Hey I'm New To This!

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MooseandBear

MooseandBear

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Hi! I just got two sweet little Abyssinians named Moose and Bear a few days ago! I have a few questions-- One: Whenever I walk into the room, they scurry and hide! Do you know how I can get them less scared of me? Two: When should I start picking them up? It's been nearly three days now... but I'm not sure.:no: And lastly, how do I get them to really bond with me? I love them so much already, but I can't wait untilI'll be able to really bond with them! Please help me! They are the sweetest little piggies! :love::love::love:

(Sorry for the long post)
 
Hi :)
Answering your first question: I can't say when they'll stop scurrying away but talking before you enter the room which they occupy and sitting still by the cage or leaving veg just outside their hole could help bring them out. My boar Mo took 3 weeks before I even caught sight of him up on his shelf -and even then if I so much as twitched he'd bolt. Now he's a cocky little man!

For 2 I always say around 5 days before handling but I suppose when you're ready and feel they are settled enough you could try. Handling too soon will only scare them more.

My tips on bonding is FOOD FOOD FOOD. Offer veg or tasty treats so they associate you with good things and try leaving your hand in the cage so they can get used to your scent and comfortable around you. I did this with Mo and he'd come up and investigate. Again, talk to them even 8f you can't see them so they get used to your voice. :) hope this helps
 
Jesse's pigs said:
Hi :)
Answering your first question: I can't say when they'll stop scurrying away but talking before you enter the room which they occupy and sitting still by the cage or leaving veg just oupside their hole could help bring them out. My boar Mo took 3 weeks before I caught sight of him up on his shelf and even then if I so much as twitched he'd bolt. Now he's a cocky little man!

For 2 I always say around 5 days before handling but I suppose when you're ready and feel they are settled enough. Handling too soon will only scare them more.

My tips on bonding is FOOD FOOD FOOD. Offer veg or tasty treats so they associate you with good things and try leaving your hand in the cage so they can get used to your scent and comfortable around you. I did this with Mo and he'd come up and investigate. Again, talk to them even 8f you can't see them so they get used to your voice. :) hope this helps
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Thank you SOOO much for your helpful reply! I will definitely wait a few more days to pick them up, but they are coming my out when I am close now that I give them treats!
 
You're more then welcome I remember wondering what I was doing wrong and often had to check he was still actually in the cage lol. You'll have to post pictures when they're braver! :)
 
Guinea pigs can't help but scatter when they see a giant, looming shape, so they need to learn you're a FRIENDLY looming shape! I always start talking as soon as I walk into the piggy room, so they don't I'm not on the hunt (unlike my dogs who will slink in quietly and STARE at the habitat).

I always feed them foods by hand, even hay just to "keep my hand in" so to speak. That actually, is literally what I do. I let my hand rest inside their habitat and then eventually decide to check me out. River has always been brave and actually tries climbing up my arm, but even Melody will give me a few piggy kisses (it's like they're grooming my fingers).
 
Awww, congrats on your new piggies - they are so great aren't they? :) I got my two just over a year ago and I would say it took a good couple of months for them to be well and truly settled.. saying that one of mine loves having strokes and nose rubs (and giving kisses) and then the other is happy to come up and sniff me but isn't very keen on being stroked. They all have different personalities and bonding with my two has been very rewarding.

What helped me was hand feeding veggies and talking to them when walking past their cage or sitting next to it (they begin to recognise your voice and associate you with food etc) and although it can seem like you are getting nowhere, patience really does pay off and they will start to trust you :)

As for picking up, if It were me I would give them a few more days and maybe try hand feeding veggies first. It is great you are giving them chance to settle. My girls still hate being picked up (understandable as they are prey animals so like to keep their feet firmly on the ground) So I always try and do it as quickly as possible.. I either get them into a hidey and lift them out in that or use a blanket and scoop them up. They really like these methods as they feel a lot more secure. Good luck, the pictures are adorable.. pampered piggies :wub:
 
Thank you guys for your helpful posts! I tried some of your methods, and one of my piggies, Bear, even let me stroke him while he was eating! I felt a little silly talking to them at first, but it's actually kind of relaxing! I've started reading stories aloud to them! Thanks again!
 
