Hiding In Ramp Tunnel......help! !

[Jojessgaz]

Sorry still posting on this page as I feel I'm still new... or shall we say after 2 months ... not got very far with my two girls who are about 15 weeks now.
One let's me pick her up just about but chatters once I hold her. The other who I hardly pick up at all cos she is so scared will let me feed her as long as most of her is in a hidey ready to dart off. But I cannot pick her up. And now we have a tunnel on the ramp which worked fab..they were up and down within mins..she hides In it as soon as she hears me aproach. ... forget food. She cannot be bribed at all into another hide or cosy. She just sits in the tunnel til I go. I can't block anything off cos she's in it and won't budge when I try and tap her from the outside. I'm totally lost. She is malting everywhere n needs a brush. Nor can I see if she's ok hair n health wise close up. Do I just keep hand feeding her n wait? Is I wrong not to have picked her up..can this carry on for weeks? I have read over and over on new piggies and scared piggies posts. I havnt a clue where to go from here

 

[Wiebke]

Sorry still posting on this page as I feel I'm still new... or shall we say after 2 months ... not got very far with my two girls who are about 15 weeks now.
One let's me pick her up just about but chatters once I hold her. The other who I hardly pick up at all cos she is so scared will let me feed her as long as most of her is in a hidey ready to dart off. But I cannot pick her up. And now we have a tunnel on the ramp which worked fab..they were up and down within mins..she hides In it as soon as she hears me aproach. ... forget food. She cannot be bribed at all into another hide or cosy. She just sits in the tunnel til I go. I can't block anything off cos she's in it and won't budge when I try and tap her from the outside. I'm totally lost. She is malting everywhere n needs a brush. Nor can I see if she's ok hair n health wise close up. Do I just keep hand feeding her n wait? Is I wrong not to have picked her up..can this carry on for weeks? I have read over and over on new piggies and scared piggies posts. I havnt a clue where to go from here

Can you lure her into a cardboard box with some hay/grass at the far end? It may be worth just letting her have a day or two without you picking her up to build up some good associations first.
A picture is in this thread. If necessary, block off the tunnel if you need to get hold of her.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

 

[Jojessgaz]

@Wiebke ...tried treats grass veg nothing makes her come out further than her head so as soon as there is any movement from me she is gone. I can't block off either end of the tunnel cos she just sits in the middle and if I block one end and try and get her up to the other by tapping her bum on the outer side of the tunnel she will not move. I have been feeding her by hand all week and she's getting happier with that but it's taken all week so I havnt picked her up at all. She will sniff my hand thinking I have food but I can't lure her anywhere with it

 

[3cutepiggies]

Hi, I have been in this situation myself as regards the piggies hiding in the ramp tunnel. The thing that I found that did work is blocking off the "sleeping" compartment in the top corner of the hutch. So I put some fresh grass or dandelion leaves in there and hid around the corner and wait for them to go in and start munching, then I sneak up and block off the entrance to the sleeping compartment so they can't run to the ramp tunnel. Ours know the routine now and I can pick them up quite easily in there, but this did seem to work for us. We are now planning on moving our piggies inside as it looks like we've had our summer now and I will start to worry lol. Hope this helps

 

[Wiebke]

@Wiebke ...tried treats grass veg nothing makes her come out further than her head so as soon as there is any movement from me she is gone. I can't block off either end of the tunnel cos she just sits in the middle and if I block one end and try and get her up to the other by tapping her bum on the outer side of the tunnel she will not move. I have been feeding her by hand all week and she's getting happier with that but it's taken all week so I havnt picked her up at all. She will sniff my hand thinking I have food but I can't lure her anywhere with it

Don't hang around the cardboard box at first, just leave your piggies to explore. Please be patient.

 

[Jojessgaz]

Hi, I have been in this situation myself as regards the piggies hiding in the ramp tunnel. The thing that I found that did work is blocking off the "sleeping" compartment in the top corner of the hutch. So I put some fresh grass or dandelion leaves in there and hid around the corner and wait for them to go in and start munching, then I sneak up and block off the entrance to the sleeping compartment so they can't run to the ramp tunnel. Ours know the routine now and I can pick them up quite easily in there, but this did seem to work for us. We are now planning on moving our piggies inside as it looks like we've had our summer now and I will start to worry lol. Hope this helps

Thanks I will try that... she seems very smart while the other will run all over the place trying to find the food so I can lure her anywhere... this scared one flossy knows not to venture past the tunnel. But if I can let the other go eat in the bed bit she maybe curious enough to follow. Thanks .I know I sound very negative but It gets me down when I can't seem to get her out at all

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks I will try that... she seems very smart while the other will run all over the place trying to find the food so I can lure her anywhere... this scared one flossy knows not to venture past the tunnel. But if I can let the other go eat in the bed bit she maybe curious enough to follow. Thanks .I know I sound very negative but It gets me down when I can't seem to get her out at all

It can be daunting when you do not seem to make any progress at all. You can try to lure her out by placing treats very close by and then a little bit further each time and just sit there and talk to her. Praise her lavishly. It is going to be a slow one step forward, one back progress, but you will get there.

