New piggies - one is shyer and smaller

[CinnamonSmokey121]

Hi

I have 2 baby girl piglets and they're both about 8 weeks old. I've had them just over a week and whilst one (Smokey) is getting slowly happier with little bits of lap time and will eat from my hand, the other one (Cinnamon) will eat sometimes but other times is still quite frozen. Smokey is clearly the dominant one of the two, but will Cinnamon get less timid eventually? I understand it can take weeks or months and that's fine, I just don't want her to be always frightened and her sister get more confident and more food! Help/tips on taming one when the other is being tamed quicker?

 

[Piggies&buns]

There is no guarantee the other will become more confident - they all have their own characters.

ensure you weigh them both weekly to ensure they are getting enough hay to eat.

i have two boys. Dexter is the submissive of the two but is so much more confident around me but it still took him six weeks before he would take food from me. Popcorn is the dominant and is much more nervous. He has got a lot better but he will always be the first to spook. It took him a year and a half before he would take food from me. They have now been with me for 2 years and 3 months. I do the same thing with them both but Popcorn‘s character is just much more nervous and like I said, he has got a lot better and is happier to be around me, but he will never be as confident as dex.

All you can really do is take things slow and steady, and at their pace

 

[Claire W]

It’s still very early days. Cinnamon may never be as tame as Smokey but take each day as it comes and I’m sure she will settle x

 

[Wiebke]

Hi

I have 2 baby girl piglets and they're both about 8 weeks old. I've had them just over a week and whilst one (Smokey) is getting slowly happier with little bits of lap time and will eat from my hand, the other one (Cinnamon) will eat sometimes but other times is still quite frozen. Smokey is clearly the dominant one of the two, but will Cinnamon get less timid eventually? I understand it can take weeks or months and that's fine, I just don't want her to be always frightened and her sister get more confident and more food! Help/tips on taming one when the other is being tamed quicker?

Hi!

Guinea pigs differ as much in personal outlook as humans. If you have a pair you always have a bolder and a more timid one.
How badly a piggy is affected often depends on how stressed the mother was during pregnancy and the nursing period. Some babies experience these high stress levels as their normal and take them as their default setting before they are born. These are the ones that are very hard to work past; especially the more badly affected ones.
However, there are measures like learning to understand how guinea pig prey animal instincts work, how you can avid triggering them and how you can use social interactive behaviours to communicate in their own language ('piggy whispering') to help break down the barriers a bit more quickly.


Please take the time to read these guides here. You may find them very interesting and helpful:
Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide
Behaviour, Bonding & Bereavement Guides

These guides are all part of our very comprehensice practical and helpful New Owners information collection, which is worth bookmarking, browsing, reading and re-reading because you will pick up different things at a various levels of experience. We have addressed all the areas that we get the most questions and concerns about from new owners, have included guides to help learn what is normal and what not and some very useful long term health monitoring habits to get into - they can really save lives!
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[CinnamonSmokey121]

Thanks all, I shall try all the bonding tips in those threads and just wait and see in time! I'm just soppy and don't like the idea that she's scared, although I know she's happy generally as she's doing popcorns and Zoomies and naps!