They Made It To The Other End Of The Cage!

[LozzyBee]

Good morning!

We picked up Barnaby and Barlow on Saturday. They were part of a large group of 90 piggies that had been taken to the rescue nameless and not having had much contact with people.

Saturday they spend mostly hiding behind their hay bed, only coming out to nibble on some lettuce and peppers. They wouldn't even get in their hay bed - I had to put some on the fleece behind the bed for them to munch on.

Yesterday they came out a little more and in the evening actually ventured into the hay bed!

This morning I came down to find only Barlow in their usual hiding spot and had a (not so) mild panic that Barnaby had somehow escaped - only to find Barnaby had found his way to the other end of the cage and was having a lie down in the plastic hide

It's been fun watching them this morning venturing between the back of the hay bed, and their plastic hide. They're already doing far better than I thought they would. Still a long way to go, but I'm pleased with their progress so far.

 

[Wiebke]

Good morning!

We picked up Barnaby and Barlow on Saturday. They were part of a large group of 90 piggies that had been taken to the rescue nameless and not having had much contact with people.

Saturday they spend mostly hiding behind their hay bed, only coming out to nibble on some lettuce and peppers. They wouldn't even get in their hay bed - I had to put some on the fleece behind the bed for them to munch on.

Yesterday they came out a little more and in the evening actually ventured into the hay bed!

This morning I came down to find only Barlow in their usual hiding spot and had a (not so) mild panic that Barnaby had somehow escaped - only to find Barnaby had found his way to the other end of the cage and was having a lie down in the plastic hide

It's been fun watching them this morning venturing between the back of the hay bed, and their plastic hide. They're already doing far better than I thought they would. Still a long way to go, but I'm pleased with their progress so far.

Make sure that you have got two hideys, so the boys can get away from each other if they wish to. Pegging a towel over the top of the cage gives them more of a feeling of protection and encourages them to explore. Guinea pigs are not very keen on exposed places, as that is where they are most vulnerable to predators; that instinct runs deep, even more so in new and potentially hostile territory.

 

[LozzyBee]

Thanks for the tip about the towel - I have covered part of it with some leftover fleece but could maybe do with covering some more.

They do have two hidey's (a plastic one and a wooden one), but at the moment they're operating on a 'safety in numbers' policy and usually go everywhere together which is why I panicked that only Barlow was in their usual spot this morning.

They're still very nervous and I'm taking them to get their nails clipped on Thurs...am very worried about picking them up to be honest!