New owner

Pops&Peps

Pops&Peps

New Born Pup
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Hi
I'm a new owner, actually only brought my two home today, so I shouldn't really be worrying already but I'm an overthinker.
So I've rescued Poppy and Pepper, two Abyssinian sows, Poppy is 3 and Pepper is 1.5. They were brought in already bonded having lived together and from a very noisy household where they weren't happy. They were very okay being picked up at the rescue centre and were friendly if a little wriggly. I've brought them home now and I know they're supposed to be scared of the new environment but is there anything I can do to calm them down? They run away as soon as someone comes in the room and they're okay being touched but I don't know how I feel about trying to pick them up because they seem too skittish. The rescue lady said just keep handling them because they are used to it (Poppy more than Pepper, who is a little nervous), but I'm not sure how I feel about it. In terms of methods for calming them down, I have tried jazz music which is supposed to calm them down and I think it worked? Should I just leave them alone for a couple days with no handling and just let them get used to their home with my hand only appearing for food😂 or do as the rescue lady said and just keep handling them? I don't want to scare them more if it would be too much to be handling them.
I'm sorry this is so lengthy but I'm a first time owner and I really want to get it right.
 
:wel:

I have moved your thread to its own post so that it doesn’t get lost on someone else’s thread.

Best thing is to cover part is their cage with a blanket as it helps them feel more secure.
Leave them to settle in for a few days.
From then on, follow their lead. Generally the first thing is to have them take food from your hand. Once they do that then they are gaining trust.

New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
 
Thank you for the kind comments and the advice.
I will try covering part of their cage.
The photograph is the only really good one I have at the moment, was taken in the shelter.
Poppy is the one at the front and hiding behind her is Pepper.
(P.S. was a delight to meet Master Boris and Sir George😂❤️)
image3.webp
 
Pops&Peps said:
Thank you for the kind comments and the advice.
I will try covering part of their cage.
The photograph is the only really good one I have at the moment, was taken in the shelter.
Poppy is the one at the front and hiding behind her is Pepper.
(P.S. was a delight to meet Master Boris and Sir George😂❤️)
View attachment 238772
Click to expand...

Stunners 😍
 
Hello and welcome to you and your beautiful ladies. Great advice given above already. Definitely give them some time & space to acclimatise. They will soon settle in and you then you can take your time getting to know each other. I always talk in a sort of baby talk sing song voice when entering the room with new piggies in. It helps to prevent them being startled and helps them to know you’re no threat to them (predators don’t usually announce themselves). Patience, kindness and bribery with herbs usually pays off in time.
 
Pops&Peps said:
Hi
I'm a new owner, actually only brought my two home today, so I shouldn't really be worrying already but I'm an overthinker.
So I've rescued Poppy and Pepper, two Abyssinian sows, Poppy is 3 and Pepper is 1.5. They were brought in already bonded having lived together and from a very noisy household where they weren't happy. They were very okay being picked up at the rescue centre and were friendly if a little wriggly. I've brought them home now and I know they're supposed to be scared of the new environment but is there anything I can do to calm them down? They run away as soon as someone comes in the room and they're okay being touched but I don't know how I feel about trying to pick them up because they seem too skittish. The rescue lady said just keep handling them because they are used to it (Poppy more than Pepper, who is a little nervous), but I'm not sure how I feel about it. In terms of methods for calming them down, I have tried jazz music which is supposed to calm them down and I think it worked? Should I just leave them alone for a couple days with no handling and just let them get used to their home with my hand only appearing for food😂 or do as the rescue lady said and just keep handling them? I don't want to scare them more if it would be too much to be handling them.
I'm sorry this is so lengthy but I'm a first time owner and I really want to get it right.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome

I have written a guide that deals on a very practical basis with what to do when for new owners. You may find this link very helpful: New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In
 
VickiA said:
Hello and welcome to you and your beautiful ladies. Great advice given above already. Definitely give them some time & space to acclimatise. They will soon settle in and you then you can take your time getting to know each other. I always talk in a sort of baby talk sing song voice when entering the room with new piggies in. It helps to prevent them being startled and helps them to know you’re no threat to them (predators don’t usually announce themselves). Patience, kindness and bribery with herbs usually pays off in time.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advice, I have been making an effort to talk to them! They seem okay when I'm behind the blanket and talking to them and have been running less even when they do notice me. They do leg it when I open the cage though.
In regards to bribery, I have given them some veg but they aren't interested in eating from my hand yet!

