Hi. My name is Kimberly. My husband and I recently brought home 2 young female cavies. We ADORE them. They have been with us about a month and we are having fun getting to know each of thier personalities.
We have read several books, talked to our vet, the small animal specialist at the local pet store and done a lot of reading online.
There is so much conflicting information! We want whats best for our little girls and are doing everything we can to give them a pleasent, heathly life.
Each day they get "floor time" - a 12ft x 3ft run down the hallway of our house where they can play. They seem to love it! They run, buck, squeak, jump and make hot laps around.
We also make sure they both get held and petted everyday.
The oldest of the two, now approximately 12 weeks (Her name is Honey, she's "my" piggie!) Has been calm and cuddly since the day we brought her home. She will happily sit with you and seems to enjoy being petted. Her eyes seem calm, her body relaxed and she will even go into cleaning behavior right on your lap.
Ham, the youngest (approximately 9 weeks) is much different. I don't think she had been handled a lot before we got her at 5 weeks old. At first we thought she was scared, but I think she is the more outgoing of the two now that we've gotten to know her. She is a brave explorer! If we lay on the floor with them she will even run and jump up onto our back, buck, squeal, kiss our nose and sit on us and preen. She does not seem frightened. She is always the first to go check things out.
BUT - she is hard to catch and hard to hold....like a little kid at the mall who just wants to run around! She also bites. Frequently. We were told to tap her nose when she nibbles but quite frankly that seems to have NO effect. I have taken to blowing on her nose with a little puff of air to distract her and that seems a bit better but we are not curbing the behavior. The biting seems to be getting worse/harder. It still doesn't hurt, but I don't want it to get to that point.
Suggestions? The books we've read doesn't say much about this! We have provided them with various chewing possibilities. They get about 30-90 minutes of playtime out of their cage daily.
Any thoughts?
Thanks for reading!
We have read several books, talked to our vet, the small animal specialist at the local pet store and done a lot of reading online.
There is so much conflicting information! We want whats best for our little girls and are doing everything we can to give them a pleasent, heathly life.
Each day they get "floor time" - a 12ft x 3ft run down the hallway of our house where they can play. They seem to love it! They run, buck, squeak, jump and make hot laps around.
We also make sure they both get held and petted everyday.
The oldest of the two, now approximately 12 weeks (Her name is Honey, she's "my" piggie!) Has been calm and cuddly since the day we brought her home. She will happily sit with you and seems to enjoy being petted. Her eyes seem calm, her body relaxed and she will even go into cleaning behavior right on your lap.
Ham, the youngest (approximately 9 weeks) is much different. I don't think she had been handled a lot before we got her at 5 weeks old. At first we thought she was scared, but I think she is the more outgoing of the two now that we've gotten to know her. She is a brave explorer! If we lay on the floor with them she will even run and jump up onto our back, buck, squeal, kiss our nose and sit on us and preen. She does not seem frightened. She is always the first to go check things out.
BUT - she is hard to catch and hard to hold....like a little kid at the mall who just wants to run around! She also bites. Frequently. We were told to tap her nose when she nibbles but quite frankly that seems to have NO effect. I have taken to blowing on her nose with a little puff of air to distract her and that seems a bit better but we are not curbing the behavior. The biting seems to be getting worse/harder. It still doesn't hurt, but I don't want it to get to that point.
Suggestions? The books we've read doesn't say much about this! We have provided them with various chewing possibilities. They get about 30-90 minutes of playtime out of their cage daily.
Any thoughts?
Thanks for reading!
|)