I'll cut right to chase. I've had s guinea pig for 2 days and when I approach one of my guinea pigs, one immediately hides in its hidey and the other just freezes in place and usually stands in one corner of the cage. But when I'm not around they roam the cage freely. Even when I am writing this I can see them running around their cage drom my top bunk bed but when they see me they do the things I just said. Is that normal, if so how long will it take?
New with guinea pigs here and I have some concerns
- Thread starter Khoki
- Start date
Welcome to the forum
It is very normal. Piggies are prey animals and their default mode is to be scared.
There is no set time of how long it takes. For some piggies it’ll be a few weeks, for others it’ll be several months. One of my piggies didn’t stop running away from me for a year and a half.
Patience is the key with them!
Leave them to settle in for the first week. Don’t do anything other than feed and carefully clean their cage.
From the second week sit by their cage and quietly talk to them, start to offer food from your hand. Once they take food from you that is a sign of trust.
Read the guides linked below as they explain everything about new piggies and how to settle them
New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
It is very normal. Piggies are prey animals and their default mode is to be scared.
There is no set time of how long it takes. For some piggies it’ll be a few weeks, for others it’ll be several months. One of my piggies didn’t stop running away from me for a year and a half.
Patience is the key with them!
Leave them to settle in for the first week. Don’t do anything other than feed and carefully clean their cage.
From the second week sit by their cage and quietly talk to them, start to offer food from your hand. Once they take food from you that is a sign of trust.
Read the guides linked below as they explain everything about new piggies and how to settle them
New Owners' Essential Information and Practical Tips Starter Collection
Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pigs Safely (videos)
piggl
Forum Donator 2024/25
Welcome to the forum.
I have a new baby aswell and he is, rightly so, very terrified of me. They’re prey animals and don’t know your intentions yet, so you have to teach them.
Sit by their cage and speak, try and hand feed them some veg or a nugget. Don’t chase and try and force them to interact with you or grab the food out of your hand, you want to show you can be trusted, or at the very least you can be the person that brings the food
For the first week or two I just speak to them while cleaning or feeding, but I don’t go out of my way to try and interact with them or hand feed them when they’re settling in.
Every pig is different, I’ve had a pig who settled in straight away and loved cuddles from the get go and I also now have a 5 month old who is still very fearful, but he knows my voice and knows when it’s treat time.
I have specific sounds for each instance, so if i’m going to pick them up I make the same sound each time so they know when it’s about to happen, I also have a “I have something for you to eat sound” and it did take a month or two to become a ‘thing’ but now when I make the sound my 5 month old and his older friend come running to me/the front of their cage ready for their treat.
This may not be what you want to hear but I hope you will find enjoyment in just watching them go about their day, watching them interact with each other and explore is so rewarding. The truth is most guinea pigs will allow cuddling, if that, but most will never fully enjoy it. So yes, trust will come by spending time with them and letting them get to know you but you have to be aware they will likely never rush to cuddle you or love being held, because most pigs aren’t like that.
It takes time, but the bond you create is so worth it x
I have a new baby aswell and he is, rightly so, very terrified of me. They’re prey animals and don’t know your intentions yet, so you have to teach them.
Sit by their cage and speak, try and hand feed them some veg or a nugget. Don’t chase and try and force them to interact with you or grab the food out of your hand, you want to show you can be trusted, or at the very least you can be the person that brings the food
For the first week or two I just speak to them while cleaning or feeding, but I don’t go out of my way to try and interact with them or hand feed them when they’re settling in.
Every pig is different, I’ve had a pig who settled in straight away and loved cuddles from the get go and I also now have a 5 month old who is still very fearful, but he knows my voice and knows when it’s treat time.
I have specific sounds for each instance, so if i’m going to pick them up I make the same sound each time so they know when it’s about to happen, I also have a “I have something for you to eat sound” and it did take a month or two to become a ‘thing’ but now when I make the sound my 5 month old and his older friend come running to me/the front of their cage ready for their treat.
This may not be what you want to hear but I hope you will find enjoyment in just watching them go about their day, watching them interact with each other and explore is so rewarding. The truth is most guinea pigs will allow cuddling, if that, but most will never fully enjoy it. So yes, trust will come by spending time with them and letting them get to know you but you have to be aware they will likely never rush to cuddle you or love being held, because most pigs aren’t like that.
It takes time, but the bond you create is so worth it x
Hi and welcome
Piggies that have never had any friendly human contact before being sold into a complex pet home find it a frightening experience.
Please take the time to read our various very practical information links. We cannot repeat all the little details and tips in every single post and the guides allow you to look them up and re-read at need.
You also may find this link here helpful: New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In
We have a very helpful information collection for new owners with all our practical how-to advice for the most regularly encountered issues and some useful information for getting started on the right foot and being able to avoid some of the more common pitfalls as you go along.
We have also included helpful information on behaviours and dynamics, learning what is normal and not, how to spot early signs of illness and emergency care as well as information about guinea pigs as a species in their own right etc.
Here is the link, which you may want to bookmark so you can access it immediately whenever needed: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners.
Piggies that have never had any friendly human contact before being sold into a complex pet home find it a frightening experience.
Please take the time to read our various very practical information links. We cannot repeat all the little details and tips in every single post and the guides allow you to look them up and re-read at need.
You also may find this link here helpful: New Guinea Pigs: How to Best Manage Arrival and Settling In
We have a very helpful information collection for new owners with all our practical how-to advice for the most regularly encountered issues and some useful information for getting started on the right foot and being able to avoid some of the more common pitfalls as you go along.
We have also included helpful information on behaviours and dynamics, learning what is normal and not, how to spot early signs of illness and emergency care as well as information about guinea pigs as a species in their own right etc.
Here is the link, which you may want to bookmark so you can access it immediately whenever needed: Getting Started - Essential Information for New Owners.
Sue and Smartie
Competition Winner
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The wildest pair of pigs I ever had came to me at about a year old, and had been fairly unhandled until then. They used to run & hide at every sound, certainly we didn't see much of them unless we forced the issue for foot inspections/weighing, they just used to hide every time.
It was about six weeks after their arrival when I noticed that things had changed. Instead of running away when I came down in the mornings, they had started to come towards me. They had begun to associate my appearance with food, and once that happened, friendship soon followed.
It was about six weeks after their arrival when I noticed that things had changed. Instead of running away when I came down in the mornings, they had started to come towards me. They had begun to associate my appearance with food, and once that happened, friendship soon followed.
Pantalaimon
Junior Guinea Pig
Something I did for my first guinea pigs was sit next to the cage and read a book. It is a very quiet activity but still causes some gentle noises (breathing, turning the pages) and allows them to get used to your presence. I remember the excitement I felt when one of them walked past the area of the cage nearest to me!
Good luck with your new pigs!
Good luck with your new pigs!
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Welcome to the forum.
Your piggies are behaving perfectly normally.
It took my Phoebe several weeks before she stopped running to hide every time I approached.
She eventually became a very confident and relaxed piggy.
I like to sit by the cage and just talk quiet to mine when they’re new so they get used to my voice.
Your piggies are behaving perfectly normally.
It took my Phoebe several weeks before she stopped running to hide every time I approached.
She eventually became a very confident and relaxed piggy.
I like to sit by the cage and just talk quiet to mine when they’re new so they get used to my voice.
