Should I Be Less Lenient With My Guinea Pig?

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koella

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I've had my guinea pig for three pigs now and one of the problems I still face is getting her out to floor time. Everytime I try to get her to go into the carrier to bring her over from her cage to the floor area, she absolutely refuses to get into it. I take away all her huts so she can't hide in them and I put fresh lettuce in the carrier. She gets curious and crawls in but when I attempt to move the carrier (or basically anytime my hand gets anywhere near her) she jumps right out and back into the cage. It's such a hassle that I now limit her floor time to once a week on Saturdays when i have to clean her cage. Even then it takes about half an hour to coax/trick her into the carrier. I feel bad about only having floor time once a week (not that she really runs around during floor time either) and am only comforted by the fact that I think her cage is big enough to run around in.

Should I stop being so soft on her and try cornering her so she'll run into the carrier? It seems harsh to chase her or corner her but there's really no way to get close to her to get her to move so i can do basic cleaning and check ups. I haven't even been able to hold and check her for any physical injuries or illnesses because i can't touch her. I can't imagine how I'll be able to cut her nails when that time comes. I'm afraid that if I don't start handling her or petting her then she'll never get used to my hand. She takes veggies from it but then runs away back to her hut to eat it.
 
It can be a slow process getting them used to you hands. I first of all try feeding treats like fresh grass & dandelions by hand so that they begin to realise that hand & fingers are something good. There are lots of different ways to pick them up including using a tube, a cosy of an igloo house. They nearly always come round in the end.

You cam also check out the video "How to pick up a Guinea Pig easily" :- https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/videos/
 
Thanks Stewybus. I'll try that method of herding her in. Maybe if I get softer carrier like the fleece cosy she'll be more tempted to climb in.

Should i start trying to pet her as well? Maybe pet her with one hand while the other one holds food? Do guinea pigs get startled if you try to pet them from behind?
 
If you have a very skittish piggy, the best opportunity is to start petting "accidentally" when they are absorbed in food. Perhaps you can get her to eat some veg treats on your lap?

Building up trust is a very slow process, but the vast majority of piggies will come round eventually - and the moment when you know that they trust you, is making it all worth the while. It is one of the best feelings! ;)
 
Can you try and 'herd' her into it? That's what we always used to do with our two boars. Now we tend to just get in the cage and pick them straight up because they're once we've lifted them up they are fine it's just the catching them in our hands part that is difficult as they get scared and run about unless we can corner them or creep up on them. Also, when she has floor time, do you put hideys out for her? Because I think they get scared in a big open place. Our pigs seem happiest when our room is really messy because there's loads of things for them to explore and jump over and hide behind and we always take their hideys out and put them on the floor so if they get startled by anything they can run and hide under their familiar places. Another thing is that unfortunately if you've only got the one pig it will probably take a lot longer to get her more confident than if she had a piggy friend living with her. With two pigs they make each other both feel braver and follow each others leads and stuff.
 
I used to have the same problem with mine. After watching that link I tried using the trick with the tunnel but pigs were to fast for me to cover to ends.. So I made a cozzy, nothing special just fleece and wedding made into a small pillow case shape. Pigs love going into it and its must safer to carry piggys in.
 
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