Growing really impatient with my new guinea pigs - please help!

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Terri

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Hi everyone. I wrote on here a few weeks ago when i just got my 2 girl piggies, but cannot find the thread anymore :red

Anyhoo, i'm looking for some more advice please. I'm a first time guinea pig owner and the girls are now approx 10 weeks old. I've had them for over two weeks now, and they are still terrified of me! I mean, totally phobic.

They stay in their little igloos all day, only coming out when the room is completely silent (as they think nobody is there), but as soon as we start talking or move - they bolt right back inside their igloos.

I didn't try to handle them right away. I just sat at their cage and spoke softly to to them for the first week. Then i took their igloos and tunnels out of the cage for an hour everyday to get them out in the open, and put my hand in with their veggies. Slowly, they came over and would nibble at the veggies from my hand. As soon as they were done eating, i gave them their igloos and tunnels back and they went straight back inside. Recently (over the past 4 days) when i do this, i've started to stroke them whilst they are eating their veggies from my other hand.

Now, the black guinea pig will tolerate this for a little while. She doesn't seem to be enjoying it, she still seems terrified though. The white one however won't let me near her at all. As soon as i touch her, she starts screeching and running away from, thus causing the black one to get terrified too and start running away from me. I attempted to lift them up yesterday to get them out of their cage for some exercise and they went totally berserk! they cuddled together in the corner and clenched their bodies so tight that i couldn't possibly lift either one. And the screeches coming from them were unbelievable.

I'm at my wits end here. How much longer will it take before they get somewhat calmer? Or let me touch them? Or perhaps even come out their igloos while we're in the same room as them? The white one is the one that is most terrified. I honestly think that the black one would be a lot friendlier if it wasn't for the white one's influence. Do you think i should temporarily seperate them? would this get them used to me better?

Also, they fight a lot when i come near them. The white one growls and attacks the black one to compete as to who gets to hide furthest in the corner of their cage (furthest away from my hand). They growl and fight a fair bit actually, and today the white one did a weird dance like thing ( sort of stamping her back legs and wiggling her bottom - imagine a sumo wrestler at the start of a fight), and then jumped at the black one with its teeth out. However, most of the time they get on great.

Please please advise on what i can do to get them to feel safer around me. And how long should it take for them to settle in properly. There is no improvement at all in them since i got them over 2 weeks ago :(

Thanks so much for any advice.
 
Honestly, how long it takes depends on the piggies. I'm not going to lie to you, my piggies ive had a year, still hide when i go into the room. If I'm sat fairly quiet they will come out, but they will only interact with my when out on my lap. Some piggies are just like this, its part of guinea pigs character in my opinion.

Have you begun handling them yet, as in picking them up out of the cage and sitting with them? This may help them learn to get used to you. Its best to pick them up and use a fleece, or similar for them to cuddle into so they dont feel exposed on your lap.

The argueing is probably due to stress. If there is no serious fighting, and its only now and then, its likely to be establishing which piggies is in charge, this is perfectly normal.
 
You have chosen to care for one of the most timid animals in the world. Guinea pigs are prey animals and therefore they are very nervous and shy. They take a very long time to build up their confidence. You are doing all the right things but you need to be very patient with them. Maybe you could try having them both on your lap under a fleece. It can help to give them a bit of fruit or vegetable while holding them so they know you holding them is nothing to fear. I have had Peronel for over three years and she still runs away when I want to pick her up. This is just how guinea pigs are. There is nothing to worry about. Carry on as normal making your everyday sounds so they get used to you. I would not take away their tunnels and igloos as they need to feel safe. If they have nowhere to hide they will feel threatened. Please do not worry as it takes time to form a bond but you will get there.
 
Hi, I've had my 2 boars for 18 months or so now. When i first got them at 10 weeks old they were very timid, and hated being handled. It was the first time I'd ever had pigs, so I was unsure what to expect.
I followed all the advice on here, and after a few months they were happy out on our laps and wheeked at the sound of my voice. However they always try to hide still when I go to pick them up, and I have to chase them around the run. This instinct is never going to change, as a previous poster wrote, they are prey animals, their instinct will always be to run. With patience though, they will get to know you and respond to your voice. My 2 will come up to the edge of the run to be stroked, they just bolt whenever my hand goes to their bellies to pick them up!
 
Hi, I've had my 2 boars for 18 months or so now. When i first got them at 10 weeks old they were very timid, and hated being handled. It was the first time I'd ever had pigs, so I was unsure what to expect.
I followed all the advice on here, and after a few months they were happy out on our laps and wheeked at the sound of my voice. However they always try to hide still when I go to pick them up, and I have to chase them around the run. This instinct is never going to change, as a previous poster wrote, they are prey animals, their instinct will always be to run. With patience though, they will get to know you and respond to your voice. My 2 will come up to the edge of the run to be stroked, they just bolt whenever my hand goes to their bellies to pick them up!
 
You're doing really well with them. It can take longer for some pigs to settle than others.

Things you can try:-
- swap the pigloos for hideys with open ends/ sides- plastic stools, fiddlesticks or even an upside down cardboard box with doors each end and a couple of windows. They will feel safe but not able to hide away completely.
- put a towel on top of the cage. This will make their space feel more enclosed and a lot less scary.
- consider making or buying a cosy for lap time. This is a really great way of handling piggies without them feeling too stressed as they do not feel that they are being held.
http://www.cavycozies.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=66271768
- you can also use a cosy to pick up your piggies. Or even a cardboard box with a small towel or fleece in. You can gently herd the piggies into the cosy or box. Use the same words every time you do it.

