Odd guinea pig behaviour?

[Spikie]

We've had our piggies for just under a month and they are still very jumpy. I know they will likely never enjoy being caught as it's wired in that they shouldn't be caught, but they seem to be to be terrified of us

We come up and they are in the open eating hay (so cute!). They then freeze and look at us, then carry on eating. They then generally go into their behaviour of sprinting around, generally one hides in a tube, the other sprints to the tube, then that scares the first one out, he sprints and scares the other one out... forever! They then calm down, eat a bit, then do it again. Generally they will run under cover where we can't see or get them, then stay there till we go.

They also leap about the place which I would like to think is them pop-corning happily, but I suspect they are in fact trying to confuse us so we don't eat them

Once they are caught (generally we wait till they run into a cloth tent/igloo and take that out, then them out of it) they sit happily and make chukking noises while we pet them. Then we put them in their play pen and they act more like I imagine they should. They still run about if we spook them, but it's like 'I'm eating -> OMG MONSTER! -> eating'. They make noise at each other and seem happy, though one seems to bully the other a bit. They also have bursts of running around and jumping, like they had a very small cowboy on their back who they wanted to get off.

They take food off us and come sniff us (MUCH more often in their pen than their cage) but if we move they run away.

Is it just a case of time, or have we somehow scarred the piggies and they hate us? I sit upstairs with them for about an hour a night while they are in their pen, but on my computer so they can feel like they are alone (but with my smell in the room).

Thanks all

 

[Wiebke]

Try to train them to come into a tunnel, cosy, padded shoe box with one end cut off, upturned pigloo etc. - basically anything you can use as a shuttle. Place the conveyance in a corner. Place a little veg treat at the far end of whatever you are using and let them get familiar and relaxed with it first (ideally let them sleep in it).

Then start picking them up gently. Always use the same words in the same tone for it and praise your piggies lavishly. Always use a little treat (ideally a tiny bit of what they really like) - and have more ready in case they eat it and then squeeze out...

Eventually, you can herd them gently towards the corner by tapping on their back end (never hard) - it's the piggy sign for "move on". It can take a few weeks for them to catch on fully, but they will cooperate when they realise that it is a lot less stressful on them!

Young piggies can be like quicksilver, but they are not freaked out of their mind, by all accounts!

 

[kat04kt]

Hey,

I've had mine for one week and they are exactly the same. I'm not sure what I should be doing now, trying to pick them up so they get used to me, or leaving them alone? They are coming out more and more often, so I don't want to stress them by picking them up and then they feel like being out in their c&c cage is simply a bad idea! ?/

I've just got one to take food from me, but he'll only do this when he's in his igloo and my hand is right outside with the veg pointing in.

 

[Connie]

I have had mine for 7 months, and they still run when I'm around! I have tried EVERY technique recomended on this forum. Nothing works. However slowly but surely they are becoming baver. They are now enjoying floor time, and do like cuddles when they are caught.

I simply believe mine were appaulingly socialised as youngsters (they were 4 months when i got them, and had never been handled before i took them out of the cage. , and this may be what has contributed to there lack of calm, either way if I'm very quiet and sit still i can watch them interact, and i love them to bits!