When will they stop running off

[Danlaarr]

i got my guinea pigs in january and i hold them all the time and they are fine but whenever anyone goes over to there cage the shoot off into their house will they ever stop it?

 

[piggyfan]

Some piggies are just very nervous. I have had my Amelia Jane for almost four years and she still runs when I approach the cage!

 

[Shellza]

I've had my girls for 3 years and they will still run. Especially Freya, she's a little scaredy cat. Some pigs are braver than others, but their natural instinct is to run.

 

[Freela]

Some pigs are more anxious than others. I also think it depends on how accustomed they are to seeing people come and go. A friend has pigs in a low-traffic area in her house and they are quite skittish when someone approaches the cage. Mine are in a high-traffic area (in a hallway that we have to walk past anytime we go to another room) and they are so accustomed to seeing people go running by that they either beg for food (most of the time!) or ignore us completely.

 

[raechiibbz]

I thought that was a basic instinct, especially if you approach them, as they are prey animals after all. My girlies love a cuddle and will contentedly sit and be stroked, but as soon as I get off my sofa they go hide. That being said, I've only had mine for a couple of weeks but I just put them hiding down to natural instinct as once I'm settled down on the sofa with a cuppa I see them come out of their hideys for a play.

 

[Poppy'sMum]

I would say they will never lose that instinct to run & hide, however I find that if you speak gently when approaching their cage they then know you are coming so they tend to be less likely to run, you can try it, it may work

 

[Guineapigs4life]

I've had mine for a year now and they still run, but they do come running towards me squealing loudly for veggies. I didn't realise what shy little creatures they were before I had them. I used to think I was doing something wrong and that they disliked me but I soon learnt there behaviour I think it's just how guinea pigs are. I think it is a good thing in some ways to, it's their instinct to run due to being prey for predators. If something ever did happen you wouldn't want your guinea pig running up to a fox, and cuddling next to it.
Their eyesight isn't the best either so you might look like an eagle trying to eat them from above, when approaching the cage try to be eye level if you can and don't hover above them to much. That way they see you as a friend and not a predator.

 

[Dusty_bugs]

You know I (personally) think it's a type of cage thing. I used to have guineas when I was younger and they were in a hutch in the kitchen. The hutch had a dark section with a door (standard hutch!). The guineas always used to leg it for the dark bit, I'd go through the ritual of opening the bedroom door, then they run into the tube.. and I'd bring them out via said tube. I had them nearly 4 years and they never got easier to catch. Eventually I would just leave the hutch open for them. They would come out for play time on their own accord and when they were done they pulled the hutch door closed with some string so the water bottle came back (I never taught that.. very impressed when I saw the first time!)

The cage I have with my current 2 girls is open plan indoor. They have a wooden house, and in one corner is a blanket pulled over like a tent top.. but they NEVER run when you pass them and I can virtually climb in the cage to clean them out and they dont budge. I even had Leeland look up and lick my chin one time.

I completely advocate providing hides and security, 100% so don't take me wrongly when I say the next bit.. but I think that if you provide any animal (even humans) the opportunity to hide, it will be more convinced the world is scary. If it settles out in the open and experiences sounds and light and people it will become desensatise more readily. The balance is in creating enough hide space so that it will always feel secure, but also to provide enough stimulation (and reward!) when they are out and about. I dont like hutches as much because I think they are too enclosed and dark with one panel of EXPOSURE where all the activity and stuff happens. Bit too concentrated I think for an animal with a nervous disposition.

When I get my girls out I have two covers for my bed, one has a large pouch and the other is basically a throw. If they have the pouch they will run in it and stay there. They wont budge, they wont poop.. they are completely silent! If I put them on the fleece, they talk, they eat, they scamper and explore. They pee on me I tend to end up bringing them up to my room on the fleece first and then when they look like they are settling down I bring out the pouch for snuggles. It's the only way I can guaruntee a range of healthy behaviours from them.

Of course, everyone raises their guineas differently.. and each guinea has a different personality! But the point is to make the world less scary.. If you are finding that your guineas are not getting any more easy going after all this time and it really bothers you that much, perhaps you could try them in an open top indoor cage (if you have the means) for 2 months and see how things go! Providing several hides at either end can help a guinea feel less trapped aswell!

Good luck!

 

[Ashleigh825]

Hm, thi is interesting. I have a blanket over one part of my boys' cage so that they'd have an area where they'd feel safe. I didn't think that maybe I was encouraging them to remain frightened and hide.

I think I'll try taking the blanket away, but keeping their two little tunnels I have for them.

 

[Abi_nurse]

I sort of agree with the above. In my open C&C my girls dont run off as a walk by, however if they are spooked (i sneeze/drop something etc) they will scatter. Even after nearly 3 years of having many of them they are still hard to catch for snuggles. But when I'm chatting to them outside the cage they do happily run over to the edge to see me, or in most cases see what food i have.

x.