In a more general update, last night they seemed to relax more when I went to bed (they live in my room). Though they would have random moments where they'd just skid off and make a huge noise which I thought was funny anyways.
I've come to the conclusion that Poppy is the sleepy one and Pepper is the one that never stops eating!
 
All sounds perfectly normal to me, so keep on doing as you’re doing and in time you will really the rewards. If you’re seeing them racing around skidding then they are very happy (that’s called zoomies).
 
Welcome to the forum

Your little ladies are gorgeous, everything is new to them, new smells, sounds, people and cage so give them a little time to get used to their new home. Half cover your cage and talk very calmly to them. they may take tiny bits of veggies through the cage by hand after a few days. take it slowly, they will settle 😁
 
My beastie boys are free roaming but when it's time for veggies (they can tell the time by the way!) They have a strange routine of running into the cage and climbing the bars. They insist on the 1st piece being fed to them through the bars🙄
Mine are weirdos though 😁
 
I never thought of trying through the bars, I'll give that a go
It probably freaks them to have my hand right in there! Based of their old home, I don't imagine handling was very gentle.
I had a conversation with them for the entire time I spent getting ready for school this morning and I've told my parents to talk to them when they go in the room.
Pepper seems to settle when you start talking but Poppy still seems incredibly nervous.
I'll keep you all updated for the next couple of weeks
Also if you have any tips for brand new handling because Pepper is still somewhat young and not adjusted to handling so if there's anything else I can try please do let me know!
Thank you all for the welcomes and advice! I'll be sure to send some more photos of them when they're more settled and won't hide from the camera!
 
Herbs are definitely considered to be a premium treat and a lot of them smell quite pungent. If I use fresh basil mine, especially Dignified Sir George, go mad at the smell as they absolutely love it! Also it herbs are long food so they don't have to get too close .
 
I definitely agree starting with hand feeding is the best, they’ll very quickly realise you = food and will decide you aren’t as scary as they first thought! Talking to them while you’re there or when walking past always helps i find they’re less surprised you’re there and since you’re making them aware of you they feel less frightened.
 
I'll definitely try some herbs, they've got some pea shoots for tea tonight so that'll work till I get hold of some basil (which I also love haha).
fluffysal said:
As for getting pictures, I had zero success until I turned off my shutter sound. Now Mischievous Master Boris is into selfies 😂View attachment 238818View attachment 238819
Click to expand...
Boris is one hundred percent the king of selfies, looks better than me in mine!😂
 
Update for you all, since who doesn't want to hear about such adorable floofs?😂
Poppy has a lot more confidence now, she generally stays at what she's doing when I come in the room and doesn't mind me being near the cage. She gets very wriggly around dinner time, and she comes up to the cage bars to get her veg.
Pepper is much shyer still, she scatters when people come in the room or I move too much. She also comes to take her veg but she lets Poppy go first and usually grabs the food first and backs into a hidey to eat it.
Poppy is quite accustomed to getting stroked when she's settled, Pepper does not want to be touched. Neither are being handled right now asides from when I need to clean their cage.
But yeah that's the main of it! They'll forage around and look for food quite happily while I work on my bed, so they're definitely doing better and I'm very proud of them.
I enclose a photo of Poppy being adorable and putting her head in the heart shape on their hay box, also a photo where it looks like they're booping each other😂🥺
Thanks guys and guineas!😂❤️
IMG20240106135850_01.webpIMG20240105194352.webp
 
I feel that because we have to work so hard at gaining their trust every small bit of progress seems so special. Little things like not hiding when you enter the room feel like amazing milestones ♥️
 
Welcome to the forum.
Poppy and Pepper are gorgeous 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

All advice given so far is excellent and I can only echo that time, patience and bribery work.
 
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