New-ish Guinea Pigs Still Not Bonded

igraytthat

igraytthat

New Born Pup
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Hi All,

I’m a New Guinea pig owner, but I’ve wanted them for so long! I’ve had my piggies for about a month and a half and I’ve handled them once per day every day and given them food when I’ve done so.

They are brothers and are about 3 months old. We got them from a friend who has a bunch and needed to rehome some after a boar snuck into the sow cage and got one pregnant.

They are still really skidding around me and my partner, will hide in their cage when we walk past and only sometimes let us pat them in the cage.

What can we do to build the bond more?
 
Congrats on the new piggies- I'm sure you'll find this forum very useful to answer all your questions.
6 weeks really isn't very long at all in guinea pig terms. It can take years for piggies to fully settle, if they ever do at all. Guinea pigs are prey animals, and the vast majority don't enjoy cuddles or laptime, despite what you may see on social media.
Please do take the time to read these guides, they go into much more detail about interacting with piggies:
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
(P.S. You'll probably find this a life-saver as a new owner- it debunks lots of myths about guinea pig care: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners)
We'd love to see some photos of your new arrivals. 😍
 
Welcome to the forum

What you are describing is very normal - sometimes it just takes longer.
Try sitting by their cage and and just gently talking to them, offering food from your hand. They will get there but it can take longer for some piggies.

The guides below will help you with some other tips

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?


I have four boys. Two are 6 years old now and are a bonded pair. They have been with me since they were four months old. The other two are 18 months old and have been with me since they were 9 weeks old.
Of the two oldest, one took six weeks to settle in, take food from me and to stop running away when I approached. The other took a year and a half and even now 6 years on, he is still the most nervous. While they are both fully comfortable with me, they don’t want to be stroked in their cage and don’t particularly like being handled (due to that, I only routinely handle them for the weekly weight and health checks).
The two youngest are 18 months old now (were a pair but their bond broke down) and were comfortable from day 1 but only one of them wants strokes in the cage. Again, only handled for the health and weight checks.
My interaction with them is that I sit on the shed floor and and allow them to come to me if they want to.
 
Tha
ScrufflesRules said:
Congrats on the new piggies- I'm sure you'll find this forum very useful to answer all your questions.
6 weeks really isn't very long at all in guinea pig terms. It can take years for piggies to fully settle, if they ever do at all. Guinea pigs are prey animals, and the vast majority don't enjoy cuddles or laptime, despite what you may see on social media.
Please do take the time to read these guides, they go into much more detail about interacting with piggies:
How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
(P.S. You'll probably find this a life-saver as a new owner- it debunks lots of myths about guinea pig care: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners)
We'd love to see some photos of your new arrivals. 😍
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! There’s so much info out there it’s hard to know what to listen too.

And here are my boys! They’re in a new cage now because I made the newbie mistake of getting something too small. Now they’re in one of those cages that you construct out of the seperate panels, and we sized up for them.
 

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igraytthat said:
Tha

Thank you so much! There’s so much info out there it’s hard to know what to listen too.

And here are my boys! They’re in a new cage now because I made the newbie mistake of getting something too small. Now they’re in one of those cages that you construct out of the seperate panels, and we sized up for them.
Click to expand...
They are gorgeous! The markings on the black and tan one are incredible.
 
Oh they are so cute :wub: The best way to settle piggies is to always have a tiny treat in your pocket when you go to them. Don’t bother feeding pellets in a bowl do it by hand. One pellet or a tiny piece of vegetable. They soon learn to trust you and see you as coming with something nice. I have found this with most animals, hens, piggies, dogs and even fish

Always talk to them quietly when you walk up to the cage, sit calmly by them too helps. You can make them feel safer by popping a sheet or throw over half of the cage too, you should find they will venture out more
 
Ooo
Bill & Ted said:
Oh they are so cute :wub: The best way to settle piggies is to always have a tiny treat in your pocket when you go to them. Don’t bother feeding pellets in a bowl do it by hand. One pellet or a tiny piece of vegetable. They soon learn to trust you and see you as coming with something nice. I have found this with most animals, hens, piggies, dogs and even fish

Always talk to them quietly when you walk up to the cage, sit calmly by them too helps. You can make them feel safer by popping a sheet or throw over half of the cage too, you should find they will venture out more
Click to expand...
oooo I like that! I’ve just tried that out so we’ll see how it goes!
 
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