Brave, friendly but doesn't like to be held?

[chrismireya]

Greetings!

My wife and I have a wonderful little male pig named "OneOne" (because he has one pink eyelid and one black eyelid). We purchased him from a pet store and have had him for about two months now. He is happy, healthy and extraordinarily friendly. In fact, you might even say that he is exceptionally brave.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law visited our house. They brought their one-year-old Vizsla (dog) with them. We were a bit worried that this would stress out OneOne. It turns out that "Robin" (the dog) was certainly fascinated with OneOne. However, it turns out that OneOne was also fascinated with Robin. He was safely in his extra-large enclosure, but he would walk right up to the dog. OneOne would climb up on the side of the enclosure to spend time with Robin. It was...weird.

In addition, our pig just loves to spend time with us. By "spend time with us," I mean that he is very clingy. He loves to be rubbed. He loves to play with us. He doesn't seem shy at all (except for any sudden moves when someone enters the room). He regularly sleeps with his eyes closed when we are in the room chatting away.

We have pig-proofed our room for floor time (with no crevices or things to bite and VERY clean). We typically use a 6' x 8' soft linoleum mat and fencing next to his enclosure (with a ramp and steps to climb back into his enclosure anytime he liked). However, we have experimented by allowing him to free roam (with an opening in his floor-time fence). He loves being outside of his enclosure -- almost as much as he likes being inside it. He'll spend a lot of time outside and return occasionally inside to drink water or "go to the bathroom" (he is somewhat potty-trained).

Outside of his enclosure, he loves it when I play with him. I often use a handkerchief as part of playing "chase" with him. As such, he likes to run away (often popcorning), hide for a few seconds and then returns to "chase" me). When he free-roams around our pig-proof room, he loves to come and lay down next to our feet too. He exhibits certain means of communication that we've now interpreted as the things that he does when he wants to be rubbed, given a treat or play. He's a smart pig.

We have had guinea pigs in the past. We had a group of females. All of them were very shy (except when it came time for treats or regular eating). They never got along with one another either (despite being otherwise happy and healthy). We had another male who passed away with weeks of adopting him. He was a wonderful pig who didn't mind being held but was otherwise very shy.

OneOne is very different. He loves actively getting our attention. He had a cage-mate that we adopted along with him; however, we returned that pig within a week because of the surprising amount of conflict. After that, he seemed to be so stress-free. Perhaps this is why OneOne loves our attention?

However, OneOne just can't sit still if we try lap time.

We've tried everything. We've tried snuggle/cuddle sacks, beds, caves, tubes, etc. Nothing has worked. He just fidgets while he's on the lap. When he place him back on the floor, he doesn't leave. In fact, he seems to want even more of our attention (to play, rub or feed the snacks that we were trying on the lap). Either that, or he will lay down next to our feet. I joked to my wife that he seemingly has one fear -- a fear of heights.

Does anyone have a suggestion?
How do we get OneOne to enjoy lap time?
Is it better to just enjoy him without lap time?

 

[Siikibam]

If he doesn’t sit still then it’s likely he doesn’t want to be held. He sounds like a very social animal. However, I will say that they need companionship of their own kind. You’d be surprised how much more he would come out of his shell if he had a piggy to live with. Not getting on with his previous cage mate doesn’t mean he wouldn’t get on with another. Compatibility and mutual liking are important, more so than age. It’s like us humans - some people you get on really well with while others rub you up the wrong way and you just clash.

If he’s under four months then companionship is even more important than anything else (except food of course). I would strongly recommend you find him a friend - rescue dating is the best way. It may be he’s ‘transferring’ his needs to you because you’re all he has. But you can’t communicate the same way that piggies do, so it’s unfortunately not enough. It will be a lonely many years if you don’t intend to get him a friend.

We’d love to see a photo of your boy. The amount of space he has is amazing! Don’t let my boys hear you

 

[weepweeps]

I think maybe he would really like a friend of his own who speaks his language. It’s lovely he likes to spend time with you both but it can’t replace a buddy of his own. It takes at least two weeks for them to settle into their relationship. In that time there would be lots of dominance. Maybe you could take him dating to find a compatible buddy.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

First and foremost, he does need another piggy companion. Sadly, no amount of human interaction will make up for not having a piggy friend. He may be desperate to be with you because he doesn't have another piggy to be with. If he is young, then socialising with other piggies now is essential if he is to see himself as a Guinea Pig and learn the behaviours necessary to be with another piggy.

