Scared new owner

[CookienBlossom]

We got two lovely girls 8 weeks old.

They have been in the hutch 2 nights and when we carefully and slowly open the cage they run so far away.....

Will they ever come to us? I am so anxious now that we have done the wrong thing buying them for our kids and we will never be able to get them out for a cuddle or a run.

HELP!

 

[Hope4gem]

It takes time for piggies to get used to you. It's best to leave them be in their cage for now to let them settle down and get used to their surroundings. In the meantime, keep their cage clean, make sure they have plenty of hay and fresh water.

 

[CookienBlossom]

Thank you.

How will I keep the cage clean without scaring them?

 

[Piggies&buns]

This is very normal. Guinea Pigs, as prey animals, are naturally scared. Two days is such a short space of time but it can actually take weeks, sometimes months for them to settle in. They will settle though.

Do explain to your children though that, as prey animals, they may never be cuddly. Some enjoy it in time, some tolerate it and some never will. The best thing is to leave them for a week, let them settle in and then start to offer food from your hand. Once they take food from you, they are starting to trust you. This is fantastic when they start doing this as it means you have bonded with them, you dont see you as a threat and are happy to be around you. This part of the process can take quite some time and it varies from piggy to piggy. It took one of mine six weeks to settle in and take food from me. From then on he was happy to stay out and about to be around me. However, the other one is much more anxious and it took him 18 months before he took food from me and stopped running away from me. It took a lot of time, patience. They've been with me for three years now and they are both happy to be around me, I can sit in their shed with them and they will going about their piggy business around me and are happy to spend time with me. However, they are not cuddly pigs - they will tolerate a short amount of handling for their weekly health and weight checks, hair and nail clipping and if I need to give medication but they do not like just being held for a cuddle.

The guides below are a collection of new owner guides which you will find very useful. There is a lot there, but do take the time to read through them.

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

These guides below are specific to settling them in and how to pick them up

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

In terms of cleaning the cage, clean the area where they are not, then have them move to the other side of the cage and then clean that area. Do it slowly, talking to them the whole time - predators dont announce their presence so if you talk as you approach and talk while you are going about your cleaning etc then they will learn that you aren't going to hurt them.

 

[Siikibam]

Hi and welcome. Guinea pigs take time to trust you - from weeks to years. They’re also not the cuddly pets that they’re made out to be. Some don’t like being handled at all, so you have to prepare your children for that.

I would say as they’re so young you should double check their sex to make sure they’re both sows. And are they going to live outdoors permanently?

We’d love to see some photos, if you want to post some.
Illustrated Sexing Guide

 

[CookienBlossom]

This is very normal. Guinea Pigs, as prey animals, are naturally scared. Two days is such a short space of time but it can actually take weeks, sometimes months for them to settle in. They will settle though.

Do explain to your children though that, as prey animals, they may never be cuddly. Some enjoy it in time, some tolerate it and some never will. The best thing is to leave them for a week, let them settle in and then start to offer food from your hand. Once they take food from you, they are starting to trust you. This is fantastic when they start doing this as it means you have bonded with them, you dont see you as a threat and are happy to be around you. This part of the process can take quite some time and it varies from piggy to piggy. It took one of mine six weeks to settle in and take food from me. From then on he was happy to stay out and about to be around me. However, the other one is much more anxious and it took him 18 months before he took food from me and stopped running away from me. It took a lot of time, patience. They've been with me for three years now and they are both happy to be around me, I can sit in their shed with them and they will going about their piggy business around me and are happy to spend time with me. However, they are not cuddly pigs - they will tolerate a short amount of handling for their weekly health and weight checks, hair and nail clipping and if I need to give medication but they do not like just being held for a cuddle.

The guides below are a collection of new owner guides which you will find very useful. There is a lot there, but do take the time to read through them.

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information

These guides below are specific to settling them in and how to pick them up

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely

In terms of cleaning the cage, clean the area where they are not, then have them move to the other side of the cage and then clean that area. Do it slowly, talking to them the whole time - predators dont announce their presence so if you talk as you approach and talk while you are going about your cleaning etc then they will learn that you aren't going to hurt them.

Thank you very much for this reassurance.

 

[CookienBlossom]

Hi and welcome. Guinea pigs take time to trust you - from weeks to years. They’re also not the cuddly pets that they’re made out to be. Some don’t like being handled at all, so you have to prepare your children for that.

