Hi guys!
I'm brand new to this website... And brand new to owning some Guinea pigs!
I did loads of research and finally brought home my two girls yesterday (seen in pic) from my local rescue.
I understand that Guinea pigs can be very timid at first but these two haven't moved a single muscle all night and day. We left them for the night and handled them to which they didn't run and let us hold them. When held they didn't make any sound and just froze not moving a muscle.
Am I doing something wrong or is normal?
Thanks in advance guys!
Hi and welcome!
Please take the to read these guides here. Be aware that guinea pigs are prey animals and that they have hardly had any previous human interaction (unless they have been adopted from a good standard rescue) before they are sold into a totally foreign and frightening environment where they are expected to instantly function as cuddly pets.
The guides will help you to understand how the various prey animal instincts work, how you can work around them by avoiding coming across as a predator on the hunt and use social guinea pig body language to make friends with them in ways that they will understand immediately.
This link here will take you to our guide collection on settling in and the various tips and aspects of interaction, including how to solve problems with it. You will find the guides very helpful and hopefully also very interesting!
Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide
These guides are part of our much more extensive new owners guide collection, which addresses specifically all the most commonly asked questions and concerns by new owners. It also helps you to understand guinea pig behaviour, learn what is normal and what not, and how to spot illness and developing problems early on apart from advice on care, diet and housing (including lists of safe and unsafe toys) and care during heat waves and cold spells.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
Please save up for vet fees on a weekly/monthly basis as part of your regular living and maintenance expenses. Vet cost is overall the largest budget post in any pet's life. Since guinea pigs are small animals, they usually can't wait in an emergency or illness when vet fees can very quickly climb into the hundreds of pounds or dollars. Links to recommended vets in several countries as well as good rescues are included in the New Owners guide collection.
You can access our full information collection a wide range of topics via the guides shortcut on the top bar, but are always welcome to ask any questions that come up in our Care sections. Our Health/Illness and Pregnancy/Sexing sections are specially monitored by members whose knowledge and experience we trust fully; you will recognise them by the badge in the signature. We are a friendly forum and work hard to keep it like that to create an atmosphere in which any question can be asked and will be answered in a friendly and factual way.
Since we have members and enquiries from all over the world, you can help us to always tailor any advice to what is relevant and available where you are straight away. Climate, background, brands and access to vets and rescues can vary enormously and greatly influence our recommendation. Please click on your username on the top bar and add your country, state/province/world city or UK county to your account details. this makes them appear with every post and helps to minimise misleading/confusing advice and speeds up getting the answers you really need. Thank you!