When you say you returned the other piggy because of conflict - what sort of behaviours do you mean? After just one week in a new home, they would not have fully established a relationship and would be in the process of forming a hierarchy so would see a lot of normal dominance behaviours - such as chasing, mounting and rumble strutting. These behaviours continue throughout the period of establishing a relationship (two weeks) and throughout the teenage months (4-14 months of age). Even adult boars will show these behaviours. A full on rolling around, fur ball, injury causing fight is a reason to separate two piggies as that means they were not character compatible and would never have had a successful long term bond.

Its also normal for them to not want laptime and you cant make him enjoy it. They are active creatures and wanting to get away is very normal. My two hate being held and cuddled so we simply dont do it they are friendly though and are happy for me to be with them. I only handle them for their routine weekly health and weight checks etc. Otherwise, I simply sit in their shed with them and let them go about their piggy business together.
Yes they aren't particularly keen on heights. They are ground roaming creatures and a height can mean a blind jump which will cause injuries.

Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Free Ranger]

He sounds a champion! Boars can often openly show more 'character' than the sows. Our boy Hungry Harvey used to genuinely beam as he was eating - which was all the time. His friend Casper was hilarious! Mind you, part of this was that he looked as if he was wearing giant fluffy trousers...

If he doesn't enjoy being on you lap and is letting you know that it will only help your relationship if you listen to him. Are you sitting on the floor with him in your lap? Or up on a seat? Their eyesight isn't great and they've evolved as ground dwellers so he may well have a mistrust of heights. For example, many folks who lift piggy to carry into another room automatically put him up to their shoulder like we would carry a baby, because that's how we have evolved, but this vertical position is pretty unnatural for piggy - they are horizontal beasties.

Your challenge is to find him a friend he can fully express himself with. Double the fun

 

[chrismireya]

Thank you for all of the tips and words of encouragement. We are now looking for a suitable pal for OneOne. Right now, we've noticed just how "needy" he seems to be. He actually doesn't like to stay in his habitat -- and likes to get outside and explore the rest of our house (well, the parts or our home that are piggie-safe and accessible). He even likes to rest or even sleep by our feet (if he's outside of his environment and we're sitting on a couch). From the day that we adopted him, he absolutely loves it when we pet him, rub his chin or gently scratch behind his ears and snout.

As mentioned, he had a cage mate in the past. However, that mate would aggressively attack -- even though OneOne always maintained a passive "alpha" dominance. That piggy (we named Leif Erikson -- because he was the first to explore his cage as OneOne just wanted to sleep) was always shy around us. He ran to "safety" (i.e., the covered tunnels, sleep area, etc.) each and every time we were in the room. OneOne has been very different. Since Day 1, he actually runs up to us. He strangely prefers to sleep outside of any of the tents, covered and protected sleeping areas or tunnels.

We've had guinea pigs in the past; but, this is the bravest that I've ever seen. I told my wife that we should have named him "Despereaux" (a reference to the titular character in a children's book about an unusually brave mouse).

When we went to the pet store to adopt guinea pigs, we didn't really want OneOne. We had seen him there on several occasions. He was tired and always stayed away from the others. He even seemed lethargic (and I feared that he might be ill). We liked Leif because he was so active and adorably cute (Leif is an Abyssian whereas OneOne is an otherwise ordinary American guinea pig). However, we thought that OneOne might be a viable mate because of how passive he seemed with ALL of the other boys at the store.

It turns out that Leif was a bit violent and (ironically) shy around us; yet, OneOne immediately bonded with us. The only thing that he still will not do is stay still during any lap time. He will walk up and climb on us if we're sitting on the floor with him. However, he just doesn't like to be picked up (even if we are picking him up in a small enclosure).

QUESTION: Are there any tips for acclimating a new mate into our little guinea pig family of one?

 

[Siikibam]

When introducing a new piggy, you need to consider quarantine first. If your boy is under four months then you can’t quarantine the new pig. If he’s older than four months and new pig is also older then you need to quarantine him for two weeks.

They need to be introduced on neutral ground - an area no pig has been with just a pile of hay and no hides. You leave them in there and only separate if things really are going downhill.

Have a read of the guides I’m linking below. The first one is a good guide on bonding. Please make sure that you get him a friend sooner rather than later if he’s under four months. Companionship is top priority for young piggies and the socialising.

Please make sure you double check the sex of the new piggy, especially if he comes from a breeder or pet shop. You want to avoid any accidental pregnancies. Hope you get him a friend soon.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

One last thought. The area you close them in at night must be minimum 150x60cm. We recommend 180x60cm for boars. It doesn’t matter if they’re free roaming during the day. The area they’re closed in at night still needs to meet their minimum space needs.