How long did it take for your piggies to like/tolerate you?

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Bailey8781

Bailey8781

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I have had my two girls, Misty and Maisy for 3 months now and although Misty is slowly getting used to me (once i manage to catch her), Maisy is still really skittish. She hides all the time, runs off as soon as she sees me and won't even take treats from me through the cage. She freaks out and twitches whenever i try to touch her and often tries to bite me. Feel sorry to say it but am reluctant to get her out of her cage as she really hates it. Misty, her sister seems a lot more laid back and seems to like her cuddles.

How long did it take for your piggies to get used to you and do you have any ideas of how to win a stubborn piggy round?
 
I have only had my two piggies for less than 24 hours, personally, but I have heard of some piggy owners whose piggies have warmed up to them within a week and others whose piggies have taken several months to get used to them. I think it all depends on the piggy and their own individual personality.

I'm not very experienced with guinea pigs but from my research and talking to other piggy owners, my advice would be to just keep treating your piggies with lots of love and kindness and do make sure your skittish girl gets her exercise just like her sister does, even if she seems reluctant to be taken out. She'll appreciate the time to run around in the long run, I think.
 
i have had my boys for around 2-3 months and they are exactly the same, two of them love cuddles once you have them in a firm grip but one of them hates it ... my advice would be ... treats give them treats while holding them and they will begin to come round (:
 
my 2 baby girls are the same. We try to get them out at least 3 times a day. We have just found out that Jeni likes to be held along your arm, and not in the usual close to your body position. We give treats whilst holding them and when we put them back. Jeni does like having her nose tickled, but will only let you hold her for a couple of minutes and then wants downrolleyes
 
i am not a piggy expert by any means but it seems that some kinds of piggy are a bit easier than others. For example i have heard that abysynnians are full of pigsonality, very feisty but can nip a bit. Don.t know if that is true as i don.t have any abys. I was definitely off to a head start with my rex though as they are very docile in general. I think most piggies will come round in time but some are naturally shyer than others. Of my two, stanley is loads friendlier than benson. But as piggies go, they are both pretty bold. I'm sure someone with experience of lots of different piggies will have good advice on what to do with some of the more reluctant ones. Don.t feel you're doing anything wrong though as not all pigs are born equal with their sociability and confidence
 
I suspect Maisie is the Aby pggy to the right of your avatar? rolleyes

Yes Abys seem to be more lively than most other types in my experience, although none of mine have ever tried to bite me. I would consider getting her health checked by a vet if she is trying to nip you as it is very rare for piggies to deliberately bite.

Even if she isn't keen on being handled, it is so important to try every day to get her used to you. My Aby isn't keen on cuddles but I discovered a big lump under her chin tonight that would definitely have gone unnoticed if I hadn't given her chin rub tonight :(
 
At 3 months, they're still very young, so don't be discouraged. Having said that, I do think that it all depends on the piggy. My Roxy is a sheltie, so, if anything, she has been handled more than the others, and she is still the most skittish guinea I've ever come across, but, once out, loves to be fussed and groomed. On the other hand, Primrose is the bravest, most friendly piggy ever, but she HATES being picked up and isn't a fan of cuddles - she's a very busy piggy, who's much happier dashing around the shed causing mischief! I've had her over 18 months now (and Roxy for about 15 months), so I do now just tend to leave her be. My other 3 are all totally different again, with Floss, my 5 month old Swiss, being the most laid-back, docile, cuddly piggy there could be!
It does tend to take months of perseverance to gain a guinea's trust, so hang on in. Then it just depends on their individual pigsonality! :)
Have you tried picking her up in a cuddle cup or box, so that she's less scared by the whole thing? This is what I do with mine (mainly for Primrose) - I've got a forward opening pet carrier that I just put in the shed and let them climb aboard. Good luck :)
 
Well Sprout is just over 4 months old and I have had him about 2 or 3 months. He and McMac live in my bedroom so I am always seeing them.
He is just starting to feel comfortable around me, wheeking at me and taking food from my hand :)

He will still run and hide quite often but he is getting better.

The best way to a piggies heart is food. No joke lol
Just make a noise that they can associate with you and food. Mine is a ticking noise with my tongue, whenever I make it they come running up to the front of the cage looking for me and food.
 
Bailey8781 said:
I have had my two girls, Misty and Maisy for 3 months now and although Misty is slowly getting used to me (once i manage to catch her), Maisy is still really skittish. She hides all the time, runs off as soon as she sees me and won't even take treats from me through the cage. She freaks out and twitches whenever i try to touch her and often tries to bite me. Feel sorry to say it but am reluctant to get her out of her cage as she really hates it. Misty, her sister seems a lot more laid back and seems to like her cuddles.

How long did it take for your piggies to get used to you and do you have any ideas of how to win a stubborn piggy round?
Click to expand...

I think Abbys have a different personality to alot of guineas and do take a bit longer to tame. Sounds stupid don't mean to be rude asking but she hasn't got mites has she? Mine have finished treatment as they seem to have brought mites with them (invisible ones). I think Abbys twitch more if they have them because of their fur. If they haven't I am sure she will be tame in the end.

