Vibrating/Shivering

[MommaPiggy]

My boys normally do this when they're all wet after a bath.
But I was giving Arnold a cuddle earlier and he started doing it. I don't think it's cold, I had the heating on and I was pretty toasty, I didn't think he was cold but I don't really understand what it is or what it means.

It's like they're vibrating. They don't make a sound at all. It's really like a little vibration/shiver. It's very hard to explain.
It kind of feels like those little hamster toys you can get, the ones where you pull the string on their back and vibrate. It was alot like that.

What does it mean?
Was he cold or unhappy or something?
He's never done this during cuddle time before...Although I know he isn't too fond of cuddles.

 

[Pinkchi]

I think it means that they are happy or enjoying something but then when you said he doesn't like cuddle time I was a bit confused...
I'm sure someone more helpful will come along in a minute though.

 

[MommaPiggy]

I think it means that they are happy or enjoying something but then when you said he doesn't like cuddle time I was a bit confused...
I'm sure someone more helpful will come along in a minute though.

Well, I don't think he does. He never gets comfy and he keeps letting out these tiny little squeaks.
I always thought that was him complaining about being cuddled.

I'm just not sure what he was trying to say.
If I know if it means he's happy or unhappy, I know that I either keep doing what I'm doing or I change my tactics.

 

[flintstones]

Fred does the shivering thing well did and I always thought it was cause he was scared, he doesn't do it anymore but ask Nicky and Laura Fred doesn't shut up with his chattering. He talks to Niki more than me lol!

 

[Abby'sMom]

my girls love cuddling, but sometimes there comes a point that they are ready to go back to their cage and they will shake and chatter their teeth.
Abby does it when she is scared. So I cuddle her close, letting her know its all ok and then i put her in her home...and she settles down.

 

[Wiebke]

A shivering guinea pig (no sound) is usually a frightened one.

 

[MommaPiggy]

A shivering guinea pig (no sound) is usually a frightened one.

I thought it might be.

Poor little guy. I've never done anything but love him...Yet he's still very nervous and skittish.


All I can do is keep loving him and hope he improves and feels safe with me.
Right?

Thanks guys. Now I know what it is, I can change the way I handle him. Maybe I should buy a pouch of some sort of snuggy thing and use that when I give him cuddles.
He might feel safer if he can hide away and then eventually he'll (I hope!) learn that I'm not scary and that I love him.

 

[Wiebke]

If you can make him feel safe, he will stop shivering eventually - some piggies that have not been handled much before need patience and persistence to bring them out of their shell - but once they do, the joy is so much greater!

 

[Lucky]

i usually use a fleece blanket for my girls to snuggle into during lap time! and of course their favourite food!

 

[daleksarah]

have a blanket or something on your knee for him to hide under when youre cuddling him

 

[Claire W]

A shivering guinea pig (no sound) is usually a frightened one.

Thanks for this Wiebke. Eliza sometimes does this and I just assumed it was because she was a little cold. She does it after she's had a bath and sometimes when she hears a noise she doesn't like (which isn't very often). She always gets lots of cuddles after though.