New guinea pigs

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Catkins

Hello, I've had hamsters in the past and cats but never guinea pigs.

We got 2 a week ago, we've been taking them out each day & sitting them on our laps & stroking them. One has a tendancy to nip (and really hates being picked up) and the other seems ok about being picked up. They still run if we go near their cage but are slowly getting better about coming out of their hidey house during the day, they now don't run every time we move!

What can I do to tame them more? They actually belong to our daughters (but are of course always supervised when with the children) & obviously I want them to be happy to have all of us handle them, which we are doing.

This is all very new to us & we want to do things right so any advice would be great!
 
The key is patience, as irritating as it sounds. Just take them out, love them up, and eventually they'll get used to- and even like- being held. As far as nipping goes, try to make sure they are always being held securely, don't hold him for too long as it might be his way of telling you he needs to go to the bathroom (I'm assuming it's a boy but I'm not sure), and don't feed him anything when he's outside of the cage so coming out doesn't mix with chewing and biting. There are a lot of good websites about guinea pig care in general that you can check out too. Good luck!

Kimmie
 
Thanks, they are both girls that we have. Tried to take them out earlier but they got really, really stressed & didn't want to be picked up so I just gave them some fresh food & left them (gave them a stroke).
 
I've just adopted 3 piggie girls myself they are very scared of me too. I always make sure I talk to them as I go near their hutch and talk to them before I attempt to stroke them, they huddle together in the corner bless them. Thought I'd take it slowly and let them get use to my voice smell and touch first before handling them.

Rabswood
 
Riff Raff was terrible when a baby, nervous and biting. And Scarby was a to catch!

It is true what the others have said - give it time. The rewards are well worth putting in the effort now.

Try holding a guinea in a towel; sometimes this makes them feel more secure. Constantly talk to them, tell them what you're doing etc, make them feel they really are part of the family.

It won't take too long I promise. :)
 
What do you do if they really don't want to be picked up - running round the cage squeaking? I don't know if I should carry on till I catch her or leave her & try later.

Not worried about it taking time, I just want to do things the right way for the piggies!
 
I find mine still run when I try to catch them but I slowly move my hand towards them and scoop up from underneath rather than try and grab from above.

Also, you can buy cuddle cups and these are great for putting them in on your knee, they feel more secure in them :) Fudge used to nip but grew out of it
 
When I got Brandy the girl said he didn't bite but when I brought him home he'd bite at anything. Now he loves being handled and doesn't bite. Just takes some time :)
 
I do talkj to them a fair bit as they are in my dining room which doubles as my office during the day. They are now getting better at staying out of their little house & mooching round the cage when we are standing next to it. They do still scarper if the big hand invades but I chat to them when I've got my hand in there.

What should I do about picking them up, should I not do it at all until they are coming over to me? That could take a while & what happens when I need to take them out to clean the cage?

Sorry for all the questions - I just want to be a good piggy mummy!
 
There are varied opinions on what to do to 'tame' a piggy. I personally pick them up, I find once you catch them they settle down quickly and get used to it. Also by taking out their hidey hole whilst you're around them helps them to get used to you - but I know others on here won't do that.
 
Thanks, it is so hard to know what to do for the best. One is ok being picked up, the other just runs round squeaking.

Just tried posting pictures of them but couldn't work it out :-[ Comes up with error message
 
Thank you for the welcome, they're called Molly & Blossom (named by my daughters), I've tried posting bigger pictures of tehm but I keep getting an error message!
 
I struggled with posting pics at first but got the hang of it now. Have you got a photobucket account? If not open one then download your pics to that then click on the IMG link and copy it over. Hope that helps.
 
I sign in on the fourm's account

Name: TGPF
Password: Forum

And I'm crap with computers :)
 
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