Banksy
Junior Guinea Pig
Hey guys, me again!
So we have owned our guinea pigs for 2 weeks now, and here are some observations i've made.. followed by some well needed guidance questions.
The Good
I feel like we are possibly bonding a little too slow and that our time simply trying to be around them (we aim for 1 hour per night) is often being cut short as we are just stuck staring at guinea pigs hiding in fear, we do not want to cause them any stress so if after so long they simply show no interest in any food etc we try to respect their space and leave them be, they often immediately come out from hiding and go for the food we have left... I am worried that this may then lead them to believe as long as they hide they will still get what they want..
Question 1 : Are we doing the right thing by leaving them be? or are we reinforcing this fearful behaviour that if they hide long enough we will simply give up and move on. What more can we do to coax them out and trust us? Dill is a MAJOR hit and ALWAYS gets Fred out but not so for Gino
We have been unable to handle the guinea pigs, mainly because we wanted to let them adapt to their space before we harassed them trying to pick them up and what not but it obviously makes our weekly check ups nigh on impossible as it becomes increasingly hard to catch them. There is also conflicting information everywhere on this subject, a lot of people say do not handle guinea pigs for the first few weeks or they will associate you as a hunter. while others say that the more you pick them up the sooner they bond and become accustomed to you. The last weigh in we had for Gino he was shaking VIOLENTLY, to the point where it almost felt as if his heart would pop from the stress...
Question 2: Again, are we doing the right thing by not handling them so much? should we continue as we are and only handle them during weigh ins and check ups or should we start to try handle them each night to show them that we are no threat and that they will always be returned to their cage?
As per my point under the ugly, I've not been able to spend as much time in their room as i anticipated, knowing the more you are around them the more they associate your sound and smell with comfort etc, I've simply not been able to do this, some of my work meetings can get heated or stressful and i don't want to radiate that stress to them, i also dont want the phone calls going off every now and then to scare them (the ringtone is LOUD for the sake of me hearing it if i take a quick pee break and need to rush back and answer it).
Question 3: Should I be trying more to get free time to sit in the room with them and just talk to them even if they are hidden away? or am i doing the right thing by giving them space, is 1 hour per night enough?
Question 4: Based on the above concerns and questions, we obviously have not yet introduced any floor time because we do not want to add stress and fear by trying to catch them and throwing them in a completely new area, how do we start to introduce floor time in a way that is suitable for the guinea pigs.
Final notes:
Sorry for the long post, if you have made it this far THANK YOU.
Any tips or advice for what we can do/improve, what we should and shouldn't do going forward ETC would be highly highly appreciated.
Pic attached because well.. look at them....
So we have owned our guinea pigs for 2 weeks now, and here are some observations i've made.. followed by some well needed guidance questions.
The Good
- Gino and Fred have both gained some confidence and have fed out of our hands almost daily.
- They're not as bad to tidy up as we initially thought they would be, every day we are learning better ways to spot clean as effectively and efficiently as possible
- Our love for them is unconditional
- Some days feel like 1 step forward 2 steps back and it can take 10-15 mins for them to stop hiding from us before they come to take any food
- They are still incredibly fearful of us and the slightest movement or noise can make them go back to hiding for 10-15 mins which leads us to respect there space and simply leave to try and reduce their stress cutting bonding time short
- we didn't budget the amount of black bags filled of guinea pig fertiliser in our initial guinea pig allowance budget :')
- I've not been able to spend as much time during the day with them as I planned - work has been insanely hectic and I am in and out of calls all day and the noises etc would probably do more harm than good.
- Sometimes we are left feeling totally disheartened that we have been unable to bond with the piggies if they just hide from us the entire time
I feel like we are possibly bonding a little too slow and that our time simply trying to be around them (we aim for 1 hour per night) is often being cut short as we are just stuck staring at guinea pigs hiding in fear, we do not want to cause them any stress so if after so long they simply show no interest in any food etc we try to respect their space and leave them be, they often immediately come out from hiding and go for the food we have left... I am worried that this may then lead them to believe as long as they hide they will still get what they want..
Question 1 : Are we doing the right thing by leaving them be? or are we reinforcing this fearful behaviour that if they hide long enough we will simply give up and move on. What more can we do to coax them out and trust us? Dill is a MAJOR hit and ALWAYS gets Fred out but not so for Gino
We have been unable to handle the guinea pigs, mainly because we wanted to let them adapt to their space before we harassed them trying to pick them up and what not but it obviously makes our weekly check ups nigh on impossible as it becomes increasingly hard to catch them. There is also conflicting information everywhere on this subject, a lot of people say do not handle guinea pigs for the first few weeks or they will associate you as a hunter. while others say that the more you pick them up the sooner they bond and become accustomed to you. The last weigh in we had for Gino he was shaking VIOLENTLY, to the point where it almost felt as if his heart would pop from the stress...
Question 2: Again, are we doing the right thing by not handling them so much? should we continue as we are and only handle them during weigh ins and check ups or should we start to try handle them each night to show them that we are no threat and that they will always be returned to their cage?
As per my point under the ugly, I've not been able to spend as much time in their room as i anticipated, knowing the more you are around them the more they associate your sound and smell with comfort etc, I've simply not been able to do this, some of my work meetings can get heated or stressful and i don't want to radiate that stress to them, i also dont want the phone calls going off every now and then to scare them (the ringtone is LOUD for the sake of me hearing it if i take a quick pee break and need to rush back and answer it).
Question 3: Should I be trying more to get free time to sit in the room with them and just talk to them even if they are hidden away? or am i doing the right thing by giving them space, is 1 hour per night enough?
Question 4: Based on the above concerns and questions, we obviously have not yet introduced any floor time because we do not want to add stress and fear by trying to catch them and throwing them in a completely new area, how do we start to introduce floor time in a way that is suitable for the guinea pigs.
Final notes:
Sorry for the long post, if you have made it this far THANK YOU.
Any tips or advice for what we can do/improve, what we should and shouldn't do going forward ETC would be highly highly appreciated.
Pic attached because well.. look at them....
