Best Way To Tame?

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

Nindies

New Born Pup
Joined
May 24, 2017
Messages
9
Reaction score
3
Points
75
I'm sure this has been asked a fair few times, but here goes.
When I got my hamster (Spener), I took his cage into the bathroom, opened the cage doors and waited - it worked really well for him, he's been upgraded to a 4foot 3 level hamster mansion now, but he's friendly enough to bring out. Does this work with guinea pigs? Obviously adding food too - I wouldn't be able to bring their cage up, but they have a pet carrier in their cage that they sleep in, so I could bring that up and wait until they want to explore/ eat. Or would the change of environment scare them? I'd also like to know what's good daily veg - luckily they seem to be excellent hay eaters, and drinking loads. But I'd like to bribe them without upsetting their stomachs. Any help would be appreciated
 
I have recently got two New Guinea pigs as well, before bringing them home I was told that their favourite veggies to eat was shredded cabbage! I buy bags of this at Tesco for £1 and this usually feeds both guinea pigs 3 days in terms of veg, however this needs to be given as well as their nuts. Some other veg I feed my guinea pigs is; peppers, broccoli, apple, and carrots! These are the vegetables I find my Guinea pigs like the best but there is many others. Below is a link to a very useful feeding guide which tells you how much of each veg, and what veggies can be eaten by guinea pigs!

Guinea Pig food list

In terms of taming, I'm still trying to figure this out so I can't answer this very well!
 
Excellent, thank you. So far all the fresh stuff they have had is 2 basil leaves, a few bits of coriander, a tiny bit of carrot and quite a bit of grass. They have way more hay then they eat - regularly topped up and Burgess pellets which they aren't eating much of.
I've just sat with them, with my hand in the cage, the want about their business but didn't come near me - but at least they weren't too scared to move or hiding, so early days, but there is hope!
 
great food list can be found here Edible And Forbidden Veg And Fruit List With Vitamin C Grading luckily we are at the forum as well as US site Guinea lynx one of the best updated websites for infomation in the world. So please feel free to print any information threads out to refer to .

As for taming piggies Food is the best way to bribe and the way to a piggies heart is through their tummy! Use food when you get round to lap times also. Start lap time for a short amount of time at first and build up. We started off we laptimes for 1 minute with new piggies then pop them back, slowly increasing the time. They will soon associate you with food and good things but at first it takes a while to gain their trust.

We use this method to catch the piggies who aren't used to getting picked up or get stressed when doing so, it takes the stress out for them and you


You said they were going about there business in the cage when your hand was in so this is excellent progress! Keep it up :)
 
Nindies said:
Excellent, thank you. So far all the fresh stuff they have had is 2 basil leaves, a few bits of coriander, a tiny bit of carrot and quite a bit of grass. They have way more hay then they eat - regularly topped up and Burgess pellets which they aren't eating much of.
I've just sat with them, with my hand in the cage, the want about their business but didn't come near me - but at least they weren't too scared to move or hiding, so early days, but there is hope!
Click to expand...
Since I only got my guinea pigs a week ago, I'm in the exact same position with the taming. One of my guinea pigs was rescued and is two years old, so is pretty much already tame. Although he doesn't let me lift him easily but he loves getting petted and stroked inside of the cage. The other is a baby and is only 6 months, completely terrified of me and not letting me touch him at all so therefore I haven't been as I don't want to scare him, however I've done the same with my hand and let him go on with his business. hopefully they come around soon!
 
Nindies said:
I'm sure this has been asked a fair few times, but here goes.
When I got my hamster (Spener), I took his cage into the bathroom, opened the cage doors and waited - it worked really well for him, he's been upgraded to a 4foot 3 level hamster mansion now, but he's friendly enough to bring out. Does this work with guinea pigs? Obviously adding food too - I wouldn't be able to bring their cage up, but they have a pet carrier in their cage that they sleep in, so I could bring that up and wait until they want to explore/ eat. Or would the change of environment scare them? I'd also like to know what's good daily veg - luckily they seem to be excellent hay eaters, and drinking loads. But I'd like to bribe them without upsetting their stomachs. Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

You may find our new owners' guide collection very helpful. It deals with issues around settling in and making friends with guinea pigs, understanding their behaviour, learning to spot what is normal and what not as well as diet recommendations etc... We have tried to combine answers to the most often asked questions with some important information that can help you prevent potential problems in the longer term.
Please give your piggies time to settle in first and to get their bearings in their new home before you start moving to yet another territory and a new setting.
New Owners' " How To" Starter Kit
 
Will leave the ladies put for now, will give me more time to build the run and level the ground it's going to sit on - I'm thinking I'm going to need house bricks in one of the corners, very uneven garden! Luckily I have some spare dog crate panels I can cable tie to the back of the run to prevent escaping. I best get building:)
 
Nindies said:
Will leave the ladies put for now, will give me more time to build the run and level the ground it's going to sit on - I'm thinking I'm going to need house bricks in one of the corners, very uneven garden! Luckily I have some spare dog crate panels I can cable tie to the back of the run to prevent escaping. I best get building:)
Click to expand...

Make sure that your run is well protected against aerial and fround predators and that you girls have access to thick shade and a warm, dry place away from any wind and rain at all times. Only introduce them to the outdoors once they are confident in their indoors home and remember that you need to dot hideys close to each other to provide safe bases from which to explore any new territory. Please go slowly!
Feeding Grass And Preparing Your Piggies For Lawn Time
 
Yup, the run is connected to the hutch - all one level ( a tiny 6 ish inch ramp, that I can lock shut) , but they will have places to hide in there. It's also right by the washing line, so I plan to keep a sheet hanging up at all times, to block the sun and hopefully make it as comfortable as possible for them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top