Is it wrong to not handle your Guinea pigs?

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emilybanister

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Hey everyone!
I’ve had my two boars Boris and Horace now for over a year. They started very shy but have become A LOT more confident and now will run up to me as soon as I open the cage and I hand feed them every day. They like to have their noses stroked and a bit of a pet. Sometimes they will climb onto my lap briefly to get their food. However, they really dislike being picked up. They don’t like having their backs stroked either. When we first got them we handled them a lot, but Horace would just be very restless and want to go back ‘home’, and Boris would sit on your lap and occasionally eat but u felt he was just freezing rather than actually enjoying it. For a while now I have only really got them out of their cage to clean them out, give them a little health check and pop them in their temporary carrier whilst I clean them. I don’t know whether I’m doing them a disservice - we live in a flat so they’ve always been indoors, and I worry they aren’t getting enough enrichment, but they genuinely don’t seem to like coming out of the cage and are much happier just running up to me and it all being on their terms. I could get a little indoor run for them, but I don’t know whether they would really enjoy it enough to warrant chasing them around and stressing them out to get them out of the cage?
FYI their cage is 150cm x 60cm, I would love an even bigger one but not got the space currently and they seem happy in there.
 
emilybanister said:
Hey everyone!
I’ve had my two boars Boris and Horace now for over a year. They started very shy but have become A LOT more confident and now will run up to me as soon as I open the cage and I hand feed them every day. They like to have their noses stroked and a bit of a pet. Sometimes they will climb onto my lap briefly to get their food. However, they really dislike being picked up. They don’t like having their backs stroked either. When we first got them we handled them a lot, but Horace would just be very restless and want to go back ‘home’, and Boris would sit on your lap and occasionally eat but u felt he was just freezing rather than actually enjoying it. For a while now I have only really got them out of their cage to clean them out, give them a little health check and pop them in their temporary carrier whilst I clean them. I don’t know whether I’m doing them a disservice - we live in a flat so they’ve always been indoors, and I worry they aren’t getting enough enrichment, but they genuinely don’t seem to like coming out of the cage and are much happier just running up to me and it all being on their terms. I could get a little indoor run for them, but I don’t know whether they would really enjoy it enough to warrant chasing them around and stressing them out to get them out of the cage?
FYI their cage is 150cm x 60cm, I would love an even bigger one but not got the space currently and they seem happy in there.
Click to expand...

Hi

I do have some piggies that due to their past really do not like to be handled at all but I still give them their weekly health check and weigh-in and interact otherwise with them like you. Personally, I find it a lot more fun to spend enrichment activities with my piggies than just short cuddling sessions.

Reassure your boys and praise them lavishly when handling and have a little veg or hay treat ready at the end. They do trust you now. Take any complaints seriously but have no concerns about telling them in their own social language (i.e. by 'piggy whispering') that they have to cooperate with any health checks and any grooming care from boar bits service to nail and hair cutting and any bum baths.

You may find these very practical and how-to links here helpful:
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
Weight - Monitoring and Management

Guinea pig body quirks - What is normal and what not?
Boar Care: Bits, Bums & Baths
Guide to Cutting Guinea Pig Nails
Syringe Training Before The Need For Medicating
 
I rarely handle my piggies. They get an occasional cuddle. I have one old girl who is six and a half (who I adopted 18 months ago) and I adopted two others (mother and daughter) a few months ago. They all get a weekly weigh and check and a cuddle if they feel like it. Some piggies love a cuddle and others prefer to be left on their own. People tend to think they need to cuddle their pets when you should really follow what your pet wants not what you want or you feel you ought to do.
 
My girls absolutely love lap time, so much so they would bicker over who was being pet, now I just sit on the floor with them and they approach when they want some love and go off to explore when they want and they really do enjoy coming out of the cage, the picking up part is what they hate the most so I pick them up in a tunnel or a bed, Miss Pig actually will go for the bed now when it’s time, Fuzz hasn’t quite caught on but she’s getting there lol
 
I only pick up my piggies when necessary. I tried for 8 months picking them up daily and they still didn't like it so I stopped. As long as you can health check and do medication as necessary I think it's okay. Nancy has meds twice a day now and I still manage even though I didn't use to pick her up often.
 
