I got 2 rescue pigs in August, both around 4 months old. They were in a hutch and outdoor run but now they are in the porch in a cage as the weather has turned. They are handled most days but are still terrified of me! I sit with them on my lap but they can't wait to get back in their cage. They run away and hide when I go to the cage and are hard to catch. I'm not sure if that is their nature or what I can do to help them relax.
Help with shy (terrified!) piggies
- Thread starter Hmason_uk
- Start date
It is their nature. They are prey animals so are naturally fearful. It can take a long time for them to become used to human contact, however, a lot of them will never enjoyed being picked up.
Slow and steady is the way to go. Offer them food from your hand as that is a way that can help them learn to trust you. There are a lot of guides in the bonding section of this site which may help you.
I’ve hsd my two boys for six months. They dont like being picked up. One of them will let me touch him on his terms but the other one doesn’t like it at all. It has only been in the last few weeks that he will even stay out of his hidey when I feed them.
Slow and steady is the way to go. Offer them food from your hand as that is a way that can help them learn to trust you. There are a lot of guides in the bonding section of this site which may help you.
I’ve hsd my two boys for six months. They dont like being picked up. One of them will let me touch him on his terms but the other one doesn’t like it at all. It has only been in the last few weeks that he will even stay out of his hidey when I feed them.
that's good to know! I had pigs growing up and they always came out to be fed and ate from my hand. Loved a cuddle! My two ladies are perhaps just a different nature. I guess I see pictures on here of piggies eating and laying about and I can't barely get a snap of mine before they dash off and hide. I worry that they are bored sometimes
Hi!
Guinea pigs are prey animals. Shop and breeder guinea pigs have had hardly anything in the way of friendly human interaction before they are ripped away from their families and sold into a completely foreign environment where they are expected to function as instant animated cuddly toys to what to them are huge smelly predators.
Please take the time to read these guide here. You should find the tips in them very helpful in avoiding predatory behaviours and triggering their instincts; they also show you how to use guinea pig behaviours to make friends with them in ways they instinctively understand.
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig
Please be aware that a cage in an unheated porch still should have further protection (as should hutches during heat waves). guinea pigs have evolved living in dense undergrowth away from the extremes of heat and cold; they are happiest in the same temperature range as we humans (15-25 C) and can suffer heat strokes more easily than us as well as getting ill from the cold.
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs
Hot weather management and heat strokes
All of these guides are part of our new owners guide collection, which is also useful to acquaint longer term owners or previous owners wth recent developments in the piggy world.