Ive had my guinea pig for 2 years and she doesnt act like she likes me. What do I do?

[Joscelyn]

my guinea pig isnt skittish at all but she hates being pet or picked up. When I do pick her up she tries to escape and licks me when she wants down. Ive tried everything but she acts like she hates me. One of my other pigs is a sweetie pie and she loves pets and even jumps on my lap when she has floor time. I dont know how to get the other one to like me.Shes also really overweight so I had to seperate her from my other piggies because she was eating all of their food. Their cages are stll facing eachother, is that okay for now?

 

[Lady Kelly]

Some piggies just don't want to be lap piggies at all. Two of mine are happy to have cuddles, another one tolerates it for a couple of mins but the 4th one absolutely hates it. Like humans, each piggy is different. It's not that they hate you but rather they don't want to be cuddled and pet.

What makes you think she is overweight?

 

[Wiebke]

my guinea pig isnt skittish at all but she hates being pet or picked up. When I do pick her up she tries to escape and licks me when she wants down. Ive tried everything but she acts like she hates me. One of my other pigs is a sweetie pie and she loves pets and even jumps on my lap when she has floor time. I dont know how to get the other one to like me.Shes also really overweight so I had to seperate her from my other piggies because she was eating all of their food. Their cages are stll facing eachother, is that okay for now?

Hi!

By far not every piggy is happy being cuddled and petted. Please respect that. The majority of piggies when they are left the choice will actually be fine with a short cuddle/grooming but will have had enough pretty soon. Some will never come further than tolerate any necessary grooming and medicating.

It is actually NOT a matter of trust or 'hating' - a piggy not keen on human handling doesn't mean that they don't trust you implicitly; it is just their personality. The fact that they are showing you in friendly terms (which licking is - it's a piggy kiss! The less friendly option is skin or fabric tweaking) what they like or don't like means that they trust you plenty to show their true feelings to you!

You may find the information in our human interaction section helpful and interesting to understand where your guinea pigs come from and how you can build up a relationship with them in their own body language rather than expecting them to learn 'human' and fulfill a human's expectations. All our piggy whispering tips and how to apply them in a variety of situations are based on copying how savvy piggies deal with their mates. Here is the link: Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

You also may find the ideas in our enrichment guide helpful. Interaction and bonding can happen on so many different levels and in ways that are frankly much more fun for your piggies (and therefore for you, too) outside of laptime, which is frankly mostly rather boring for most piggies. Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs

 

[VickiA]

with the above. Guinea pigs are prey animals. Some are able to overcome their prey instincts and enjoy human interaction, others really don't enjoy it at all.