Chukkin
Junior Guinea Pig
Ok, so tonight I took a leap of faith and decided it was time for an introduction to lap time since I have had the girls for just over a week. I herded them into their big cozy and picked them up in that. Once I was sitting, I put a blanket over my lap, and draped it loosely around the cozy so they felt more secure.
For the first couple of minutes, there was squeaking (a scared squeak I think) and wriggling around and one piggie trying to dig through the bottom of the cozy, but then they seemed to settle. After a little while (couple of minutes) they would start squeaking and wriggling again (almost as if they didn't have enough room because they were both there?) and then settle. This happened a couple more times before Ivory lay down completely - by this I mean she pushed her little legs out behind her and was slightly on one side. I don't know what she was implying by this - was it a "I'm comfy so I'll just chill out", or more of a "you're bigger than me, so I surrender" because she was terrified?
I didn't try to touch them directly, occasionally stroking them through the side of the cozy, but Ivory let me touch her so softly for a few seconds before pulling away. I spent about 10 minutes with them on my lap before I put them back into the cage.
Should I try taking them out separately when I try again tomorrow? I didn't want them to be scared of the cozy and link it with a scary activity but both have been in and out of it since I put them (and it) back into the cage.
Apologies for the novel, I'm just keen to get things right and ensure my girls are happy
For the first couple of minutes, there was squeaking (a scared squeak I think) and wriggling around and one piggie trying to dig through the bottom of the cozy, but then they seemed to settle. After a little while (couple of minutes) they would start squeaking and wriggling again (almost as if they didn't have enough room because they were both there?) and then settle. This happened a couple more times before Ivory lay down completely - by this I mean she pushed her little legs out behind her and was slightly on one side. I don't know what she was implying by this - was it a "I'm comfy so I'll just chill out", or more of a "you're bigger than me, so I surrender" because she was terrified?
I didn't try to touch them directly, occasionally stroking them through the side of the cozy, but Ivory let me touch her so softly for a few seconds before pulling away. I spent about 10 minutes with them on my lap before I put them back into the cage.
Should I try taking them out separately when I try again tomorrow? I didn't want them to be scared of the cozy and link it with a scary activity but both have been in and out of it since I put them (and it) back into the cage.
Apologies for the novel, I'm just keen to get things right and ensure my girls are happy