I have started with guinea pigs that I had to get out of the room at first before they would come to pick up their food, and they have still turned into pets, even if it took a lot of patience and persistence. But the moment you realise that they trust you is such a precious moment that it makes it all worth!

 

[Jojessgaz]

It can be daunting when you do not seem to make any progress at all. You can try to lure her out by placing treats very close by and then a little bit further each time and just sit there and talk to her. Praise her lavishly. It is going to be a slow one step forward, one back progress, but you will get there.

I have started with guinea pigs that I had to get out of the room at first before they would come to pick up their food, and they have still turned into pets, even if it took a lot of patience and persistence. But the moment you realise that they trust you is such a precious moment that it makes it all worth!

I'm just worried that it's going to take so long that she could be suffering with mites or an infection or something as I'm not checking on her. With having long hair are they more prone to getting stuff like that? I can cope with the shedding hair everywhere for a bit

 

[Wiebke]

I'm just worried that it's going to take so long that she could be suffering with mites or an infection or something as I'm not checking on her. With having long hair are they more prone to getting stuff like that? I can cope with the shedding hair everywhere for a bit

No, long hair won't make her more prone to skin parasites, but it is somewhat easier to miss them. But you want to get hold of her and give her a short hair cut, so you don't have to worry about mats for a while, epsecially around the bum and legs.

Can you remove the tunnel, so you can get at her?

 

[3cutepiggies]

Thanks I will try that... she seems very smart while the other will run all over the place trying to find the food so I can lure her anywhere... this scared one flossy knows not to venture past the tunnel. But if I can let the other go eat in the bed bit she maybe curious enough to follow. Thanks .I know I sound very negative but It gets me down when I can't seem to get her out at all

You don't sound very negative, you're just worried and care.
I think most people go through this stage to some degree or other when they first get guinea pigs.
One thing I've learnt is to give time & patience
All piggies have their own personalities (all our 3 are different) just like their owners.
Hopefully with trial and error, and more time you will find something that works for you and your piggies
Good Luck and I hope you find some small improvements soon

 

[Jojessgaz]

No, long hair won't make her more prone to skin parasites, but it is somewhat easier to miss them. But you want to get hold of her and give her a short hair cut, so you don't have to worry about mats for a while, epsecially around the bum and legs.

Can you remove the tunnel, so you can get at her?

I have got the lady I brought her from to cut them both round the bum which made loads of difference re them looking wet. Maybe try cutting them a little more. Can I ask re their hair .. does it carry on growing longer or does it stop where they are now so if I cut it will it just grown back to being this long again (pics are on my profile ) also I think their nails look long. Hoping this lady will help cut them too as she runs piggie hotel and they are booked in at the end of July. Thanks for your help

 

[Jojessgaz]

You don't sound very negative, you're just worried and care.
I think most people go through this stage to some degree or other when they first get guinea pigs.
One thing I've learnt is to give time & patience
All piggies have their own personalities (all our 3 are different) just like their owners.
Hopefully with trial and error, and more time you will find something that works for you and your piggies
Good Luck and I hope you find some small improvements soon

Aww thanks very much. I don't mind time but I just think they are not enjoying all they should if they are stuck in the hutch all the time

 

[3cutepiggies]

Aww thanks very much. I don't mind time but I just think they are not enjoying all they should if they are stuck in the hutch all the time

Try not to stress yourself out about it
You're trying your best and hopefully in time you will find out what works best for you and also the piggies should be more used to you and mellow out as they get older

 

[Wiebke]

I have got the lady I brought her from to cut them both round the bum which made loads of difference re them looking wet. Maybe try cutting them a little more. Can I ask re their hair .. does it carry on growing longer or does it stop where they are now so if I cut it will it just grown back to being this long again (pics are on my profile ) also I think their nails look long. Hoping this lady will help cut them too as she runs piggie hotel and they are booked in at the end of July. Thanks for your help

True long-haired piggies will keep on growing and require regular haircuts. I prefer to cut mine short during the summer months, so there is less of a risk of overheating from lugging around the equivalent of a skisuit. By autumn, the hair has usually grown back.

Depending on how painful/uncomfortable the grooming/hair cutting is, long-haired piggies can be rather uncooperative. My perus ended up in rescue totally matted and STILL absolutely hate being touched around the bum area five years on, so I just cut their hair pretty short and peru wrestle them as little as I can get away with.

If the bum end is just soiled, but not matted, you can give a long-haired piggy a little bum bath with handwarm water to remove the worst of the dirt.