How to progress with cuddling?

[Piggy Fan]

Hi guys.....

So, we’ve had our boys a year. They are happy and healthy, have a huge run and a very pampered.

We love them to bits and they do let us fuss them a bit - head and ear rubs & chin tickles but we’ve failed dismally on the cuddling front.

Here’s the thing: I feel bad picking them up because it obviously scares them. So I only do it once a week as part of the cleaning out process. I let them out through a door in their run into a temporary run while cleaning them then get them one at a time into a cuddle sack to check claws, teeth, weigh etc. Then I feed a treat (which they now eat - used to refuse). Bit I can tell they really just want to go back to their run.

I worry though that if ever they are poorly it would be hard to get them seen by a vet & on a selfish level I would love to cuddle them.

What to do? Should I start to pick them up more? I hate traumatising them. Should I just accept that they are not super cuddly and let them be?

I’d really appreciate some advice. I do think they are becoming calmer with age, maybe at a year old they are still behaving quite normally?

They are certainly not afraid of us based on the greeting we get every time we enter the room, thru way they hand feed etc.

 

[Lorcan]

Blitzen used to hate lap time, being handled, etc - but he was always pretty good about letting himself be picked up. Comet, on the other hand, didn't mind lap time as long as it meant he got to climb on everything, but getting him picked up was a nightmare and he led me on a wild goose chase for an hour (yes, an hour) more than once after he got wise to pretty much every trick in the book.

They're not predisposed to wanting lap time. What I used to do was make sure my hallway was clear, and then let them potter around in the hallway while I was sitting there. If they came over and said hello, all was good, and if they didn't, then I got to keep an eye on how they were - if they were interested in their surroundings, if they were doing more than just hiding in a corner (Blitzen's favourite pastime), that kind of thing. Blitzen once decided to give me a large amount of hay for some reason, it was one of the cutest things he ever did lol.

As for the vet, Blitzen had a habit of trying to bite anyone trying to look him over or clip his nails. I had to warn people in advance of this because he was a right menace for it, but other than that he was always pretty good at just sitting in the carrier minding his own business (door open, even) whilst Comet was screaming his head off for whatever reason. Comet just hated being anywhere near the building, but the most he'd do was repeatedly run over to me when they tried examining him.

Some pigs aren't cuddlers. Some don't mind it. But a good vet can get past all of that. What size is the temporary run? Is it big enough for them to spend a few hours in? Because that could be a good thing - somewhere else to potter around for a bit and explore in relative safety.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Piggies, being prey animals, will not like being picked up...it means they are being eaten and they will just want to get away. It sounds like you’re doing a great job with them as they are happy to come to you to be touched.

One of my boys (I have had them for just over a year) mostly still runs off when I go to them (he is getting a bit better at coming back out after a couple of minutes though). I agree that About your statement with getting calmer with age, I certainly see it with my two.
The way I have to pick my boys up to do their health checks is to get them to go into their pet carrier and then I have to pick them up from there. I’d never be able to pick them up straight from their cage as a chase between me and them would ensue and that would be awful. I am able to get their health checks done but they just want to get down. Even though they don’t like being held, the vet can deal with them without any problems.

 

[Piggy Fan]

Thanks guys, it’s he’s isn’t it? Wanting to bestow love in them but not being able to explain. Lol. I see pictures of others with snuggled up piggies and I feel very envious!

The temporary run is the old C&C panels ziplocked together so they concertina out. They know how to move it and escape unless I’m there with them ! Lol. But it’s in a secure room so I think I will start trying to be with them in that area after cleaning and just to get them coming to climb with me a bit maybe.

My two girls 10 & 15 adore them and the 15 year old handles them best of all. The 10 year old finds their squeaking / anxiety worrying bless her. They live in her room and she happily co exists with them and is happy not to force them to interact more than they want to which I guess is good. It’s me who most wants cuddles! But, we knew taking on young rescues it would take work and they might never be cuddly boys. I’m just not sure if I should be more assertive about it.

Think they must have known I posted this last night as they both allowed some of the best chin tickles and head scratches that I’ve had in ages!

 

[Piggy Fan]

Sorry that was supposed to say “it’s hard isn’t it”. I’m not awake properly yet!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys.....

So, we’ve had our boys a year. They are happy and healthy, have a huge run and a very pampered.

We love them to bits and they do let us fuss them a bit - head and ear rubs & chin tickles but we’ve failed dismally on the cuddling front.

Here’s the thing: I feel bad picking them up because it obviously scares them. So I only do it once a week as part of the cleaning out process. I let them out through a door in their run into a temporary run while cleaning them then get them one at a time into a cuddle sack to check claws, teeth, weigh etc. Then I feed a treat (which they now eat - used to refuse). Bit I can tell they really just want to go back to their run.

I worry though that if ever they are poorly it would be hard to get them seen by a vet & on a selfish level I would love to cuddle them.

What to do? Should I start to pick them up more? I hate traumatising them. Should I just accept that they are not super cuddly and let them be?

I’d really appreciate some advice. I do think they are becoming calmer with age, maybe at a year old they are still behaving quite normally?

They are certainly not afraid of us based on the greeting we get every time we enter the room, thru way they hand feed etc.

Hi!

Train them to come into a pick-up shuttle! How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely

Keep in mind that picking up is cutting very close to prey animal instincts and that the majority of piggies will never come to like it.