Guinea giving me mixed signals

[Regruber]

So a customer of mine was giving away her 3 month old guinea. I took him and he came with a cage and some toys. The firdt few days i left him alone as my room is the quietest, to allow him to get used to the area.
Yesterday i picked him up for the first time. He made a fuss which i was expecting. But he calmed down when i held him and started making these low grunt/whistle sounds and vibrating and yawning and stretching. He even popcorned when i put him back in his cage.

I know its only been 3 days and i am not expecting him to love me for a long time, but it makes me feel bad that he hasnt wanted to leave his cage to get exercise. But i try to hold and talk to him 3 to 4 times a day to let him know I'm not bad.
His cage is on the floor and i leave the door open in case he wants to come out but i dont even think he can jump out, hence why i bring him out.

Is force holding him making him hate me?

What can i do to help get him excercise?

And before anyone says anything i know a lone guinea isnt ideal but he came alone and because of covid the pet stores are closed

 

[Piggies&buns]

He is very scared so being held is likely making him more scared. It is best to cover his cage and do nothing other than feed him and ensure his cage is kept clean for the first week. After that, sit by his cage and offer food from your hand while he is in his cage. Once he takes food from your hand, then he is beginning to trust you. After that, slowly build it up to trying to see if he will let you gently touch him.
Do bear in mind that most guinea pigs hate being picked up, and a lot of them don’t enjoy being touched but some do come round to enjoy it but it could take months, years maybe. 3 days is just a very short amount of time. It took one of mine six weeks to even take food from my hand. It took the other a year and a half. Take it at his pace.
The settling in piggy whispering tips in the links below will help you.

Ensure his cage is big enough and he will have plenty of opportunity to exercise until he is more comfortable with coming out. Do be aware that they don’t like open spaces so ensure plenty of hides etc are all over the room when he does come out will help him feel more secure.

When it comes to getting him a friend, from a pet shop is not the best place to get him a friend really - if you have rescue centres near you then that is the best way. I understand if you don’t have them nearby though - not all countries are well populated with centres. Character compatibility is key to a successful bond between piggies and if you do just bring home another piggy from a pet shop, then you will need to bear in mind the possibility that they won’t be character compatible and may not bond. In that case, the plan b is that two piggies need to live side by side in separate cages. This is where a rescue centre can help if at all possible - if they offer boar dating, then you can take your piggy along so he can choose his own new friend and that will ensure character compatibility is there so will result in a successful bond.
Do also check the sexes of piggies before putting them together and when you do attempt to bond, you must follow the correct bonding procedure - it must be done on neutral territory. For two boars to live together in one cage, they need a cage measuring 180cm x 60cm as two boars need a lot of room to enough territory each. If they live as neighbours because they don’t like each other then each piggy needs a cage of a minimum of 120cm x 60cm.

The guides below will help you

New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information
Cage Size Guide
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets

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

Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities

 

[Siikibam]

You’ve been given very advice above. Do think about getting him a friend as soon as possible. He will really come out of his shell when he gets companionship of his own kind. We’d love to see some photos.

Check here and see if there are any rescues near you.
Guinea Lynx :: Canadian Rescue Organizations

 

[Wiebke]

So a customer of mine was giving away her 3 month old guinea. I took him and he came with a cage and some toys. The firdt few days i left him alone as my room is the quietest, to allow him to get used to the area.
Yesterday i picked him up for the first time. He made a fuss which i was expecting. But he calmed down when i held him and started making these low grunt/whistle sounds and vibrating and yawning and stretching. He even popcorned when i put him back in his cage.

I know its only been 3 days and i am not expecting him to love me for a long time, but it makes me feel bad that he hasnt wanted to leave his cage to get exercise. But i try to hold and talk to him 3 to 4 times a day to let him know I'm not bad.
His cage is on the floor and i leave the door open in case he wants to come out but i dont even think he can jump out, hence why i bring him out.

Is force holding him making him hate me?

What can i do to help get him excercise?

And before anyone says anything i know a lone guinea isnt ideal but he came alone and because of covid the pet stores are closed

Hi and welcome

Please take the time to read the helpful guides in the link below, especially the one on guinea pig instincts and how you can use their own body language to communicate with him in terms that he instinctively understands. Make sure that you welcome him, invite him into your herd by fondling his ears and gently stroke around his eyes to tell him that he is loved and cherished. This will go a long way to give him a group identity and a safe place to belong and will go a long way to help settling him in.
Right now he is feeling very lost. Depending on the personality and confidence, piggies can react differently; the chapter on prey animal instincts will explain a lot.
Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

Please be aware that when shops re-open (sadly not much in the way of rescues in Canada although there are a very few - which province are you in?) you cannot simply stick a piggy in a cage and expect them to get on. Guinea pigs are territorial of their own little group patch, so any bonding has to happen on neutral ground. Our bonding guide and our boar guide will take you through all aspects step by step.
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

In order to learn about guinea pigs, you may find our New Owners guide collection with lots of practical and hepful information for all the topics we get the most questions and concerns about; guides to help you on housing, diet and care as well as those that are there to help you understand your piggies and to learn what is normal and what not for them; and to hopefully avoid the most common pitfalls that await the unwary.
The guide format allows us to update and extend our information at need. You may want to bookmark it and use it as a helpful resource. We have aimed to provide the kind of practical and precise detail that a new owner wants and not gloss over the tricky little issues; they are worth browsing, reading and re-reading as you will pick up on different aspects in the measure that your own epxerience grows.
You are of course always welcome to ask any questions you may have along the way in our various Care sections but in view of the time difference, the information may come in handy during UK nighttime hours. You can access our full information best via the guides shortcut on the top bar.
Recommended vets and rescues links cover Canada but may not necessarily be fully up to date. We have several Canadian members from different parts of the country, which may be able to help you more depending on your location.
Here is the access link: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Merab]

Welcome to the forum and good for you giving this piggy a home.
I echo what has been said already.
as prey animals a guinea pig's default position is "You're going to eat me" and it takes time and patience before they come to trust that you are not going to eat them.

Pictures would be lovely

 

[Regruber]

Welcome to the forum and good for you giving this piggy a home.
I echo what has been said already.
as prey animals a guinea pig's default position is "You're going to eat me" and it takes time and patience before they come to trust that you are not going to eat them.

Pictures would be lovely

This is my good boy Ross

 

[eileen]

He is a very handsome dude ! i hope you are able to find a companion for him in time,difficult to find rescues in Cananda.

 

[Merab]

He’s gorgeous

 

[Regruber]

He is a very handsome dude ! i hope you are able to find a companion for him in time,difficult to find rescues in Cananda.

I've bdem checkingmy local spca and also there's a rescue not too far from me. I just want to give him time to settle in before i think about another one