I have two boars, Gizmo and Darwin. Darwin, the baby, is just over two months old and we've had him for almost 3 weeks. He still runs away when I walk up to his cage, but he sure squeaks and calls out loudly when he hears the refrigerator door open. He lets us know what he wants. I sit next to the cage and try not to make any big and sudden movements and talk to my piggies for a while. I love that you read to Moose and Bear. I wait for Darwin to come out of his hidey and check me out and then I give him veggies. The way to my piggies' hearts has definitely been through food!

Its great that you have two piggies so that they each have a companion of their own kind. Darwin is newly bonded to Gizmo, who is a teenager going through a hormonal stage right now. I think the bond that Gizmo and Darwin are forming with each other is more important for them than the bond they have with me at present, but little Darwin is coming around, too, like your Bear is. I have read that some piggies never do like being handled much at all, but have patience. Congratulations, Moose and Bear are adorable!
 
Gizmo&Darwin said:
I have two boars, Gizmo and Darwin. Darwin, the baby, is just over two months old and we've had him for almost 3 weeks. He still runs away when I walk up to his cage, but he sure squeaks and calls out loudly when he hears the refrigerator door open. He lets us know what he wants. I sit next to the cage and try not to make any big and sudden movements and talk to my piggies for a while. I love that you read to Moose and Bear. I wait for Darwin to come out of his hidey and check me out and then I give him veggies. The way to my piggies' hearts has definitely been through food!

Its great that you have two piggies so that they each have a companion of their own kind. Darwin is newly bonded to Gizmo, who is a teenager going through a hormonal stage right now. I think the bond that Gizmo and Darwin are forming with each other is more important for them than the bond they have with me at present, but little Darwin is coming around, too, like your Bear is. I have read that some piggies never do like being handled much at all, but have patience. Congratulations, Moose and Bear are adorable!
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Thank you! Bear has started letting me stroke him, but Moose is still a little nervous. I'm a little curious... what sort of "hormonal stages" do you mean? :hmm::hmm:
 
MooseandBear said:
Thank you! Bear has started letting me stroke him, but Moose is still a little nervous. I'm a little curious... what sort of "hormonal stages" do you mean? :hmm::hmm:
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Guinea pigs go through stages of sexual maturity like other mammals. The weird thing to me is, baby boars can knock up a sow at 3 weeks, but they don't actually reach "puberty" until much later.

I have sows, so their hormonal states actually fluctuate every 2 weeks when they come into heat. Last time River was in heat she was just a turd to Melody for a day and a half, but they made up afterward.
 
I am new to this too, and don't know how to include a link to the information posted on this forum about hormones. I will ask for help with that and do my best to post another reply with it. My first and only experience so far introducing two boars has been (so far, fingers crossed) sucessful but probably not a textbook example of best practices. Gizmo, my older boar, is about 12 months old now, and still considered a "teenage" piggy. We got him last Christmas. It took me awhile to find Gizmo a single male companion, but eventually Darwin came into our lives and Gizmo's cage a few weeks ago. Gizmo's teenage hormones were raging when I first introduced Darwin to him, which was evidenced by very dominant interactions with Darwin (it looked like straight up bullying to this newbie), like humping, purring, teeth chattering, chasing, rumble strutting, etc. I put up a wire partition in the cage to separate them. Many people on this formum reassured me that Gizmo's behavior is totally normal for boars at any age (some sows also behave like this during introductions) but is often more intense during the teenage period between 4-14 months when hormones kick in. Gizmo and Darwin had to work out a mutual understanding of who the Big Pig is on their own. Gizmo is the dominant piggy, and both pigs know it. I reintroduced them last week and they seem to be bonding well - they have been sharing food and water without fighting and I've caught them asleep in the same hidey. Gizmo still purrs and rumble struts once in while but there hasn't been one single bite, blood drawn or full on piggy brawls... so far.
 
Gizmo&Darwin said:
www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/boars-bullying-fighting-fall-outs-and-what-next.127295/
If the link doesnt work, you can find this sticky thread by opening the menu, select Forums, and under Forums, Behaviour and Bonding, Boars: Bullyinh Fighting, Fall-outs and What's Next. (Sorry, not only am I a newbie guinea pig slave, but I'm also old and not user savvy Bear are already bonded to each other, in which case
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I have the impression that Moose and Bear are already a bonded pair, so the linked thread might not apply to them now or ever.
 
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