Guineas won’t let me touch them?

Guinea_TaL

Guinea_TaL

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I’ve got two guinea pigs, Thor and Loki. They are about a year old and I got them about two months ago. They will eat out of my hand and let me stroke their head and occasionally their ears but never past that. I’ve been looking everywhere for advice but all people have been saying is to take them out for floor time. There is no way they would let me lift them out to floor time and their cage isn’t close to the floor?

When I feed them they will sometimes let me stroke them but only for a second or two. Thor also seems to be scratching a lot I’ve looked at mite and lice treatment but all of them require you to rub it into the Guineas skin which they won’t let me do. Any ideas?

Thanks
 
It is normal for them not want to be picked up. They are prey animals and running away from being grabbed is survival.
Mine are the same. One will let me touch him on his head if he is in the mood. He will take food from me. Won’t let me pick him up. The other one won’t take food from me, won’t let me touch him and runs away as soon as I go near. If I need to pick them up, my favourite method as it is less stressful on them is to use an item for them to walk into and then pick them up with them inside the item. For us, it is a pet carrier. They have learnt to associate it with being put out on the run, so they will now willingly walk into the pet carrier. From the carrier, I can pick them up. They don’t particularly like being handled but doing it this way is less stressful for them than being chased around with me grabbing at them! So, perhaps you have a box, or tube, fleece cuddle cup etc which you may be able to use?

Just to mention though, you say you’ve looked at mite and lice treatment, do you mean in a pet shop? Is so, just to let you know, don’t buy any treatments from a pet shop. The treatments from pet shops are not good enough and won’t cure any potential problem. You need vet prescribed treatments. There are different types of mites and you really need a vet to formally diagnose whether they have lice or mites in the first place, what type, and give you the most effective treatment.
 
Mine don't like being picked up but will tolerate petting in the cage.

My newest 2 have only just started allowing me the privilege of petting them but never for long. They have been with me for 3 months.
They are prey animals - it takes a lot of time and patience for them to feel safe.
We also need to accept each one for the individual character they are.
 
It’s completely normal, my first piggie, Coco (my profile pic) is the sweetest and allows me to do whatever I want. Buddy (who we recently lost😢🖤🌟) only let us touch his and and occasionally his body but HATED being picked up. Our newest piggie, 3 months old (we’ve had him for two months) has certainly improved. When we first got him he wouldn’t come out. By day 3 he would come out slowly. By day 5 he was fine sitting on my lap but was still really skittish and would run back in the igloo if a noise startled him. By the first month we were allowed to pet his nose. Now exactly two months have passed and he’s in the same position as Buddy. Whenever we feed him he greets us by jumping on the bars and squeaking! ☺️ Of course my precious Buddy and Coco would do the same! :)

Just give it time and be patient. I’ve only picked Mr Nugget up twice so far and I never force anything. During lap time I setup an entire area on the grass with a run around it. I fill the space with cushions, toys, hay, food, hideaways and let them roam free, I always hold a carrot in my hand (Coco’s and Buddy’s favourite treat) so that he knows that I’m the “food giver” and that he’s safe jumping on my lap. Surprisingly he doesn’t tame the food and run 😂 he is fine with hand feeding!

As for the floor time issue, do what I do. Put their travel carrier in with food inside and wait for them to walk in it. Once they’re in you can place them where you want them to be. That’s what I do with my outside hutch. (We used to have a third hutch which was connected to the run but my mum broke it :/ ). So now we have a run (with no hutch attached), a large hutch with two floors and a run, which is great for run time, and their regular hutch.

The secret is to be patient and FOOD! xx (Sorry about me blabbering on forever)
 
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