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Bonding :)

Piggie.doodles

New Born Pup
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What is the best way to bond with guinea pigs? Is it good to pick them up everyday and spend 10-15 minutes with them or does that scare them? Thank you 😊
 
What is the best way to bond with guinea pigs? Is it good to pick them up everyday and spend 10-15 minutes with them or does that scare them? Is it easier to bond baby guinea pigs or adults?-I have both. Thank you 😊
 
Personally I dont think so. If they dont like it, then forcing them to be held against their will isn't bonding with them in my opinion. Its forcing your wants on them. They won't trust you if they feel they're going to be grabbed every time you go near them, they'll just want to continually get away.

I have asked for your other post to be deleted - you've made two posts on the same subject. We always ensure posts receive an answer but it could take a few hours.
 
If you want to spend time with your piggies then I recommend sitting with them in their run and you'll find they come and see what you're about. Can I ask how long you've had them?

P.S the forum has tonnes of really useful guides that you can peruse in your spare time
 
I've merged all your topics into one, you don't need to keep starting a new topic on the same subject. 👍
 
What is the best way to bond with guinea pigs? Is it good to pick them up everyday and spend 10-15 minutes with them or does that scare them? Thank you 😊

Hi and welcome

Please take the time to read the green guide links below; they will tell you in detail how you you can learn to understand where your piggies come from, how their prey animal instincts function; how you work around them and use guinea pig social interactive behaviours to communicate with them in ways they immediately understand and which help to remove you from the 'predator' category and make the trust you more quickly than waiting for them to figure out humans.
Trust is a tender plant that has to make deep roots first before it can grow leaves above the ground. Be patient and leave the cuddling sessions until your piggies trust you enough to eat from your handing.

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

These guides are also all part of our much more comprehensive practical information resource, which you may want to bookmark and browse, read and re-read at need: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Please be aware that we are a forum that is entirely run by voluntary member donations and that we all do this for free in our free time next to our day jobs; you seem to have a somewhat overblown expectation in that respect. When one of us is coming on, we prefer to work our way down the alert list in terms of life and death or serious health emergencies and urgency - I am sure that this is something you'll appreciate when you have a very ill piggy or a bad fall-out.
Please also accept that since we are all giving up time we could as lief (and sometimes liefer) spend with our own guinea pigs, family and friends or would rather have an earlier night, so we dsimply don't have the time to explain everything in detail to every member. For this purpose we use our guide links, in which you can find the kind of detailed, in-depth practical information you are looking after when tackling a much more complex issue than you would think and where there is not just a quick and easy answer as it all depends very much on your piggies' background and personalities. Thank you.
 
Thank you for replying! I have had my two boars for just over a year and my two sows I have had for a few months. The reason why I am asking this question is because I saw someone holding their guinea pigs everyday for 10-15 mins and I thought that by handling more, it gets them used to you and your smell and makes them less scared of being near you?
 
Thank you for replying! I have had my two boars for just over a year and my two sows I have had for a few months. The reason why I am asking this question is because I saw someone holding their guinea pigs everyday for 10-15 mins and I thought that by handling more, it gets them used to you and your smell and makes them less scared of being near you?

There are lots more ways of interacting with your piggies than reducing them to a lap piggy. Most piggies will come to tolerate handling and cuddling for that amount of time although you have some that will never be happy being handled and a few that love being made a fuss of.
Have a look at the ideas in our enrichment guide to see how many other ways there are you can interact with your guinea pigs in ways that give them more control than a daily cuddle does.
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

In the end, you get out of your piggies what you put into your relationship but this is a much wider concept.
 
Thank you for replying! I have had my two boars for just over a year and my two sows I have had for a few months. The reason why I am asking this question is because I saw someone holding their guinea pigs everyday for 10-15 mins and I thought that by handling more, it gets them used to you and your smell and makes them less scared of being near you?

