Overly Skiddish -- Plainly Petrified

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Practicalpets

Practicalpets

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I became a guinea pig mommy 2years ago and the 2 males I got were amazing ! Still have one.
I then picked up 2 females from a lady and her 2 daughters : cinnamon/white color.. Both extremely scared of humans -- can't say how they were treated but it was enough for me to Rehome them, as I didn't see any possibility of improvement (or I lacked the desire to have patience.. Not enough time ) they went to a great GP outdoor-run I trusted was ideal for them to be with other gals.
So a month ago a friend passed Jewel to me -( per landlord request )
.. She's Paranoid scared and purely petrified of humans ... Just runs and hides like a maniac.. As if I'm gonna eat her! The owner I got her from says she was like that from the start when he got her young at the pet store. From interacting with him, I could tell he didn't cause her more strain. He's a patient gentle man..
So I then thought "maybe that's how females are?" But no--- my white longhair girl (avatar) is super awesome
..My honest opinion?...it's not a good pet ..
 
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Please remember that it isn't the guinea pigs fault that she is skittish and please do not have a killed.

It can take months, even longer for guinea pigs to become tame. You need to give her time and take things gentle with her. Talk to her softly and start off with trying to touch her nose and offer her fresh veg from your hands.

If you generally can not look after her, please, please surrender her to a rescue. Please do not cause her any harm by having her fed to a snake or any other put down. It isn't her fault that she is like this.
 
Hi! Guinea pigs are prey animals, with prey animal instincts. They are NOT breathing instant cuddly toys. If they are mishandled, manhandled/not interacted with or neglected, then they may never learn to trust. Building up a bond of trust takes a lot of time, patience and persistence to work past their traumas, as they have quite obviously not being cared for appropriately. You will also have to learn to think from a guinea pig's perspective and not just from your own human desires.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-settle-shy-new-guinea-pigs.36239/
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...stincts-and-speak-piggy-body-language.117031/

If you are not willing or able to do this (it is going to take months and in bad cases can take a piggy's lifetime), please do not get any more guinea pigs from freed-ads and contact a no-kill animal rescue or shelter for the ones that you obviously do not feel that you can interact with in the way you wish to. Here is a list of no-kill shelters for your state. Sadly, there is no specific guinea pig rescue that we can point you to. http://www.nokillnetwork.org/d/Utah/
 
There are many aspects to skittishness. The main one as mentioned is that they are prey animals and the instinct to flee has never left them through domestication.
Their early lives can have a huge affect on how they trust humans. It's not always abuse that makes a guinea pig scared, it is very often lack of interaction, and the only cure for this is - interaction, of a patient and loving kind. As mentioned it can take from a few weeks to years for a guinea pig to finally trust. They also have longer memories than is often assumed, and things in their past can affect them for a long time.

We choose to live with an animal. The animal does not choose us (except sometimes with cats or other strays). We need to accept that they may not behave the way we would like, and that they all have different personalities.

Your post sounds like one of pure frustration and getting this off your chest. Guinea pigs are not for everyone, it's not a crime to feel disappointed, but now is the time to see from your pet's point of view and decide what is best. There are many shelters available, and people here can help recommend one if you would like. Remember your pet didn't chose to be this way, she is simply doing what comes natural to her, but her future is entirely in your hands and is relying on you to help her and keep her safe, even if she has (unintentionally) disappointed you.
 
All piggies are different. It is not the piggies fault it feels anxious/nervous. I have 1 skittish piggy and it has taken around 8 months since rescuing her for her to stand up at the cage and beg for food, but she is still skittish a lot of the time. You need to accept that this is the way your piggy may always be and give her a happy life despite that.
 
PleSe feel free to come get her - you guys are Not science or biologist minded people, it's not inhumane, it's natural. Do you know how the natural world works? The beautiful world before humans came into it as we are today? And if I'm not allowed to talk level headed with rational reason ... Please remove me immediately!
 
Just tried to send the ungrateful prick a message but thankfully he/she has been banned. Good work boss :tu:
 
Well as a scientifically minded person who knows how the real world is:. In no way were the responses to you irrational.
I keep snakes and understand that all animals need to eat. I think you will find that in the snake-world it is very frowned upon to feed live-food, even though it is natural. We have pets because we desire to look after them. The way of the world, the beautiful world where I agree has been ruined in many places by humans, nature is as it is for a reason. Animals evolved to survive, and in doing so animals suffer and die. There is a balance in nature, and all must eat. I get that.
@Practicalpets I think however it is you who are somewhat removed in that you seem unable to feel empathy, and only like something if it behaves a certain way. You claim to know nature but do not understand the nature of animals, just the biological system of how eco-systems work. If you cannot accept the nature of your pet then for you it is natural to use it as food for another. Nature may work this way but humans have developed empathy. It doesn't put us above nature, but it should make us realise that it is wrong to take an animal with the intent to care for it and then change our minds when we feel it doesn't do what we want it to do. Should we kill children because they may behave in ways that do not please us? Or perhaps it's OK to feed you to a carnivore because you displease us and those around you can't be bothered to have you in society anymore? After all, that tiger in the local zoo needs to eat, right? (your logic)
I get it that animals and humans need to eat. There is a huge difference between killing for food and killing because we can't be bothered to look after something anymore. You are killing because you can't be bothered to even try to understand and accept the nature of the animal that you brought into your home and dressing it up in your mind as killing for food.
The two things are different, and yet you cannot see that. You claim to understand nature, you seem to have a massive deficit in this department.
If you were not banned you would probably berate me and call me hypocritical and try to tell me that in my fuzzy-wuzzy cutsie little mind it's fine to kill a cow but terrible to kill a guinea pig, and you would (quite correctly) point out that guinea pigs are eaten in South America, you would probably tell me to 'get real'. You will no doubt think me as 'pathetic' as you have stated. You clearly do not understand the difference between killing for food, as is nature's way (even though we do so in quite an unnatural way now) and killing because you are fed-up with something. Don't try to dress one up as the other with me, it won't wash. You are NOT scientific as you claim, you are quite probably psychotic. I hope you refrain from becoming a carer to anything else, as you clearly are unable to care. You don't understand at all, and I suspect you never will.

