Wow that video was amazing! Did you make your cages because I'd want more that anything to build those kind of bunk bed cages in my bedroom, they're so spacious and look so cosy! Also another question is how long have you had your guinea pigs and when you first got them, how did you intise them into taking treats out of your hand? x
Hey Ellie 99,
Here's a video about how the cage works:
Another video here of the guinea pig room upstairs and some more cage tour!
Sorry there is lots of me rambling on with myself! hehe.
It cost £50 to make the cage! However, my Mum had a lot of spare pieces of wood so we only had to buy a few bits. I will try and do another video with the guinea pigs out of the cage so I can show more about how it was built. But it wasn't that hard, it's certainly not impossible and you don't need someone with qualifications to make it for you. A lot of places like B&Q can help you decide on the best wood to get, and cut the pieces to size. Once the wood is cut it's all about using the right screws to keep it together, again a knowledgeable person at somewhere like B&Q will be able to help
I've had guinea pigs for about 2.5 years, although I've not had all of them that long and they are a range of ages (Eve is the eldest at approx 3- 3.5yrs old but I adopted her at approx 1 year old. Manny and Floyd are around 2.5 years, Izzy is coming up approx 2 years old and Barley is 20mths).
I find guinea pigs do start to "chill out" a lot at 18mths old. Floyd is the biggest squish bag but is absolutely impossible to pick up, even very experienced piggy people have struggled to pick him up! But once he's on your lap he's fine. Izzy is the same. The rest are fairly easy to pick up. So all guinea pigs have a range of personalities and trust taming can take varied lengths of time depending on each guinea pig. Although Floyd and Izzy both hate to be picked up they are both the most confident and outgoing guinea pigs! I think their confident nature is what makes them so feisty when I'm trying to pick them up - they are not afraid of telling me they don't like it! lol. With those two I use a fleece to pick them up, I lay the fleece down and they sort of hop on and then I wrap them up and can lift them. They don't seem to mind that
Izzy and Eve would both take treats from my hand from the moment I first got them home. With Manny and Floyd it took several weeks and a lot of patience and hard work. Manny still creeps towards food (as you can see in the video) whereas Izzy will climb right up on to me and sit in my lap to get her food.
I'd say Floyd and Manny were very "typical" guinea pigs, both were very shy and preferred to hide away. They would not come near me and hid even if I was just in the room. The way that worked for me was establishing a strict routine. Their fresh veg was served at the same time every single day and every evening I would sit with them. At the time they were in a C&C cage that was on the floor, so I'd just sit on the floor in their cage! (It was big enough for me to get in there with them, hehe).
First I put the bowl near them and chatted while they ate. Then I gradually (over about two-three weeks) moved the bowl closer to where I was. Don't jump a step until they are comfortable, basically when they are happily running to the bowl to get their veg, then the next night place it closer to you and keep building like that. Then when they are happily running really close to you to get their food you can start doing it by hand. Manny and Floyd would run up and I would pass it to them, or place it near them. Eventually I would hold the food in my hand and not release, therefore they had to sit with me while they ate (things like parsley is good for that, and long pieces of romaine lettuce). Another way to help speed things up is to feed them throughout the day - so you'd give them little bits of veg every couple of hours. I work full time so that wasn't possible for me, but if I had lots of free time to do that I think it would have made the whole process faster.
The key is to be patient. Eventually they will learn it's completely safe to take food from you. Never get frustrated, I know how it can seem like such a struggle to gain their trust but it will happen. Always keep your guinea pig sessions fun, I find taking pictures or videos a nice way for me to feel like I'm interacting with them even if they weren't so keen to interact with me! If you ever feel yourself getting frustrated - which can happen - it's best to walk away and come back later when your feeling more patient.
Out of all the pets I've owned guinea pigs have certainly been the ones that take the longest to trust tame, but once you've gained their trust they'll always coming running towards you for food!
