oreo's out he'll roam around especially if he has a hidie with him but without it he'll just sit there and look around on top of someone's chest, maybe even sleep there.

The other thing you can do is to make your presence known to him if you’re approaching or going to move. That way he doesn’t see you as a predator.

This is what I do sometimes and most of the time we just move around since they do live in our room with us. We don't have a spare room for them to use.

Is he living next to Brownie? Some piggies do fare better living with another, but living as neighbours is the next best thing if this isn’t possible.

He lives with Brownie. Milo and Pepper are in the other cage next to them. They rumble at each other some times with the occasional nip if cornered from Oreo but they both back off afterwards so it's nothing major. They've been recently sleeping near each other and sometimes use the same hidie although it's too small for both of their chunky little selves.

Thank you for not responding so angerly to my mistakes.

 

[Hundo]

unless you are carrying out weekly health checks.

I usually check their bums and feet incase they're dirty or bumble foot whenever I clean the cage which is twice a week. We have fleece blankets and Oreo likes to stay in one specific hidie sometimes so all the pee and poop is just in one area and builds pretty rapidly. We're moving it around every time I clean and it seems to bring him out a little more and more every time we do it.

Right now, he's come to like the hidie Brownie is in (profile pic for reference) after not using it for about maybe 2 or 3ish weeks which is at the cage divider of where their cage and Pepper's and Milo's cage meets. Sadly we had to block it off incase Pepper squeezes since the cage is more of a grid rather than rows.

 

[piggieminder]

Don't be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes it's how we learn. You are a very caring owner, you wouldn't be here learning all things piggy if you weren't.
Guinea pigs learn to trust their humans, sometimes it takes many years, some never like being picked up or cuddled (all but one of mine out of 11 in last 10 years were hands off). Food is the key, every time you pick up a piggy make food one of the end results. I herd mine into a box, bed or carrier to lift them out of the cage, they sometimes resist getting into the receptacle at first just to show who's boss, but they will step in with gentle encouragement. They know they will get a treat once they get where they are going, something like a pinch of grass, a dandelion leaf or sprig of corriander. Mine go outside onto the grass in the summer, it only takes one trip in their carriers to remember a carrier being lowered into the cage means grass time. This makes me feel mean when they are going for vet trips so they get grass in the carrier then.
Oreo will trust you again, it will probably take time and lots of treats. I put pee pads in the bottom of hides, it makes them easier to clean out as you can lift the pad out (I do it twice and day) and shake the poop off in the bin. I change the damp pad daily.

 

[Hundo]

Don't be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes it's how we learn. You are a very caring owner, you wouldn't be here learning all things piggy if you weren't.
Guinea pigs learn to trust their humans, sometimes it takes many years, some never like being picked up or cuddled (all but one of mine out of 11 in last 10 years were hands off). Food is the key, every time you pick up a piggy make food one of the end results. I herd mine into a box, bed or carrier to lift them out of the cage, they sometimes resist getting into the receptacle at first just to show who's boss, but they will step in with gentle encouragement. They know they will get a treat once they get where they are going, something like a pinch of grass, a dandelion leaf or sprig of corriander. Mine go outside onto the grass in the summer, it only takes one trip in their carriers to remember a carrier being lowered into the cage means grass time. This makes me feel mean when they are going for vet trips so they get grass in the carrier then.
Oreo will trust you again, it will probably take time and lots of treats. I put pee pads in the bottom of hides, it makes them easier to clean out as you can lift the pad out (I do it twice and day) and shake the poop off in the bin. I change the damp pad daily.

Thank you for the reassurance, we've been working on bringing Oreo out a little more and he absolutely trusts my girlfriend as he'll be a lot more confident with just her in the room. I'll give him more treats and only really handle him when he wants to be handled or if needed on a weekly bumblefoot check since he doesn't seem to mind it too much once I have him. As of right now, we're letting them be when taking them out for cage cleaning as we got the little bed with a cover on it so they can hide out and get comfortable while I clean the cage. I do like that idea with the pads under the hides! We usually have pee pads under the fleece blankets so nothing soaks into the carpet floors (Might need to clean the carpet every now and then) we have so maybe that might be a change that could happen, just hopefully they don't eat the outline of the pads.

As of right now, veggies are a little short since we just buy what we need for the week due to money but we'll end up buying more soon enough but we do give them some of the smaller veggies when they are out with us and give them pea flakes for letting us clean the cage. I do really enjoy having these little guys around and I just want to make the best for them.