HTH. :)
 
Hi :)

I totally agree with everyone above, guinea pigs are very timid animals.

I am new to guinea pigs myself, had my two boys for almost 2 months now, and they are around 20 weeks old :)

they are in the indoor cage in my room, if i'm around i make sure i talk to them. every time i come into the room, and i talk to them before i pick them up too.

one is friendly, brave little fella, and the second one does a runner if i'm even close to the cage.

Guinea pigs have poor eye sight and cant see further than a meter ahead. sometimes if i make a loud noise with a door or something else i always try to tell them 'its ok, its only me' so they know i;m around and the loud noise wasnt something thats about to come and get them.

try to hold them every day! even if its hard to catch them, i still stugle to get hold of mine. If you hold them for 5 mins at least and then slowely increase the time, they should get use to the fact they are safe when they are in your hands, and of course give them their favourite veg when they are in your arms. Mine LOVE broccoli :P

But otherwise i think you are doing BRILLIANT. Just keep at it :)
 
You seem to be doing fine, all the right things here. I agree with the others, it can take a while and your piggies have only been with you few weeks. Even some of mine ive had who are tame as anything when out for cuddles and floor time will bolt for cover if i try to pick them up. Its in piggies natures to be like this, and it all takes time. You will get there, just be patient.

x
 
Are you taking them out of the cage and giving them 'lap time' with you? Although I sometimes had to chase my pigs around to catch them, I found that the only way mine got used to handling was to be handled. Once they figured out that I was not going to hurt them, they got a lot less skittish. A lot of pigs don't like being patted in their cages/pens- one of my pigs will tolerate getting her head patted or her chin rubbed when she's in her cage, but the second one hates it, though she likes it just find when she's on our lap. Do you have them housed in an area where they are accustomed to seeing/hearing you? Our pigs are in the family room where we spend a lot of time... they are used to our voices and the kids running back and forth- though they used to hide when we went by, at this stage they either ignore us or come up to us to mooch for food! Bear in mind we've had ours for awhile... Linney is over 3 and Sundae will be 2 in April, and we've had both since they were quite young. It will take time, but it will improve!
 
Like the other posts have said, I think it just takes time, and the amount of time varies with the individual animal.

We've got three mini-pigs at the moment - we've had them all about 3 months. One of them is completely unfazed by everything, and he will run around to see what you're up to. The other two are much shyer. The first couple of weeks they would run away as soon as you approached. Even now, if you open the cage door they will scarper (although once you get them out for lap time they are fine). The littlest one took food from my hand for the first time about a fortnight ago, and I was so pleased that I did a little happy dance around the kitchen! xx>>>

We've found that the things that work best for us are keeping them in a room where we spend a lot of time, so they get used to us, and we talk to them all the time. Their feeding and cleaning is routine-based, so they kinda know when to expect me fussing with their cage. Getting them out for laptime also helps a lot!

They'll get there sooner or later, although ultimately how affectionate they'll be when they're older will vary - as I have found with my grown-up pigs :)
 
Have you had them sexed because the "dance" you describe sounds like boar behaviour to me. Please get someone guinea savvy to sex them!
 
I echo what has already been said. It took my Eleanor a year until she felt completely comfortable around me. She is now my cuddliest pig. Erin is two and is still shy. She will have cuddles but is more comfortable with her piggy friends. All pigs are different. Carry on with what you are doing. You are doing well x
 
Settling in piggies is not a quick process. The patience and persistence you are investing now will bring you rich rewards down the line. Trust from a prey animal is something that takes time to grow - but once you have it, it is forever!

Try to see and think things over from the perspective of a little prey animal that hasn't had much human contact at all! Did you trust your teacher after just two weeks at school with your deepest secrets?
 
As everyone has said it takes time, I have had Nala about 4 months now and although she will come up and give me kisses (only been happening for the last month and only me) she runs at the smallest noise and hates being picked up!My only super freindly pig is Mduli and thats only happened since I had to take her to and from the vets for an operation mallethead They are some of the most timid animals in the world, which makes the rewards all the more great when they start to trust you
 
Thank you so much everybody for the reassurance :)

I just thought i was doing something wrong! So it's great to hear that this behaviour from them is completely normal.

I agree with you, that taking their houses and tunnels from them an hour a day isn't exactly great. But it's the only way to get them out so i can attempt to stroke them. They'd stay in their igloos all day otherwise.

Yes, they are in the living room, where we spend most of our time, so they should be used to our voices/movements by now, but they still get terrified and run away at the slightest sound. Occassionaly they will pop out for food, but disappear if i attempt to go near their cage.

They haven't been out at all for the past 2 weeks :( This is why i feel so bad. I have a lovely little play pen for them with lots of toys inside, but whenever i go to lift them, they both run to the same corner, clench up really tightly together so it's impossible to lift one. And the noises coming from them are absolutely heartbreaking. Never heard something screech so much in my life!

But you are all completely right. They'll never get used to handling if they're never handled. I'll attempt to lift them again today and put them in their pen - but this time i won't give up so easy.

Great idea about the hideys instead of the igloos. I'm going to go to pet shop today to get some new things for them, that doesn't hide them away as much.

Thanks again for all the reassurance everybody. As much as they dislike me - i love them to pieces already! ^) I just wish they understood i don't want to eat them!
 
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