How To Calm Easily Startled Piggies?

[gicogico]

after 1 month, my piggies are finally warming up to me! When I start talking and slowly approach their cage they will come up to my hand for food and will even come up to the edges of the cage when I talk and they know the sound of their veggies coming to them.

The problem is, one of the girls will take the food from my hand, then promptly scurry away to her hidey house to eat, or turn around and eat. She will never just chill and eat at my hand like her sister does. how do I help her? Also, they both startle EXTREMELY easily. Like even if they are eating out of my hand, if I move my hand even a little bit, zoom they’re gone to their hideys in an instant, before coming back out 30 seconds later. If I try to pet them, zoom, if I try to clean their cage, zoom. They also run when I walk past their cage, which happens often because they are in my bedroom and I obviously need to be walking back and forth to get ready for school/work etc. What Can I do to make them less startle prone? (They are 2 months old)

Also, the one who won’t eat out of my hand hates lap time. She squirms and squirms and tries to escape should i keep doing lap time or just leave her alone?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

That's really natural of them, you just need to be a bit patient as they will come around but at a different pace depending on the pig

The best thing you can do for them is talk to them constantly when you're around their cage. That way they always know where you are and aren't startled as easily. To this day I still do that when around the cage as one of my girls is blind in one eye and is easily startled so it helps her too

Maybe the more nervous pig try and take it a bit slower?

 

[Wiebke]

after 1 month, my piggies are finally warming up to me! When I start talking and slowly approach their cage they will come up to my hand for food and will even come up to the edges of the cage when I talk and they know the sound of their veggies coming to them.

The problem is, one of the girls will take the food from my hand, then promptly scurry away to her hidey house to eat, or turn around and eat. She will never just chill and eat at my hand like her sister does. how do I help her? Also, they both startle EXTREMELY easily. Like even if they are eating out of my hand, if I move my hand even a little bit, zoom they’re gone to their hideys in an instant, before coming back out 30 seconds later. If I try to pet them, zoom, if I try to clean their cage, zoom. They also run when I walk past their cage, which happens often because they are in my bedroom and I obviously need to be walking back and forth to get ready for school/work etc. What Can I do to make them less startle prone? (They are 2 months old)

Also, the one who won’t eat out of my hand hates lap time. She squirms and squirms and tries to escape should i keep doing lap time or just leave her alone?

Hi! Please have a read through these guides here. You may find them helpful:
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?

Some piggies are much more skittish than others. It often depends on how stressed their mum was during pregnancy and nursing period; if she was living on edge all the time, babies can internalise this. I have several piggies that were born before rescue or to newly rescued neglect cases that are freaky. It can take a couple of years for them to start relaxing, but with patience and persistence they will eventually.