Still shy after 4 years?

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Alicia

Alicia

Adult Guinea Pig
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I bought one of my guinea-pigs from Pets at Home about 4 years ago now, and she still isn't tame. She runs away if I try to pick her up and when I do pick her up she wheeks so loudly (and I mean so loudly that neighbours have looked over the fence to ask if she is ok!) I have checked for injuries but there doesn't seem to be any. She's not quite used to using the ramp so every day I have put her in the run rather than make her use the ramp (though I have put her on it a few times and bribed her up it with vegetables) but at least this way it gives me more of a chance to hold her in the hope of getting her tame. What else can I do to make her tamer? I'm not expecting a guinea-pig that absolutly loves attention, but just so she doesn't wheek so loudly. I think I am holding her correctly, all my other guinea-pigs are held the same way (hand under bottom, stroking) and they don't wheek. Do you think she'll ever be tame or is she just going to be a guinea-pig that will hate this sort of attention?
I feel guilty if I don't pick her up but pick the others up for cuddles even if she doesn't like it because I don't want to leave her out. Any help would be great. Thank you
 
Hi! welcome to this forum!

Your piggy could have well come from a breeder's and has never been handled or been aroudn humans before - so it is all a big shock to her! Give her time and take it slowly. With patience and persistence (and treats) you should be able to slowly bring her round. Great of you to take her on at her age!

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239
 
Ok thank you. I've had her since she was a baby. I know I should had tried to sort it sooner but I joined this forum this year but only started posting recently so I had no-one to ask about it.

The strange thing is, she'll come up to the side of the cage and stand up against it, and she'll let me stroke her head and give her vegetables or grass.
 
So she just doesn't like being picked up then, but isn't afraid of you as such?
 
It's possibly something to do with them coming from Pets At Home, I've had mine for around 7 or 8 months and they behave the same as yours. I talk to them, stroke them and play with them every day but they hate being picked up and will immediately run away if they think I'm going to try it, they are happy enough to come to me when I put my hand in and get stroked though.
 
Wiebke said:
So she just doesn't like being picked up then, but isn't afraid of you as such?
Click to expand...
I don't think she's afraid of me because I see them so often and she is happy to get a little stroke when I feed her.
 
Ok well to sort the ramp issue out you could get a tunnel made from fabric that you could attach to the ramp so she feels safe and cant fall off, there are people who can make you one to specifically fit your ramp.

Have you tried encouraging her to sit in an upturned pigaloo with a towel in it and pick her up using that? Or could you retrain the wheeking out of her by everytime she wheeks you put her back and not in the run until you pick her up without wheeking not sure if it will work but you can try they are pretty clever
 
Ok thanks the ramp thing is getting better, they've started going up on their own now, I went out just now and 2 of my sows had gone up the ramp and back into their hutch, so I'll keep an eye on them for a few days and if the other sow doesn't use the ramp I'll get a tunnel. I bought a small piece of fleece today I was going to pick her up in that so she felt warm and safe and then bring her inside with some cucumber or something and sit with her on the fleece and then gradually stop using the fleece so she's just sitting on me and see if that works. I'll try putting her down if she wheeks too. Thank you for the help
 
just don;t put her anywhere fun which would be deemed as a reward
 
I went shopping this morning because I've run out of lettuce for the guinea-pigs and I had to buy hay and the shop next to the pet shop was selling a small piece of fleece which I thought would be good to hold her with, so she's comfortable and warm so she'd feel safer. It's the perfect size (it says it's for a small dog, but I don't think it's big enough for one) and I was going to sit with her in the fleece for a while and I was holding her earlier, and she was a bit quieter so I think she quite liked the fleece, and all the vegetables lol. I'm going to try and hold her at least once a day and then she might associate being held by me with extra lettuce and might quite enjoy it eventually. Thanks for the help everyone :)
 
I dunno, I haven't had my piggies for long but I have a feeling they will always run away from me. It's quite a hassle but once I got them they are pretty content.
 
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