Guinea Pig Seems To Not Like Handling.
Hi everyone! So I have two guinea pigs a Silkie Pig named Fluffers (Or fluffy) and an American guinea named Rusty. I’ve had them for about 4 months now and got them from a pet store. Fluffy is a bit shy and will run away for a bit when I try to touch her though she will come up and sniff me if I only move one finger rather than all out-stretched. Occasionally she will let me pet her, mostly when she’s in her hidey, in a corner or in their hay tray. Back before I got a cage extension, we had floor time, and I could sit inside with them and typically fluffy would like to hide near or under me when I was kneeling. Recently I’ve been having her lay on my chest to pet her and she tends to remain pretty still, though I can never tell if she’s frozen from fear or comfortable. She’s never indicated whether she enjoys the petting through purring or dislikes through teeth chattering or squealing, she just remains quite. A real mysterious one she is.
Rusty, on the other hand, is a whole other story. The only time she ever seems excited to see me is when it’s feeding time. They’ve both somewhat associated feeding with the floorboards by the room door creaking when someone enters. Any other time she just doesn’t want anything to do with me. Anytime I’ve tried to handle her is a struggle. She will run and fight as hard as she can to avoid any sort of contact despite countless times of trying to tame and interact with her. In order to pick her up, either for grooming, floor time or anything for that matter, I have to chase her around the cage and either corner her or get her in a hidey and then take her out. I hate doing it but it’s the only method that seems to work. I have also tried placing a fleece over her and then swaddling her in it when I pick her up though once she realizes she’s being held she starts to protest. If i even so much as move near her sometimes she’ll teeth chatter at me. I’m not sure how to I should go about taming her if every method just seems to make her dislike me more. I’ve also tried having her rest on my chest like fluffy and it takes about maybe 3-4 minutes of petting and soothing to get her to calm down enough for me to let her rest there without me having to hold her and even then when I try to pet her she would flinch or start all over again.
Has anyone else had this sort of issue? If so how should I go about solving this? I really want to be able to interact with both of them as much as possible and Fluffy is getting better but Rusty just seems to be not improving if not getting worse.
Rusty, on the other hand, is a whole other story. The only time she ever seems excited to see me is when it’s feeding time. They’ve both somewhat associated feeding with the floorboards by the room door creaking when someone enters. Any other time she just doesn’t want anything to do with me. Anytime I’ve tried to handle her is a struggle. She will run and fight as hard as she can to avoid any sort of contact despite countless times of trying to tame and interact with her. In order to pick her up, either for grooming, floor time or anything for that matter, I have to chase her around the cage and either corner her or get her in a hidey and then take her out. I hate doing it but it’s the only method that seems to work. I have also tried placing a fleece over her and then swaddling her in it when I pick her up though once she realizes she’s being held she starts to protest. If i even so much as move near her sometimes she’ll teeth chatter at me. I’m not sure how to I should go about taming her if every method just seems to make her dislike me more. I’ve also tried having her rest on my chest like fluffy and it takes about maybe 3-4 minutes of petting and soothing to get her to calm down enough for me to let her rest there without me having to hold her and even then when I try to pet her she would flinch or start all over again.
Has anyone else had this sort of issue? If so how should I go about solving this? I really want to be able to interact with both of them as much as possible and Fluffy is getting better but Rusty just seems to be not improving if not getting worse.
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- And got the T-shirt
Hold her at least once a day, with a light cloth over her. Offer her yummy treats while she's in your lap. She'll soon learn to associate you with good things.
Try not to chase her when you're catching her. Use a box turned sideways, or a cuddle cup, to gently shoo her into a corner and then catch her.
Be very patient -- all pigs are skittish, but some are more so.
Try not to chase her when you're catching her. Use a box turned sideways, or a cuddle cup, to gently shoo her into a corner and then catch her.
Be very patient -- all pigs are skittish, but some are more so.
I have a very skittish piggy also. Some pigs, from my understanding, just are more anxious than others (like some people!). I made a soft sort of bag out of fleece that she can run into when I need to move her or give her her daily (if somewhat resisted) cuddles. I don't think she will ever LOVE being touched, but giving her some love and cuddles every day is important. I've found that clearing her hideys (gently and slowly) out of her cage, then placing the bag open in front of her causes her to walk into it, where I can pick her up and cause her a little less stress.
It takes a bit of time, but I think consistently doing something like that (or with a box or cuddle cup like bpatters says) helps! And, of course, treats!!!
It takes a bit of time, but I think consistently doing something like that (or with a box or cuddle cup like bpatters says) helps! And, of course, treats!!!