Guinea pig taming instruction that actually works.

[flowerfairy]

Saskia from LA Guinea pig rescue put up a you tube video of how to handle guinea pigs. I cant wait to try it with my five! The comments section is full of positive feedback.

 

[Aimee's piggies]

Thanks for letting me know about the video! I have been looking for a tutorial of how to pick up my more skittish female guinea pig more easily without scaring her.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for letting me know about the video! I have been looking for a tutorial of how to pick up my more skittish female guinea pig more easily without scaring her.

We have got a forum video guide on how to avoid hands-on picking up at all. This way avoids the risk of freak jumps during transport entirely. It is part of our extensive collection of guides on a wide range of topics, which you can access via the guides shortcut on the top bar.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

 

[Aimee's piggies]

Thank you

 

[SqueakersNYC]

Will be checking out this video! I don’t want to suggest that my piggie is above average intelligence, but after a couple of times of lifting her out while she was in her log/hidey, there is no way of luring her back in there with tasty treats while we are around

 

[Wiebke]

Will be checking out this video! I don’t want to suggest that my piggie is above average intelligence, but after a couple of times of lifting her out while she was in her log/hidey, there is no way of luring her back in there with tasty treats while we are around

You have to chivvy her in with a little tap on the back. It is normal that they have a phase when they refuse it; you have to push through that.

 

[SqueakersNYC]

Will do. I’ve also ordered some cavy caves and hoping she will chill out in them and I can pick her up easily that way. My husband is much better at handling than I am so she and our other girl are still getting daily lap time.

I even got peed on the other day which I’m taking as a compliment as she was relaxed

 

[DMS260820]

My boar lets me pick him up without fail everytime. My sow on the other hand will not, unless you stroke her head first very slowly, then very slowly move to pick her up

 

[Wiebke]

Will do. I’ve also ordered some cavy caves and hoping she will chill out in them and I can pick her up easily that way. My husband is much better at handling than I am so she and our other girl are still getting daily lap time.

I even got peed on the other day which I’m taking as a compliment as she was relaxed

Also use our piggy whispering tips for transport and when holding; they do make a difference. I love caves for transport, too; they are very convenient indeed! Just make sure that your piggies cannot jump out early when you put the caves back.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

 

[Kirsty B]

Saskia from LA Guinea pig rescue put up a you tube video of how to handle guinea pigs. I cant wait to try it with my five! The comments section is full of positive feedback.

Thank you very much for sharing this ... just watched the video! Have subscribed to this lady's YouTube channel and will absolutely be trying this out today!

Adopted 2 boys just over a week ago and I decided to try handling them yesterday, after getting them in a tunnel (sat down in their pen whilst doing this). I have been keen to handle them as am anxious to weigh, preventative treat and check them over, but felt worried I would frighten them off, doing it too soon?! It went ok I think, but I didn't like doing it as they clearly didn't enjoy it ... of course very understandable! A lot more hopeful now with seeing the video.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you very much for sharing this ... just watched the video! Have subscribed to this lady's YouTube channel and will absolutely be trying this out today!

Adopted 2 boys just over a week ago and I decided to try handling them yesterday, after getting them in a tunnel (sat down in their pen whilst doing this). I have been keen to handle them as am anxious to weigh, preventative treat and check them over, but felt worried I would frighten them off, doing it too soon?! It went ok I think, but I didn't like doing it as they clearly didn't enjoy it ... of course very understandable! A lot more hopeful now with seeing the video.

Hi!

I have tried Saskia's method with my severely traumatised ex-toddler's piggy who has a real thing about hands - it has taken me several months to slowly rebuild her trust after my try which ended with her totally flipping out.
Generally the method of putting a piggy under your pullover until it falls asleep on you is an approach that often works very well in terms of building up trust, if you don't mind being peed on. Piggies are a lot easier to put back in the cage when they are sleepy and relaxed. This is also a method I have found works to calm down a piggy that has taken a sudden fright.

Just to warn you that there is no 100% recipe for quick success!

However, I find that any skittish new arrivals react well to my piggy whispering tricks with which I invite them to be part of my herd and tell them that they are loved and treasured, and much wanted. This puts me out of the predator category; it also means that my piggies don't have to learn 'human' first and can communicate in their social framework.
You may also want to consider this approach of more general interaction and not just handling!
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips

You usually have to apply a combination of various approaches and adjust them according to the personality of your piggies. Please don't expect that you will get instant cuddly and trusting toy pets with any method; building up trust is a slow and gradual process. Never push any piggies further than they want to; that is a surefire trust killer.

Building up enough trust that your piggies feel empowered to tell you when they have enough and then respecting their limits is the best and most sustainable way of building up long term trust and secure communication channels. Everybody likes to be taken seriously, even a small animal with a huge personality!

 

[Kirsty B]

Many thanks Wiebke?

 

[piggieminder]

Wiebke's tips really work. I use a lot of them now without really thinking out it, adapted to suit all of my little personalities. I use a small cat carrier to pick mine up as they are easy to take out from this. Mine were great with a tube to start with but they soon caught on and refused to go in it, with a little tap on the bottom they always go in the carrier though. I got quite a nasty nip on the base of my finger from Peanut when I picked him out of the cage one day, this made me very nervous about putting my hands over the ends of the tube to transport them, I nearly dropped the tube from shock when it happened.