Does anyone else have unfriendly pigs?

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Hoggle*&*Ludo

Hoggle*&*Ludo

Adult Guinea Pig
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H&L STILL run a mile when I come near them although once we are hugging, I THINK they are ok but I can't tell if they are frightened or like the hugs. Hoggle screams when I am trying to catch him! :o

How do I know if they are happy? Will they ever stop being skittish or is it normal?
 
My two girls, especially Mette-Marit, scream bloody murder whenever I pick them up. I try to be relaxed about it. They've had a tough start... I'm home number 4 for Martha and 3 for Mette-Marit and they hadn't been handled very much at all.

I don't pick them up more than once a week or so, for cage cleaning and general health check/weighing. Maybe they would get tamer faster if I handled them more but I just don't like stressing them out. They've come so far already though, exepting veggies from my hand and wheeking for food :) I try to focus on that!
 
Aww i dont think they are being unfriendly just they may not like being picked up?

Joey runs from me too, but once ive picked him up he is fine and has a 'chat' to me. Gizmo used to cry when i picked him up but now he is fine!

Ive had them both since October 2008 and like i said Joey still runs from me :( but he wont run if you've got vegetables or nice tasty grass, i tend to say things 'veggie time' or 'up we come' when I'm picking mine up so they know what I'm doing. I think it does work as when Joey is thinking of running away when its veggie time i say the phase and he runs right up to the bars!

Gizmo is just too cheeky and he will jump all over you when you sit on the floor with them.

I'm sure that H&L will soon get used to being handled, but dont beat yourself up about them still running from you as its natural for them to do it, as they are prey animals in the wild and its their natural instinct to run/hide.

:)
 
Very few guineas like being picked up. Most offer some level of resistance, but I'm sure they are happy once they feel secure being cuddled and enjoy the chin tickles, nose rubs etc. I think more handling rather than less is helpful, as if all you get them out for is to meet basic needs, they will associate being handled with this rather than the nice stuff. x
 
oh, and one thing that has helped me is thinking about that for a guinea pig running and hiding is normal. A skittish guinea pig is just doing it's job, it's the tame and cuddly ones that are weird, really :) (not that I would mind my skittish ones being a bit "weird" sometimes... but still)
 
Most of ours scurry into the corner and one screams the place down but once we have them out the seem to enjoy their time with us. The only exception is Sylvester he adores attention and will happily stand still so you can catch him and equally sits still on your lap enjoying the attention. He really is a laidback boy!
 
Romily said:
Most of ours scurry into the corner and one screams the place down but once we have them out the seem to enjoy their time with us. The only exception is Sylvester he adores attention and will happily stand still so you can catch him and equally sits still on your lap enjoying the attention. He really is a laidback boy!
Click to expand...
Is Sylvester a Rex? rolleyes
 
No he is a Lunkarya cross we think, he was a long term resident at Becklen until Helen let us adopt him, now he lives in a herd of ladies and is a very happy boy!
 
Thank you for your replies!

I forgot to mention I sit on the floor and peep at them under the hay loft and when I talk to them Ludo looks at me with his head turned like he is listening to me. :)

I am just worried about when I am moving, my mum won't be all that keen on handling them and I don't want them getting worse but they should only really be with her a week or 2 hopefully.
 
Maybe just try tickling them in their cage then? That worked well with ours getting them to realise we were not going to eat them and then picking them up became far easier!
 
One of mine will let me pick her up without a fuss but the other tends to wriggle but once i am cuddling them they settle down and enjoy the cuddle(i hope!) :)
 
Mine prefer if I don't get them out, but will quite happily sit and let me stroke their noses in their cage/house. Part of the reason I got two guineas was so that I didn't feel too bad if I didn't have the time to handle them every day. And sure enough, they are 100% happy for me to feed them and give them a little nose stroke twice a day and for the rest of the time, they keep each other company. It's mostly for my own pleasure that I get them out really, they do seem to like it and get very relaxed but only when I leave them to snuggle in their bags, they turn their backs on me if I stroke them too much! rolleyes
 
Flumpet and Delilah aren't keen on being picked up. I try and get them out every day even if it's only for a few minutes sometimes. I also sit on the floor next to their c & c run for half an hour most days. I might be watching the tv or reading while they potter about. I think it helps for them to get used to me being near them while they feel I'm not actually interfering with them. :)
 
Mine are funny as they have their good and bad days and they are all different!