I have four piggies and they are all different.

My two eldest, Dexter and popcorn, hated being handled as youngsters. I could still get their weight, health checks done but I never sat and cuddled them for a sake of it because they didn’t like it. I’d sit on the floor with them and theyd come to me if they wanted to (and usually theyd be curious what treats I had for them!).
Now they are older (5 and a half years) theyve really chilled out and do enjoy a bit of a cuddle. I don’t routinely do it but if I need to have a longer handling session for any reason there is no issue when doing so.

Wilbur is 10 months and he loves being stroked in his cage, takes food etc, he is a very friendly boy. He comes and asks for a stroke and doesn’t let you stop until he wants to stop. I can pick him up without any trouble but his tolerance for being held is a minute, two minutes if I come with coriander! I have to work fast with him to get health checks and nail trims done (never manage to do all feet in one go with him).

Hugo, also 10 months, is a bit of a pain. He has no tolerance for anything and he makes his feelings very clear within about 10 seconds of getting hold of him, he nips, wriggles and shouts. He was very handleable as a baby but now he is a grumpy teen he has certainly changed! Weekly checks are more a test of endurance for me and how much nipping I can take! But, he is very friendly in his cage and if I sit in his run with him - look just don’t touch!
 
I don't handle the goblins much more than the bare minimum because they really aren't fussed. I'd far rather be sitting and watching them be themselves, or running over my feet if I'm in the cage with them. They're not afraid of me, they'll take their food from my hand (pellets included, not just the big stuff), they come over to say hello, they're sociable. They just don't want me touching them.

Comet, Jack and Jake were all great at being handled, they'd fall asleep on you if they could, Jack in particular was a neck snuggler. Rocco was very anti-Human, Blitzen was fine if you picked him up but then he got like Rocco did - nipping and pulling at your clothes in a "put me down Put Me Down PUT ME DOWN" type way. They're all different.
 
I agree, they are all different. As long as they can be handled for health checks and vet visits I leave them alone if they don't like lap time/cuddles. I pick mine up in a tunnel, bed or pet carrier rather than chase them round the cage. I've only ever had one piggy who really relaxed on my lap although all have settled and accepted handling for syringe feeding and meds when they are ill. I am sure they know you are trying to help them.
DSC04320.webp
 
I preferred not to handle mine when I had piggies. I had a group of 4 and I would handle them for vets visits, medications and health checks etc but otherwise I just preferred to observe them interacting with each other and being piggies
 
I try and take my boys out at least once a day, personally.
We don’t particularly cuddle though. My boys live in a hutch outdoors and I sometimes struggle to take/find time to just spend with them, so I often take them in for one meal a day. It mostly consists of them being sat on my lap in towel eating their dinner/breakfast. It’s sort of a routine.
I also just love them too much to not have interaction with them, so I do also cuddle with them, but it consists of them sitting on my chest and they are always free to move away or anything if they wish. These sittings last perhaps 10-30 minutes, depends on the day and how they seem.
My boys are “trained” to climb onto my hand/arm so I can support them fully with one hand and I do believe they trust me to take care of them/keep them safe when they are out of their hutch.

I also have a recently adopted baby so they were coming in more often to help them get used to everything (once they’d settled in).
Even on days they aren’t coming out, my older boar has to be checked daily as he isn’t able to clean himself very well and always gets something stuck “down there”, so I will often sit with him in front of the hutch to do a quick check over for cleaning and any signs of illness.

I do agree with what is mentioned above though, just sitting and watching them in their space is so much fun, just watching their personalities shine through. I make time for this as well.
So no, it isn’t cruel to not handle your pigs as you can read above some just don’t allow it at all, but I personally do. You can have so much interaction with your piggies just by sitting and watching/speaking to them.

