Our new addition

Saskia500

Saskia500

New Born Pup
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Aug 2, 2021
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Hi all, we have a new guinea pig! She is coming up to 14 weeks old and has really bonded with her cage mates. Her only sound is this which is made during lap time while I was stroking her, it's just a sound clip but we cannot decide if it's a happy sound especially as she is yet to wheek.
The link to the sound is below, quality isn't great but I hope it's enough to get your feedback.

Thanks 🙂
 
How long have you had her? Was she out alone when you filmed this clip? I only ask as if they are still within the two week period immediately post bonding, then you would want to keep them together all the time. She may simply want to be back with her friends if she had been taken out alone.
 
She's been with us almost 3 weeks. I had her wrapped in a towel to give her a tunnel feel while I stroked her, she did nibble on my fingers during the session.
 
Nibbling normally means put me back please. She sounded like she wanted to be back with her friends, but not frozen in fear of you, which is good for only having her 3 weeks. I often bring piggies together onto the sofa, so they have company.
 
Thanks folks. Have tried again, this time with all 3 - quite a handful! The two older piggies were making happy noises however newbie was reverting back to the above sound - complicated little character 🤷‍♀️
 
Just sounds like talking to me. Not too scared or worried. My Pepper chats away to himself. He’s never, ever wheeked and I’ve had him since last November. If your piggy nibbles you or the blanket then I’d pop them away in case they are telling you they need a wee wee.
 
Hi all, it's been a while since my last post and I have further questions to the group concerning our new addition who was around 14 weeks old back in September 2021. She has obviously grown and bonded really well with her cage mates, no concerns over her diet, drinking, weight, or health. They all go for regular nail clippings and a check over.

The challenge is that 5 months on she remains very skittish, and I mean skittish! She is impossible to stroke and handle be it inside or outside her cage/run/ She will not take food from your hand, and an absolute nightmare to remove from the cage when it's for floor time or a weekly clean up. Herding into a hidey still takes a lot of time and plenty of effort.

Once inside the hidey, from the moment we lift it up she goes wild! She makes a sort of wheeking sound, almost like she is shouting at me. It's not a scared scream, hiss, or whine, nor does she chatter her teeth. It's just a general racket of unhappiness. She will even try and force her way out, believe me if she could jump to the floor she would, regardless of height. During floor time, lap time, any attempt to stroke her, cuddle her will be met with head tossing, shouting, and a fight as she tries to escape. Once she is back home she will hide and sulk as she has been manhandled before going on a crazy spell, think running around, banging on things and again making a general racket. A very different character to our other two girls.

We make sure that our girls have time outside their cage every day, we always have the same battle with her. I don't really know how long this has been going on, nor do I recall any trigger that may have upset her. I've watched endless youtube videos in the hope one might work, I've even played it while attempting to tame her, without success.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, solutions... no pressure would be great please. Thank you.
 
Just bumping this up, found your post after your contact email. Can anyone help Saskia?
 
Saskia500 said:
Hi all, it's been a while since my last post and I have further questions to the group concerning our new addition who was around 14 weeks old back in September 2021. She has obviously grown and bonded really well with her cage mates, no concerns over her diet, drinking, weight, or health. They all go for regular nail clippings and a check over.

The challenge is that 5 months on she remains very skittish, and I mean skittish! She is impossible to stroke and handle be it inside or outside her cage/run/ She will not take food from your hand, and an absolute nightmare to remove from the cage when it's for floor time or a weekly clean up. Herding into a hidey still takes a lot of time and plenty of effort.

Once inside the hidey, from the moment we lift it up she goes wild! She makes a sort of wheeking sound, almost like she is shouting at me. It's not a scared scream, hiss, or whine, nor does she chatter her teeth. It's just a general racket of unhappiness. She will even try and force her way out, believe me if she could jump to the floor she would, regardless of height. During floor time, lap time, any attempt to stroke her, cuddle her will be met with head tossing, shouting, and a fight as she tries to escape. Once she is back home she will hide and sulk as she has been manhandled before going on a crazy spell, think running around, banging on things and again making a general racket. A very different character to our other two girls.

We make sure that our girls have time outside their cage every day, we always have the same battle with her. I don't really know how long this has been going on, nor do I recall any trigger that may have upset her. I've watched endless youtube videos in the hope one might work, I've even played it while attempting to tame her, without success.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, solutions... no pressure would be great please. Thank you.
Click to expand...

Hi

Please take the time to read this link here. It explains about prey animal instincts and how to work around them in ways that make instant total sense to guinea pigs: Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips

Please be aware that in our age of mass produced pets (whether that is commercially by pet shop suppliers or for sale breeders or through indiscriminate multiplication often as a result of mis-sexing ('hoarding'), the number of highly stressed pregnant sows has risen massively. Unfortunately, the developing embryos experience those levels as their 'normal' and set them as their own life-long default. You can with patience slowly work past the worst but in the more extreme cases you will never get past toleration of any grooming care and a quick pet.

Here is the access link to our extensive practical information resource of which the above thread is part of: Comprehensive Owners' Practical and Supportive Information Collection

You may want to bookmark the link, browse, read and re-read at need.
 
My own personal experience is that no matter what you do, sometimes there are piggies (just like people) who simply don't enjoy certain types of interaction.

What I would ask is that even though catching her seems stressful, how does she react once she is out having floor time? Does she settle down and enjoy the experience, or is she just desperate to be back in her main cage?
It is important to be able to catch your piggy and clean their cage, etc. but if daily floor time seems to be more stressful than fun then I would consider skipping this or at least reducing it to a couple of times a week.
 
Thanks so much Bosshog

I've read the guides - thank you Wiebke, aware it takes time, just never encounter a piggy like this.

Swissgreys floor time is mixed, some days she is in time happy to do a fast'ish walk around the sofas other days she is back at the cage wheeking to return.
We spot clean daily, top up with fresh shavings with a full clean once a week.
 
Saskia500 said:
Thanks so much Bosshog

I've read the guides - thank you Wiebke, aware it takes time, just never encounter a piggy like this.

Swissgreys floor time is mixed, some days she is in time happy to do a fast'ish walk around the sofas other days she is back at the cage wheeking to return.
We spot clean daily, top up with fresh shavings with a full clean once a week.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, if you come up against one of these high stress level piggies by default setting, then it is very tough because with every major upset you are back to square one. You with patience and persistence ofver the years cover a lot of ground but you can never eliminate the reflex; just get them out of there more quickly.

I've currently got two badly affected piggies myself.
 
Wiebke said:
Unfortunately, if you come up against one of these high stress level piggies by default setting, then it is very tough because with every major upset you are back to square one. You with patience and persistence ofver the years cover a lot of ground but you can never eliminate the reflex; just get them out of there more quickly.

I've currently got two badly affected piggies myself.
Click to expand...
It's nice to know I'm not alone. All I want to do is comfort the poor thing, I keep hoping that the company she has along with a never ending supply of treats will help. In the meantime I will pour myself a large glass of wine prior to the next interaction. Thanks again :)
 
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