I Have A Wild Caught Guinea Pig

[CavySlave23]

Or so it seems. One of my new guinea pigs acts like what I can only assume a wild guinea pig would act like in captivity. He is deathly afraid of human interaction, shrieks as though something horrifying is imminent whenever I go to pick him up and/or handle him and is extremely skittish (compared to all my other guinea pigs over the years) to the point where he will put himself in harms way just so he could get to what he feels is a safe place.

His unpredictableness makes me nervous and I can not trust him at all. I cannot place him on my bed and expect him to not move like I do with my other two guinea pigs for example because he will instantly run off my bed and I do not want him to seriously injure himself. That leaves me with no choice but to keep a firm but gentle grasp on him whenever I need to handle or move him. Weekly health checks are a complete nightmare!

Has anybody else currently have or had guinea pigs like this? What are some methods you have used to help your guinea pigs? What do you find works well and not so well?

SIDE NOTE: I use the same method as, skinnypigs1, does on YouTube when approaching and picking up pigs in their cages.

 

[The3LittlePigs]

Is he a new pig- how long have you had him? I have a relatively new piggy. I got him a week before Christmas, from a rescue. Hes very sweet and quiet but as soon as anyone goes to pick him up from his cage be wheeks like mad! Hes also very scared when being held and freezes, but if you don't hold him tightly he will disappear into the beyond. With my other piggies (I have four) it hasn't taken as long for them to become "tame" per se, and most of them still run when I go to pick them up - this is just natural instinct, and should be expected. However, some piggies are more nervous than others, and will need more time to come around to your charms. Don't worry, the time will come!

 

[helloitsbecca]

My Angus is like this. He's very timid. He has escaped from all but 1 of the playpens I have bought for them and he is a nightmare to catch. I use a blanket and place it over him and scoop him up. I have had him and his bro since August and it is only now that he lets me pet him and I feel that he is beginning to trust that I won't eat him lol. I would use food as a bonding tool. That's what I have been doing with him and now he associates me as the food lady and isn't as scared. He will happy take food from my hand and come to the bars when I have food in my hand. Once they begin to trust you, it's really rewarding. I also sit in the (Angus proof) playpen during floortime and read a book so he can come up to me and climb over my legs and feet. It took him a while to do it but now I'm like a guinea pig jungle gym haha.

Good luck and don't get discouraged! All piggies are different, my other pig is cheeky and very confident - my family and I joke that if he was a wild pig and a bird tried to eat him, he would kick the bird's butt

 

[DM030819]

Some pigs just don't like cuddles or lap time. My Jon Snow is a very inquisitive pig, he's not scared of me as I can pet him and feed him but he will be still when held.

I've found that taking him into a different room to his cage makes him calm down a little. When it comes to lap time i usually give him a quick pet and then let hin take himself off onto the floor and have a run around instead.

I understand that holding him tightly is to make sure he's safe but he'll feel like he's trapped and will struggle more.

Hold him in something like a bed if you need to hold on a bit more. We put Jon in one of his sleeping bag beds, then we can make sure he doesn't rocket off into the air.

 

[chesca_27]

Pemba was quite skittish when we brought him home. We got him in January and he has only finally started to settle down for cuddling.

I think bonding with them while they are in the cage helps, because at that point they can get away if need be. I would talk to them and stroke them and give them some treats for positive association. You could do this in front of the new pig so the others can teach him there is nothing to be afraid of.

With Pemba, he was ok with being picked up out of the cage, but he HATED being away from Oreo, so sometimes I would get both of them out to help calm him. I stay in the same room when cuddling Pemba and sit near the cage so he can still talk to Oreo (but Oreo never responds lol) to help calm him. When he started making wild dashes towards the cage, I decided it was time for him to go back. Let this piggie set the pace of how long he wants to be out. Currently I can only hold Pemba for about 10 minutes before he gets fidgety, but we are working on it.