I just thought I’d share my side of things, as everyone else seems to be leaning to one side. I hope it doesn’t make me sound selfish or anything as I would never do anything to continually/purposefully upset my pigs, ever. And that also goes for other people who take their pigs out for cuddles often to be mindful that they aren’t toys, and do not deserve to be treated as such.
 
Mine don’t really like being cuddled.
I can take them out for health checks and usually offer them a time sitting on my lap.
Sometimes they just want to be back in their cage, sometimes they will relax on my lap.
I just enjoy sitting by the cage, watching them, talking to them and sometimes being allowed to stroke them.
 
I handle my piggies regularly because I want them to really know and trust me. They are always allowed to say when they have had enough, so my "cuddle time" per piggy is often only 2 or 3 minutes.
Only Billie, sometimes Vicky and Odi stay for a longer period of time.

I have had rescue piggies who were clearly never handled and some of them were a nightmare to treat when they were sick.
But I don't cuddle my piggies thinking that it's a special sort of enrichment for them. It's more about training for them (and a bit of a cuddle for me).
 
:agr:

It is important to be able to handle for the essentials. I can medicate all of mine despite the fact they don’t like cuddles. I had to have both Wilbur and Hugo on antibiotics just last week and it was not difficult despite the fact, Hugo in particular, doesn’t like to be cuddled.
 
My boys don’t like being handled so I don’t. I try not to stress them out if at all possible. Nail cut, bum baths and occasional health checks are the only times I handle them. My boys will struggle and run away, which is a sign they don’t like being handled, in my mind.
 
Thanks for all the responses! Sounds like lots of people are in a similar situation with theirs. I can get them out for nail clips etc and they do tolerate it. I also hand feed them veg and they’ll come out onto my lap from the cage to eat, I just feel like maybe they could do with some more floor time etc - I might look at getting an indoor run if anyone has any recommendations?
 
C&c grids make a good indoor run. Cable tie as many as you need together, all except the end two grids. If the two are ends are not tied, then the grids concertina up for easy storage . When you want it, unfold the grids, pop some connectors on to join the end two grids (and other connectors elsewhere if you want to) and then you’ve got a quick and easy pop up run
 
I use ratchet clips (ebay) or bull dog clips to secure the two ends. I also use ratchet clips on two of the grids on my cages so I can open the 'doors' for floor time.
 
Piggies&buns said:
C&c grids make a good indoor run. Cable tie as many as you need together, all except the end two grids. If the two are ends are not tied, then the grids concertina up for easy storage . When you want it, unfold the grids, pop some connectors on to join the end two grids (and other connectors elsewhere if you want to) and then you’ve got a quick and easy pop up run
Click to expand...

You can see a picture of that in our improvised housing guide: Temporary Housing Solutions?

A puppy run or a panelled rabbit run are also quick and easy to put and pack away. All you need is a fleece and if needed some plastic underlay (a cheap shower curtain will do) in order to protect any carpet or sensitive flooring.
 
I know I'm a bit late to the party here, but I thought I'd add that I've had a mixture of piggies too- some hated cuddling, so I just left them to their own devices as much as possible, whereas others loved a good chin rub and cuddle in front of the telly in the evenings.

Two of my piggies were coronets, and despite regular trims they still needed near-daily brushing, so I had to have 'lap time' with them very often for that reason.

After my first two pigs needed syringe feeding/medicating, I decided that I would 'train' any future pigs to tolerate syringe feeding as far as possible, which I think made my life a lot easier when they inevitably did end up needing that. Eye drops were a completely different issue though, I just had to swaddle them in a towel and stick a piece of cucumber in their mouths! (Point being that I think it's important for piggies to be able to tolerate cuddles/touching for medical reasons).

Ultimately as long as you respect your piggies' individual wishes regarding cuddling and give them an 'escape route' into a cardboard box/hide away from your lap so they can choose to end the interaction I think that's fine.

Here's a bonus pig-ture of Teebo, who always looked disappointed when his daily chin rub ended. 🥰
Teebo'sChinRubs.webp
 
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