I would say as they’re so young you should double check their sex to make sure they’re both sows. And are they going to live outdoors permanently?

We’d love to see some photos, if you want to post some.
Illustrated Sexing Guide

Thank you so much for this. We don't mind if they are not cuddly it's just overwhelming today.

They are indoors in a lovely big hutch. We have no plans to move them outdoors yet.

 

[Merab]

Don’t panic.
It took my Phoebe months before she stopped running away and hiding.
A guinea pig’s default position is “ You’re going to eat me!” - they’re prey animals.
Time and patience will win their trust.

Welcome to the forum and we look forward to getting to know you and your piggies.

 

[CookienBlossom]

Don’t panic.
It took my Phoebe months before she stopped running away and hiding.
A guinea pig’s default position is “ You’re going to eat me!” - they’re prey animals.
Time and patience will win their trust.

Welcome to the forum and we look forward to getting to know you and your piggies.

Thank you, that is so kind.

 

[VickiA]

Hello and welcome. Take a deep breath and relax. Our forum is a great place for help and advice. At first there seems so much to learn, but you don’t have to read and know everything all at once. Give the little piggies time to settle in, and you will become more confident around them, and they will become more confident around you, too.

 

[CookienBlossom]

Hello and welcome. Take a deep breath and relax. Our forum is a great place for help and advice. At first there seems so much to learn, but you don’t have to read and know everything all at once. Give the little piggies time to settle in, and you will become more confident around them, and they will become more confident around you, too.

Thank you very much xx

 

[Hope4gem]

Thank you.

How will I keep the cage clean without scaring them?

You've received excellent advice from the forum members who posted above so I'm guessing that your cage cleaning question was answered, but if you still have questions feel free to ask away. This forum is a great place for information and support on your guinea pig journey.

 

[Betsy]

Guinea pigs are all different. I've had Meg since she was born (shop pregnancy) which is over 5 years ago now. She trusts me implicitly but will still run away when I try to pick her up and will go in a hidey and I pick her up in that. Her prey instincts are really high yet one of her brothers my Rainbow Piggy Dennis was so laid back I could do literally anything with him and he wouldn't be at all phased. Her other brother Rainbow Piggy Christian would just stand there after a bit of a run around and let me pick him up. You need learn what your piggies prefer in terms of handling and this will come with time and patience and understanding. Take things at your piggie's pace and you will be rewarded. It'll take a while but you will get there. Learning about their little personalites, what they do and don't like is all part of the fun of being a slave to these amazing little fluffy potatoes.

 

[Tigermoth]

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/waiting-on-the-arrival-of-my-piggies.134021/

I just went looking for this from when I first got the gruesome twosome. We are 5 years down the line and Timmy has never wheeked. They are both easy to catch now but Timmy is blind and deaf so its cheating a bit .

It is really stressful to start with, but you will get there xx

 

[Wiebke]

We got two lovely girls 8 weeks old.

They have been in the hutch 2 nights and when we carefully and slowly open the cage they run so far away.....

Will they ever come to us? I am so anxious now that we have done the wrong thing buying them for our kids and we will never be able to get them out for a cuddle or a run.

HELP!

Hi!

Please be patient and persist. Keep in mind that guinea pigs are prey animals and not used to human interaction when you bring them home.
You may find the practical information guides via this link here helpful, as they deal with various aspects of the settling in process, which usually takes weeks and can take several months: Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

Please also be aware that a hutch or run can quickly turn into a death trap in hot weather: Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

This is just one chapter of our much more comprehensive New Owners helpful information collection. You may want to bookmark the link, browse, read and re-read at need: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

All the best!

 

[Sharpy]

We are relatively new owners as well, we’ve had pigs for a year now, initially we hardly saw either of ours, they would cower in their hideys and not come out. Over time they got better, one was really chilled out after a couple of weeks and would spend lots of time coming over for a bum scratch and to see what was going on, the other is still a little timid. However the timid one loves lap time with our daughter and seems most at ease with her.

since we lost one of ours we’ve kind of gone back to square one with a new addition but already we are seeing progress (after 5 days) and they’re definitely coming out of their shell more.

It just takes time, everything has changed for them and as prey animals they will be super cautious just need to show them they are safe and you’re not going to eat them and they’ll soon be braver and more friendly.