I also suspect that I am talking to a troll. You clearly did not come here wanting a rational conversation at all. Neither of your posts indicated this, and I see little rationale in them. You clearly came here to cause controversy and to rile people up. Congratulations, you have achieved this.

As you rightly say: we do have a beautiful world being ruined by people. Understand this: it is people with and understanding of the natural world WITH a dose of empathy who are trying to fix things and make the world better, locally and internationally. It is people with scientific and practical minds who see the big picture of any proposed changes, but it is very often empathy that drives people to want to make the changes. You will probably continue to cause misery. Be thankful for those with empathy who are trying to bring back a balance of nature to this world that you claim to appreciate and understand.

Next time you want a rational or scientific conversation don't try to dress one motive up as another. It is neither rational or scientific.
 
Damn it :( I missed having a nice chat with them...

I'm now a bit concerned about that guinea pig... what if they do go and feed her to a snake?
 
If this person has any feeling at all, he/she will take the poor piggie to a rescue.:nod: We can only hope that, as he/she has other piggies too, she must have some affection for them AND this "skittish" one.
From what he/she has said, patience is one thing he/she has NOT got! :td:
Let us assume that this person is not so immature that they will feed this sweet piggie to a snake out of spite.:raz:
 
What ever this person is, s/he seems very much to be one who likes to play head-games. They made a post appearing to be as one of a venting of frustration and disappointment in that the guinea pig in question is a nervous one.... along with some kind of threat involving a snake.
As to be expected from a forum devoted to the appreciation, love and care of guinea pigs, members responded with some facts as to why the pig behaves this way, and offered practical suggestions on how to move the pig in question on in a humane way. These posts were rational, logical and practical considering the potentially upsetting outcome to the pig. Only a person seriously missing something in their head would fail to realise that a forum of piggy-appreciaters would encourage a humane outcome for the pig. Basically if this person was genuinely seeking some kind of discussion on the practical 'so-called merits' of disposing of an unwanted pet by feeding it to another, versus the actual ethics of doing so, a pet-loving forum would not be the place to do this. The post was highly inappropriate if this is the type of discussion that s/he wanted. This would be blindingly obvious to anyone with any kind of decent intellect, so obvious that I call this person out as the troll that s/he must surely be.
Practcalpets must have realised the reaction s/he would get and can only be wanting to cause upset and trouble with these posts. Having got the expected answers s/he twisted it all around in a (failed) attempt to make it look like WE are illogical, irrational and over-sentimental, by claiming that we know nothing of how nature works. It's an attempt to get some kind of upper hand by trying to find some kind of imaginary flaw in our arguments/morality, and claiming that we are incapable of scientific/none-sentimental discussion, a discussion that for reasons stated above I don't believe this person was genuinely wanting at all..
People like these are ten-a-penny and I've seen it all before on pet forums. Each one appears to think they are doing something new and clever, for some reason that I fail to understand. I do try to offer advice and answer their points just on the off-chance that they are serious, and I am well aware that this person really could have a pig s/he wants to be rid of, snake being a convenient method. It is still the case though that this is a troll, not someone seeking advice, not someone seeking a genuine debate, and this person seems to think that head-games are justifiable against those who care about things. An abusive person who most likely fails in society (perhaps not at first, but when people get to know him/her), who likes to try to feel superior and fails miserably, but somehow believes that s/he can run rings around our ethics reasoning by using insults and twisted-failed attempts at logic.

Seen them before, not the first, not the last, nothing special, nothing clever, just a sad misery spreading hurt around.
I won't be at all surprised if this person crops up here again with some more head-games. Again - seen it before, nothing special, nothing clever, just sad and pathetic.

Either that or maybe, just maybe, this really is a person who has a very limited mental capacity in certain areas (though may be good in other areas) and has a penchant for throwing tantrums in a public arena..... yet thinks we are pathetic. If these are his/her genuine thoughts then that really doesn't bode well for this person or anyone/thing in contact with him/her. If you are not a deliberate troll then go seek help and for goodness sake don't bring anything into your care!

Anyway, that's me done with trying to figure this out.
 
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