Struggling With A Very Stressed Piggy

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abby

abby

Junior Guinea Pig
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Ballywalter Northern Ireland
I've now had the girls about 4 weeks. Diesel, (who is the skittery one) is settling quite well.... She is still hard to catch, and will run and hide when the cage is approached. but once I have her, she settles quickly, will relax on my lap, and I've even got all her claws clipped.

Pinky however is worrying me. She was quite relaxed on arrival, but now she is almost impossible to catch, so it's always really stressful and I end up chasing her round the cage. ( I've tried picking her up inside things, which occasionally works but even then she seems overly agitated even when I try to stroke her and get her settled, almost aggressive sometimes.
She has also been quite aggressive towards Diesel a few times, but in general they seem to get on ok, think she has just been trying to assert her dominance.
I had her at the vets just over a week ago for a general health check, and the vet found nothing wrong..... Anyone got any advice please, I'm worried I'm missing something and that she's suffering or that I am making a mistake that will ruin any bonding.
 
I think she just needs more time. If you can sit at the side of her cage with your eyes at the same level as hers it's surprising how she'll start coming to you. I got a pair in January & one is really flighty but is coming round gradually. Talking to them helps too as does hand feeding with their favourite veggies such as fresh grass, dandelions or anything else they really like. It can take months or even more but it's very rare for them not to respond eventually.
 
I never try to pick mine up before feeding as I know they will be too excited & run away from me & one is 4 years old lol :) Try picking them up after they have had their breakfast or whatever & start to become more relaxed. I sat in a run with mine every day when they were young, I didn't pick hem up but just gave them veggies by hand & they soon came to associate me with nice things :) Almost all pigges will run away when trying to be caught, it's natural to them :)
 
She's pretty good when we approach the cage, she'll come up to the bars to greet us (waiting for food, and if we sit on the floor, she wil eat from our hands and she will come right up to us even when we have no food for her... It's just the handling / agitated behaviour that worries me....
In order for her to get floor time/lap time and clean the cage, I have to take her out, but I'm worried the stress will be too much!
 
Maybe not having floor time is better than stressing her. Depending on the size of you cage you could clean one end then let her go to the clean end while you do the other end. Mine is 2 6x2 c&c set-up. It has 8 full newspapers on the base with their bedding on top. I remove 3/4 of these and the group are on the other 1/4. I then put new papers & better with their beds & lots of hay up the half way & they then troop over to the clean end. I then clean the rest of the unit & replace with new papers & bedding & it's all done. Never need to pick them up.
 
all of ours will try to get away when we go to pick them up out of the cage or run, it seems almost a natural instinct for them to try to escape. Once caught though they are happy to sit and be cuddled, or just sit on a blanket on the sofa and watch tv.

As others have said, it may just take a little time but eventually they will associate you with nice things and they may still be hard to catch (perhaps it is a game to them!) but they will enjoy being with you when you have managed to grab them!

I also have a couple of cocktateils which spend all day trying to land on me so i can scratch their heads for them but if i put my hand in their cage i will get bitten so it is not just guinea pigs!
 
Ive had my boars since January and they both try to run away when I get in the cage like 90% of the time. I think its natural instinct though as they are prey animals. They almost always run away from my hands when I try to pick them up too which includes herding them into something but once Ive got hold of them they are fine for a little while and will sit on my lap for a little while to eat some treats or veggies. Neither of them have gotten really comfortable sitting on my lap yet though like they wont sit for more than a few minutes and dont relax totally or anything. I thought that was normal and have been told pigs can take many months to get properly comfortable particularly if theyre rescues like mine and you dont know the full extent of their life before you got them. Considering youve only had those sows for a month it sounds like everything is going fine and things are going well! Just takes time.
 
Thanks everyone.... Bit of an improvement. Really needed to get her out as her claws were getting so long.... It was a little bit of a stressful struggle, but she relaxed in between and I managed to get all claws clipped successfully.... She is now sitting on my lap, still a bit edgy, but she's much more relaxed and has been sitting there a good 10-15 mins.
 
I've had one boy for almost 4 years & the other almost 3 years now. Both are still a pain to get out of the cage, especially the older boy who's been with me longer. Yet, once out both adore lap time. You may always find getting Pinky out to be a struggle, but it sounds like with time she will certainly become a lap potato like my two!
 
Hello,
I saw a video on youtube where a woman trained her guinea pigs to do treats by pointing her finger and making short one word commands with a treat when they complete the trick.
I thought about it and so now before I pick up my girls I snap/click my fingers, (thumb and middle finger) three times. I have had them one and half weeks and they now seem to know that sound. It stopped them running away, most of the time, not all the time.
I did like how Poppy Mum said to pick them up after feeding and will try that too. The comments here are so handy to read. Wonderful. Byeee
 
I've had one of my boys for almost 4 years now. He still runs away initially when I try to pick him up. But he eventually let's me. It will take time for them to trust you. Very worth it in the end though :)
 
Have you considered training your piggies to come into some kind of pick-up conveyance? Most piggies never come to like being picked up, as it cuts very close to their prey animal instincts. this provides a way around this issue: https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/videos/
 
Maybe you should spend lots of time around your piggies when they are in their cage, giving them treats and such. Give them some time to get used to you, and then go about picking them up later as calmly and gently as you can. Good luck!
 
try playing music. i know mine get much less stressed when i play music. just gotta find the right music for the piggy.
 
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