I don't think any of them particularly like cuddles but they just put up with it and don't seem to be scared or anything!

George stands there and lets me pick him up and also lets me stroke his head in the cages

Tia is sometimes ok to be stroked in cage but other times she rumbles when I try and stroke her, she normally tries to run when I pick her up and sometimes she shouts too but once I have her on my knee she sits nicely and doesn't look frightened (she used to look very frightened when I first got her)

Tiger is a parrot :)) he lets me stroke him in the cage and pick him up but hates being on my knee so runs up me and sits on my shoulder during lap time :))

Amy is fine with being stroked in the cage but she runs when you try and pick her up, she too sits nicely when having lap time!

I treat all mine the same and they are just very different pigs! :)
 
I've only had my girls for a few weeks, and I think I'm about their 3rd or 4th home! But they always run before I catch them, and will run if I try to stroke them in their cage. They never scream at me though.

But once they are out, they are now sitting still to have their daily brush, and are coming along well. And they are happy to eat from my hands.

They also tend to hide of we enter their room unannounced!
 
I have a game when it comes to cuddle time its called "catch the pig"... Fred is a nightmare... he runs for his life... Poor Boy, when he accepts he's going to be caught he stands still, the girls do the same thing although they aren't as quick but they do squeal... rolleyes!
 
My Matilda 'screams' when she is picked up. She also kicks like a bucking bronco! I have got many a scratch from those back legs. On the other extreme Montomgery is so tame. When I open his cage he jumps out into my arms. He follows me around the house and tries to climp up my legs. He loves human interaction and purrs constantly when being petted. I think Montomgery is actually a puppy and not a piggie! He is the tamest piggie I have ever had. Montomgery is a free ranger when I'm home and when he hears me coming up the stairs he stands at the top of the landing and wheeks at me. He then runs popcorning into the room as if to say 'come and play'. He is just the cutest.
 
The only one of mine who is happy to be picked up is sizzles. Mork is okay but not brilliant. All the others hate it even though they will lay on my lap and relax once up. I think it's the actual picking up that they don't like.

BTW the one that is fine with being picked up is a teddy - I believe they are laid back anyway. She's extremely laid back
 
Yes, I have two at the moment. Lucy was severely attacked by rabbits and other pigs before I got her and her ears are shredded, despite years of careful handling and bribery she still acts like she's terrified of everyone and everything. Her main companion, Bonnie, passed away a few months ago and she's been lost without her. I was going to look into finding her a new friend that doesn't pick on her but she is well over 6 now so I'm undecided.

My other pig Rosie is just mean and a big bully - she quite literally squeals in distaste when anyone or anything goes near her. She spends most of her days intimidating poor Lucy. The only pig who ever sorted her out was Bart, my neutered boy who I lost last year as well. Similarly, she has always been handled for hours daily but is just as mean as ever.

I miss having a nice lap pig who enjoys being held! :(
 
Mine will all let me stroke them on their noses when they're sitting in the hutches, but Spicy is the only one who won't let me pick her up (even Amber, who I've had for a week is letting me pick her up quite easily now :) ) Spicy wheeks and kicks around whenever I try to pick her up so I don't hold her much now, we're both happy enough just sitting near each other :))
 
i have a few which after 2 years hate me touching them up or going near them - they are handled a few times every week, but still hate me going near them, but they will come and take cucumber off me - I think it's girls, as most of my boys are ok.
 
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