New guinea pigs taming, 3 girls.

[Blossomingbecca]

Hey! I’ve just joined this forum so please bear with me.

I’ve recently adopted 3 little sows; they’re beautiful and the most beautiful nature but they are extremely shy [for reference they are all roughly 8 weeks old]. Whenever anyone walks into the room with their cage, they immediately hide. We give them food and water but they only eat it when no one is around (but I am so glad they’re eating & drinking). I’ve tried enticing them with food but it doesn’t seem to be enough at the moment.

I’ve picked them all up once as I didn’t want to overwhelm them straight away. Also, seemingly they come alive at night because everyone is asleep lol. But yeah, I don’t want to stress them out too much.

My questions are - what’s the best way to go about taking my 3 beautiful babies? And how long would it take? I’m willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: the title is meant to say taming, but apparently i can’t edit it lol

 

[Siikibam]

Piggies are prey animals and, in general, they think anything will eat them. If they’ve been with you less than a week then please give them a week to settle in. Cover part of the cage and only poo pick, top up hay and put their portions of veg and pellets in. After a week, you can start weighing them (weekly at the same time) as part of their ongoing health monitoring. You can also try hand feeding, but bear in mind they may still be too scared.

You will just have to practise patience I’m afraid. Some take mere weeks to get used to us while others can take years. It depends on the piggy. Be aware that their sitting still when you hold them doesn’t necessarily mean they enjoy lap time. Quite often, when they’re more settled, they are more confident to let you know they don’t like it.

I would also book them a vet appointment about a week after you got them. As they’re young, I don’t know that you got them from a (registered) rescue. I would therefore strongly advise you to double check their sexes. Have a read of the links I’m posting below. If you want to, we welcome photos of piggies
New Owners' Most Helpful How-To Guides and Information
Illustrated Sexing Guide
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets

 

[Piggies&buns]

I completely agree with advice you’ve already received. Patience is key!

It took the more confident of my two boys six weeks before he realised he could trust me and started to take food from my hand. After that he was staying out and about while I was around and didn’t immediately run off when I approached. After another couple of months he started to let me stroke his head, tickle his chin but only on his terms.
However, the other one was terrified for a long time. Over time he became curious but still not brave enough to take food from me. He’d watch from the safety of a hidey house. Finally after a year and a half, he took food from me for the first time . Slowly he then stopped running away when I approached, and finally now he also doesn’t mind a head stroke. It’s been three years. He is probably a very slow case when it comes to taming, but this is where the patience paid off.
Neither of them like being held for cuddles, so any handling I do with them is purely for their weekly health checks, nail clips, grooming of my long haired boy, and weight checks.