Guineas scared to be held

K

Kazzie84

New Born Pup
Joined
Sep 17, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
25
Location
Edinburgh
Hi so I'm just curious if anyones guineas are still scared to be held? We have had ours nearly a year and the still don't like to be picked up, we can put our hands in to clap them but that's about it
Tried food in hands ect
When cleaning cage out I have to put a tub in with food in it to coax them out
HELP
 
Welcome to the forum

This is entirely normal. Piggies are prey animals and being picked up to them is very scary.
The least scary thing is to herd them into a carrier or box and then pick up from there.

I’ve had my boys over three years and they don’t like being picked up or handled. The only time I do pick them up is for their weekly weigh ins and health checks. As soon as I put their carrier in they now know what it is for and walk straight in. They don’t like being held, but it’s the least stressful way to catch them. I can then carry out their weights checks quickly so as to not upset them too much
 
Great thanks I had a Guinea years ago and he was fine with it but these 2 just get really scared ect,1 of them is constantly chewing the cage too, any advice about that one?
 
What sex are the piggies?
How big is their cage?
Bar chewing can be for several reasons though
 
Shy Little Meg has always hated being picked up and I have had her since the day she was born and she is over 5 now. She was the result of a shop pregnancy along with her two brothers RB Piggies Cutey Pie Dennis and Handsome Silver Fox Christian. Dennis and Christian never minded being picked up but Meg just hates it. I guess the prey instinct in some piggies is more than others.

Shy Little Meg

Meg Double Chookins.JPG

Cutey Pie Dennis🌈

Dennis Chookin.JPG

Handsome Silver Fox Christian

Christian Sleepy 7.JPG
 
Kazzie84 said:
2 girls and cage is a large one, they get a decent amount of chew toys so no idea
Click to expand...

Chew toys are generally of very little interest to piggies and bar chewing can often be associated with trying to get your attention/trying to get their own way. You need to ignore bar chewing if it is just her trying to get your give in to her ie get treats!

As long as their cage is ideally 150x60cm as recommended, or a minimum of 120x60cm then that is fine.
 
Our two have continued their progression of getting tamer and more relaxed with us for years after we adopted them. After one year they were still extremely skittish and we always used a bed or something to pick them up and carry them, but now after three one of them will usually consent to being picked straight up by hand from the floor of their shed. The other one will usually still try to get out of it, but he's honestly quite half hearted in his evasion attempts these days.

Obviously it still depends on the individual character of your pig, but keep following the guinea pig whispering tips on the forum and maybe they'll carry on coming out of their shells / mellow a bit more with age.

Also, they way to their hearts is through their stomachs, obviously! Ours will put up with a lot for a bit of mint/cucumber or a lawn trip!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top