Tips for helping a very very nervous girl!

[ghostbusterbunny]

Hi guys,

Some of you know that I adopted quite a few piggies on Friday. Well one of them is an extremely nervous girl, quite unlike anything I've ever seen before! I have had scared/nervous piggies before who had come from a bad background but my little Flossie is scared far more than they were and I'm not totally sure how to help her!

I've been getting her out for short cuddle times and trying to hand feed her when she's on me to make the experience a bit more pleasant for her. So far I've discovered that she likes cucumber, round lettuce and not a lot else. This is a good thing as I'm not totally sure she's drinking anything, the water level in her bottle never seems to go down (it's working though, I've tested it); so at least she's getting some from the cucumber. I know she's eating as there's plenty of poop around and she's not losing any weight.

She's paired up with her little baby girl Panda who's showing signs that she's mirroring her mum's actions and is also just as scared. Which is really sad! She's a bit more outgoing, but only just. When they're outside on the grass Flossie sits in a corner and stays there. Panda might have a little nosey round, but in no time she's tucked up with her mum and doesn't want to move. It's really sad . I considered trying to bond them both to one of my more laid back piggies, but as Flossie is so scared she attacks any other piggies because they threaten her (even if the piggie has no intention of being threatening).

I know it's not been long since they came home, but I knew that Flossie especially was going to need extra TLC to help her settle. I'm not sure what else I can be doing to help her though. They're both indoors at the moment to try and help them get used to us.

Have you any tips for dealing with unusually nervous piggies? I'd appreciate it so much!

 

[piggyfan]

Aww poor little thing. Maybe she just needs more time to get used to her surroundings. I wish you all luck.

 

[Trina.Hyde]

You could try sent swapping, both with you and the your other guineas, try rubbing a towel over you other guinea pigs, maybe leaving it in there for a while, then placing it with Flossie (if they are in different hutches) and also rub something over you, or even put a jumper or something in with her, this may help her get to know everyone a little better.

Also, I work for a animal rehoming centre, and we had some really nervous kittens in, we were advised not to have too many places for them to hide, so they get use to being out and encourage them to explore. I know kittens and guinea pigs are a little different, but its something you may want to try
Best of Luck!

 

[Wiebke]

You need lots and lots of patience and time. Try not to crowd her. Can you have her right next to other piggies (but not with them), so Flossie and Panda can pick up on their behaviour once they relax enough?

You could try to give Panda run time with the next door girls once she and her mum have settled more, so Panda gets more exposure? If you can, arrange run time with other piggies, if necessary divided by mesh or grids, but wait at least a couple of weeks until mum and daughter have got the hang of the routine. Right now, they are simply too traumatised and on total overload.

I had a similar problem with Taffy - she was literally scared stiff for months on end when handled by humans, and Telyn picked up on that. Thankfully, Taffy loved being with a group, and started to relax when around other piggies; but never when on their own. However, my Tribe was very skittish for the next half year. However, both mum and daughter have turned into lovely piggies over time. Taffy is still not keen on cuddles, but she is no longer freaked out. Telyn turned into a lovely, normal, gentle natured girl despite her rocky start - and the loudest wheeker I have ever had!

 

[ghostbusterbunny]

You could try sent swapping, both with you and the your other guineas, try rubbing a towel over you other guinea pigs, maybe leaving it in there for a while, then placing it with Flossie (if they are in different hutches) and also rub something over you, or even put a jumper or something in with her, this may help her get to know everyone a little better.

Also, I work for a animal rehoming centre, and we had some really nervous kittens in, we were advised not to have too many places for them to hide, so they get use to being out and encourage them to explore. I know kittens and guinea pigs are a little different, but its something you may want to try
Best of Luck!

Those are good ideas! We can do the scenting. In the run we had a pile of hay for Flossie to make her more comfortable, but needless to say she never came out. But she was comfortable enough to start eating grass, so it's a start, I guess!

You need lots and lots of patience and time. Try not to crowd her. Can you have her right next to other piggies (but not with them), so Flossie and Panda can pick up on their behaviour once they relax enough?

As it is now, we can't do that, but when the shed finally arrives at the end of this week/early next week, we're going to give her and Panda a sectioned off bit where they can meet the rest on their own terms through the mesh partition. For now she's in a mid-traffic area of the house so they can get used to us and we can pet and talk to them. Panda likes to have a good sniff at other piggies, so we know she's more into the idea of meeting other pigs, we just need that to rub off on her mum in time. We have all the time in the world to settle her; it's not her fault the poor little munchkin .

You could try to give Panda run time with the next door girls once she and her mum have settled more, so Panda gets more exposure? If you can, arrange run time with other piggies, if necessary divided by mesh or grids, but wait at least a couple of weeks until mum and daughter have got the hang of the routine. Right now, they are simply too traumatised and on total overload.

We can do that too when they're settled in. Right now Flossie won't even explore a run when it's just her and Panda, no other piggies to be seen, she's so scared. She's already getting a bit more comfortable with me, sat on me and eating veggies out of my hand and when I reach into her cage to touch her, but she's clearly very scared, poor girl. Panda is a lot better. When it's just her and her mum she's like Flossie, but when she can see other piggies she sniffs and talks to them whereas Flossie just freezes. She clearly appreciates other piggies more than Flossie does right now.

 

[Wiebke]

The first few weeks are always the toughest when there is so little you can do until they stop being freaked out by everything. Just don't despair - you will get there in the end.

Take your time and take your cues from Flossie. It will be very much a "one step forward-one step back" affair. If something doesn't work out, give Flossie time to recoup and restart one level down.

Flossie will probably be easier to bond when she is settled and more relaxed and has got to know her neighbours beforehand; but that is for later.