Bonding with my new guniea pigs

[Paulie]

Morning all,
I recently got a new pair of guniea pigs and I have had them now for a week, but I hardly see them, I know they eat and drink as all there food and hay has gone! And there poo is plentiful, they seem to run for cover every time I come in the room. I have sat and talked to them to get them used to my voice but still nothing, I Don't want to scare them by getting them out and then put them back in there settling in time. What do you think is best or should I still leave them for a few more days to get used to me? Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Deleted member 139433]

Hello and welcome,

Congratulations on your new piggies. You have only had them a week, it does take much more time for them to get used to you and build their confidence. Please be aware that they might never be particularly brave or enjoy being handled (it's their natural prey instincts). You are doing the right things using your voice and being quiet around them - and food always works a treat to tempt them! It really does just take time. My boys are very confident now and pop over for a gentle scratch or a treat, but they don't particularly like being handled - I only pick them up for health checking or for grooming/nail trimming etc. It can take months though, a couple of my newest arrivals took a few months to develop their confidence - now they are over confident!

Have a read through some of the wonderful guides on here and remember to give you and your piggies time. That's great they are eating and drinking, just please don't let the hay ever run out. They should have ad-lib good quality hay at all times for digestive and dental health.

Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

All the best with your piggies! We look forward to seeing some pics once they settle

 

[Piggies&buns]

A week is a very short space of time. It can take weeks, months or in some cases years for them to settle in.
They will come round to interacting with You given time but many will never want to be held or touched. They aren’t cuddly pets.

Let them settle in (we suggest they settle for a week before starting anything further) and then sit with them by their cage and talk to them, offering food from your hand (which they are unlikely to take to begin with). Once they take food from you then that means they trust you. You can then offer your hand and see if they will let you touch them on their head.
It took one of mine six weeks before he stopped running away from me and took food from my hand. It took the other one a year and a half before he took food from me. It’s been three years since and neither of them particularly like being touched and definitely not being picked up but they come running to see me and are happy to be with me. They don’t mind the odd chin or head scratch on their terms now.
Patience is definitely key with piggies!

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

This guide is helpful. You must weigh your piggies every week as part of routine care. It’s the only way to monitor they are eating enough hay (any significant weight loss indicates they aren’t and then you need to step in). This is tricky when they don’t like being handled so this guide gives some tips.

How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

 

[Paulie]

Hello and welcome,

Congratulations on your new piggies. You have only had them a week, it does take much more time for them to get used to you and build their confidence. Please be aware that they might never be particularly brave or enjoy being handled (it's their natural prey instincts). You are doing the right things using your voice and being quiet around them - and food always works a treat to tempt them! It really does just take time. My boys are very confident now and pop over for a gentle scratch or a treat, but they don't particularly like being handled - I only pick them up for health checking or for grooming/nail trimming etc. It can take months though, a couple of my newest arrivals took a few months to develop their confidence - now they are over confident!

Have a read through some of the wonderful guides on here and remember to give you and your piggies time. That's great they are eating and drinking, just please don't let the hay ever run out. They should have ad-lib good quality hay at all times for digestive and dental health.

Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

All the best with your piggies! We look forward to seeing some pics once they settle

Thankyou for the reply, i make sure they have plenty of hay and that it will never run out... handling wise I just want to take them out of there cage so I can clean and replace there bedding, so would just let them have a run round the room whilst I change it. And then health care wise, but at least I know I am doing the right things and it's just time they need...
Thankyou

 

[Siikibam]

Pick a box or maybe a carrier to herd them into so you can take them out the cage. Then use that each time you need to get them out.

 

[Wiebke]

Thankyou for the reply, i make sure they have plenty of hay and that it will never run out... handling wise I just want to take them out of there cage so I can clean and replace there bedding, so would just let them have a run round the room whilst I change it. And then health care wise, but at least I know I am doing the right things and it's just time they need...
Thankyou

Hi!

As long as they are frightened, I would rather have them come into their carrier (with a little bit of fresh grass or their favourite veg as a draw) or use the laundry basket with a towel at the bottom and one over the top; and again a little treat to eat in the meantime. Have some soiled cosy or bedding with them for reassurance that this is not yet more foreign territory for them. Roaming can start once they are confident in their new home. In order to speed up that process, peg a sheet over the top of the cage or at least a good part of it to give them opportunity to explore their cage feeling safe and use our piggy whispering tips to assure them that they are part of the herd you are leading and that they are welcome and loved.

The guide links in this thread are all part of our much more comprehensive practical and really helpful information resource into which our own long term as well our extensive forum experiences have gone. After 15 years on a lively forum, we do have an inkling as to exactly the kind of information detail and step-by-step practical guidance new owners are looking for. We cannot repeat everything in that extent in every post (especially when it often takes several days to write a guide), especially as we are all doing this for free in our own free time. That is why we kindly ask our members to please read (and if necessary re-read) the relevant guide links for the in-depth background information and all the little practical how-to details.
You can access our New Owners guide via this link here, which you may want to bookmark, browse, read and re-read at need. It is currently one of the most comprehensive information resources around. The guide format allows us to update and extend at need (or rather as we have spare time, which is much rarer). Here is the link: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Our full and even more extensive information resource can be best accessed via the guides shortcut on the top bar where it is laid out in thematical order.

You are of course always welcome to ask any questions you have, the tricky little ones as well as the big ones, in our various Care sections. We have not forgotten that we have all started out knowing nothing and have gained our experience very often by bumbling head-long into a problem... They will all be answered in a friendly way.