My Guinea Pig Runs Away When...

[TaraJets]

... I try to pick him up. He's very strange because once I'm holding him, he's fine but he looks like he's running away from me like his life depended on it when I'm trying to pick him up. Do your guinea pigs do this? Should I chase him around the cage to pick him up or leave him alone?

 

[Hanwombat]

Guinea pigs are a prey animal its their natural instinct to hide - especially if your trying to pick them up from above, its like a predator comes down towards them.

 

[CandyFloss]

Some of mine do that and other like getting picked up.

For the ones that dont like it I either try to get them quickly rather than stress them out or if I put a snuggly bag/bed thingy in they hop into it so they can get lifted out stress free - they are all happy at doing that - you just need to make sure they cant hop out the snuggle bed while lifting it out by closing the entrance or covering it with your hand.

 

[Alan&Barry]

Mine are exactly the same, once I have them though they love a snuggle. x

 

[TaraJets]

Thank you so much! I already have a snuggly bag that he loves to go into, I made it last night. This should be perfect! Thx so much!

 

[TaraJets]

Another quick question: How do you get him to go inside the cozy when you want to hold him?

 

[flips]

To start with gently herd him into a corner where the only place to go is into the cozy. He will soon learn that this is preferable to being picked up by hand.