I had an Abby who died last year. She ended up very tame but still had a very stubborn personality and was a nightmare with toe nail clipping. I would love another one though.
 
Mine aren't abyssinians but they were both very wild when they came here. They are at least a year old and hadn't really been handled at all.
They have been in my living room for about six weeks now and at first they used to run away if they even heard a voice, let alone saw anyone. But they are slowly coming round and will now run towards me when I come down in the morning. I know it's cupboard love but I can sympathise as I found it quite distressing that they seemed so afraid of me at first.
This may sound odd but I have learned this from handling the ponies - being quiet, and taking deep breaths can calm you down and can also affect the animals in a positive way. When I take a deep breath and think calm thoughts I find the pigs respond well and calm down a bit themselves. But if I am in a hurry and rush to grab them, they get upset.
 
Both of my guinea pigs are pretty confident, they come up and take food from my hand and run up to the front of the cage every morning when I come in. Kenny won't be picked up though. If I have him in my arms, he'll climb over my shoulder and try and jump off. Charlie is the complete opposite, he'll just snuggle down and go to sleep. They both get handled every day but Kenny just dosen't seem to enjoy it. :(
 
some piggies just dont enjoy the attenton.

i had one piggy who was tame from day one and another that took me 18 months to get her used to me. even now she still runs (shes a big scaredy pig) but doesnt try and run once caught.

my aby doesnt like toe nail clipping either! and will scream the house down.
 
I have had anything between instant acceptance from beloved ex-pets to months from severely traumatised rescue piggies. Some of my piggies will never more than tolerate being handled while others eventually come to enjoy it.

They all come up to me for little treats and are not fussed at all about me sitting on the floor with them. Some of them even jump on my lap!

Patience and persistence will get you there in the end. How long depends on the background of your piggies (how much human exposure and what kind) and the individual character (outgoing or not).
 
Thank you everyone for your comments. They have a health check with the CCT on saturday so they will be checked for mites - just in case that is the reason for Maisy's twitching. In the meantime i will persist with plenty of love, attention and treats to try and win her over!
 
Just wanted to update after my piggies first visit to Vedra at the CCT yesterday. Vedra confirmed that Maisy doesn't have mites she is just very nervous and i need to do what you guys said - persist and give treats which is what i will do.

Vedra is amazing though - what a natural at handling wriggly piggies!
 
Hi, I have 5 guinea pigs, 2 of which are biters - not blood drawing biters - more - 'nippers' - but just cleaning out the cage the other day I startled floyd who turned round and gave me a right old nip.

The silly thing is, he's the most affectionate out of that group, he will come running over for strokes and a love - he just hates being picked up and the older he's got the more confident he's become in letting everyone know he does not like to be picked up!

I have to scoop him up in a fleece which he's not as bad with and once I have him in my arms I can stroke him and he'll relax. I wouldn't dream of actually trying to pick him up though, he'd have a finger off!

Izzy also goes crazy! You cannot hold her. She bucks and throws her head back and tries to bite and thrashes about, she's so hard to control it's ridiculous. Again if I'm sat on the floor she'll come up to me, sit on my knee, she purrs so loudly when I stroke her! But try to pick her up.....no chance.

It really isn't one rule fits all. The other 3 of my guinea pigs are just sort of normal about being picked up. What's really weird though is Izzy and Floyd are the most confident, they are the ones who love strokes, and will happily snooze in the open! Somehow I think it's because they are so confident that they kick up such a fuss because they can get away with it!

All of my guinea pigs were different:

Manny and Floyd - I probably didn't see results from taming for atleast 6 months, but when I did it was great but they really did give me a run for my money though. I had to work so hard and I felt pretty down at times (I used to busy myself with kitting out their cage and getting new fleeces and stuff, just to feel like I was interacting with them).

Eve - friendly, normal level of shyness for a piggy and a little eating monster! So if you have a treat like some parsley she'll happily sit on you to eat it, once the treat is gone, she wants to get down.

Izzy - was friendly and outgoing from day one. She purrs, she popcorns, she gets the zoomies - every single day. She's pretty aggressive about being picked up, but was inquisitive and loving from the start.

Barley - (Eve's daughter) now I've had her from birth and she is by far the most nervous piggy of the group! Which doesn't make any sense at all. Maybe it's because she's never been seperated from Mum.

So there you go - all I can say is all piggies have their own personalities, but they do come round eventually but only on their terms!

One thing to remember which I used to tell myself to cheer myself up! Guinea pigs should be nervous and a guinea pig that is fleeing for safety is actually demonstrating a healthy fight or flight response! :))
:))


x
 
It took my guinea Cocoa about a week before she'd let anyone touch her. She also used to bite, but we hand fed her and held her and she eventually grew out of it. Now my newest male guinea, he warmed up to us the second day. He does not bite, but he will chew on your finger and hand if he gets the chance, but it doesn't hurt at all. It really all depends on their personality.
 
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