Every piggy has it's own personality, just like humans. For example some people like attention and fame more than others whereas some people prefer to lead a quiet life. Guinea pigs are just like this in the way that some adore lap time and some absolutely despise it. For example my sprout will happily sit on my lap for hours but my late bean never really liked lap time. Remember that food is the way to their heart. Are you able to hand feed them?
 
Hi and welcome

Please take the time to read the green guide links below; they will tell you in detail how you you can learn to understand where your piggies come from, how their prey animal instincts function; how you work around them and use guinea pig social interactive behaviours to communicate with them in ways they immediately understand and which help to remove you from the 'predator' category and make the trust you more quickly than waiting for them to figure out humans.
Trust is a tender plant that has to make deep roots first before it can grow leaves above the ground. Be patient and leave the cuddling sessions until your piggies trust you enough to eat from your handing.

Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

These guides are also all part of our much more comprehensive practical information resource, which you may want to bookmark and browse, read and re-read at need: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Please be aware that we are a forum that is entirely run by voluntary member donations and that we all do this for free in our free time next to our day jobs; you seem to have a somewhat overblown expectation in that respect. When one of us is coming on, we prefer to work our way down the alert list in terms of life and death or serious health emergencies and urgency - I am sure that this is something you'll appreciate when you have a very ill piggy or a bad fall-out.
Please also accept that since we are all giving up time we could as lief (and sometimes liefer) spend with our own guinea pigs, family and friends or would rather have an earlier night, so we dsimply don't have the time to explain everything in detail to every member. For this purpose we use our guide links, in which you can find the kind of detailed, in-depth practical information you are looking after when tackling a much more complex issue than you would think and where there is not just a quick and easy answer as it all depends very much on your piggies' background and personalities. Thank you.
Sorry for keeping postin
Every piggy has it's own personality, just like humans. For example some people like attention and fame more than others whereas some people prefer to lead a quiet life. Guinea pigs are just like this in the way that some adore lap time and some absolutely despise it. For example my sprout will happily sit on my lap for hours but my late bean never really liked lap time. Remember that food is the way to their heart. Are you able to hand feed them?
Well the boys I can happily hand feed one of them is still a bit weary-this took about a year to get to that stage. The girls are still fairly new and are still little so at dinner time they are flying around their ‘cage’ popcorning! I did hand feed one of them in the first few days of having them but they stopped coming too close to the part of their cage where I am since I started picking them up to clean out their cage. P.s. I don’t pick any of them up anymore as their enclosures are large enough for them to stay in and have enough space while I clean out. When I am in there for longer then just giving them their dinner, they go all quiet and just stay in their hidey- I’ll try and sit in there tonight with some veggies and see if they come out! Thank you for the advice! 😊
 
Little treats are a good way of settling piggies, along with sitting with them and quietly talking to them. Most piggies don’t like being picked up so use a tunnel. Often once on your lap they are fine, give them a soft bit of fleece to snuggle under and feel safe
 
Well the boys I can happily hand feed one of them is still a bit weary-this took about a year to get to that stage. The girls are still fairly new and are still little so at dinner time they are flying around their ‘cage’ popcorning! I did hand feed one of them in the first few days of having them but they stopped coming too close to the part of their cage where I am since I started picking them up to clean out their cage. P.s. I don’t pick any of them up anymore as their enclosures are large enough for them to stay in and have enough space while I clean out. When I am in there for longer then just giving them their dinner, they go all quiet and just stay in their hidey- I’ll try and sit in there tonight with some veggies and see if they come out! Thank you for the advice! 😊

Try some of our piggy whispering tips when interacting with them - they mimic key social guinea pig behaviours and are therefore pretty effective.

For understanding the meaning of these behaviours, have a read and look through this guide here: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Some of the things in the guide links I have give you will hopefully help you and give you new ideas. Pet ownership is a life-long journey on which we all learn new things all the time - even people like me! :)
 
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