Picking Up My Babies

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Amym91

Amym91

Junior Guinea Pig
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I've had my 2 piggies nearly 2 weeks now, how should I go about picking them up? I've only picked then up by hand 3/4 times when I first got them then I started to use a box to move them because they were running crazy. Do I just grab them (nicely) also scared they will bite! Any advise please
 
They are very unlikely to bite honestly. I've had over 30 guineas over the years and never been bitten.

I started getting my young guineas out the day after I got them. To make them less nervous, make sure they see your hands first and make slow steady movements and scoop them from underneath.

Alternatively, if you're a bit too nervous to do this and feel you risk dropping them you can always use a snuggle sack or tunnel and wait for them to go inside and lift the tunnel/ cuddle sack our with the guinea pig safely inside.

I would start by getting them out once or twice a day for literally a minute at a time then put them back. You can stroke them and give treats/ veggies whilst they're out so they begin to associate lap time with positive things. You can slowly leave them out for longer if they seem comfortable.

Quick tip: a towel over your lap is always a good idea in case of piggy accidents.
 
Elgifu321 said:
They are very unlikely to bite honestly. I've had over 30 guineas over the years and never been bitten.

I started getting my young guineas out the day after I got them. To make them less nervous, make sure they see your hands first and make slow steady movements and scoop them from underneath.

Alternatively, if you're a bit too nervous to do this and feel you risk dropping them you can always use a snuggle sack or tunnel and wait for them to go inside and lift the tunnel/ cuddle sack our with the guinea pig safely inside.

I would start by getting them out once or twice a day for literally a minute at a time then put them back. You can stroke them and give treats/ veggies whilst they're out so they begin to associate lap time with positive things. You can slowly leave them out for longer if they seem comfortable.

Quick tip: a towel over your lap is always a good idea in case of piggy accidents.
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Never been bitten? How did you manage that:eek:
 
Amym91 said:
I've had my 2 piggies nearly 2 weeks now, how should I go about picking them up? I've only picked then up by hand 3/4 times when I first got them then I started to use a box to move them because they were running crazy. Do I just grab them (nicely) also scared they will bite! Any advise please
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To get them out, you should pick them up under there arms, also the other hand under their bottom if they do nip, not bite, put your nose under there chin & raise it for a couple of seconds, showing you piggy you are the dominant one. Although I find a finger under there chin is better.
 
Elgifu321 said:
They are very unlikely to bite honestly. I've had over 30 guineas over the years and never been bitten.

I started getting my young guineas out the day after I got them. To make them less nervous, make sure they see your hands first and make slow steady movements and scoop them from underneath.

Alternatively, if you're a bit too nervous to do this and feel you risk dropping them you can always use a snuggle sack or tunnel and wait for them to go inside and lift the tunnel/ cuddle sack our with the guinea pig safely inside.

I would start by getting them out once or twice a day for literally a minute at a time then put them back. You can stroke them and give treats/ veggies whilst they're out so they begin to associate lap time with positive things. You can slowly leave them out for longer if they seem comfortable.

Quick tip: a towel over your lap is always a good idea in case of piggy accidents.
Click to expand...
And also now & again if you give them orange, the amount of t-shirts ive ruined. Lol
 
I'm a newish piggy owner and remember the fear of getting bitten very well. Piggies are quite slow to defensively bite so you would be really unlucky to get bitten but you could wear a clean pair of gardening gloves perhaps whilst you get your confidence?

I have been bitten but only by accident, he did an exploratory sniff then nibble of my thumb. They do it fairly often and then realise you aren't food so stop. Once he bit harder as his teeth had hit something hard (my nail) and his bottom teeth broke the skin. My fault for letting him nibble.

I was so scared of handling my piggies, the confidence does come and then it is so much more fun.
 
We used this technique for ages until we were fully confident and still use it often with one of our girls, you can train them to go into the cosies or tube after a time to come out

It takes the stress out for you and them. Piggies only bite if they are very very scared

Have a look
 
image.webp Picking them up is always a challenge - but my son has found that lying down in the run with them can result in him becoming a climbing frame. Great entertainment to get him doing the homework, apart from when the pigs run over the keyboard!
cid:AEB5D977-0019-409D-BD87-E9D4700FE703
 
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TheCavySlave said:
Never been bitten? How did you manage that:eek:
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Guinea pigs aren't usually aggressive creatures and if you notice the signs when they're really scared and put them somewhere they can feel safe then you reduce the risk too.

Maybe I've just been lucky haha one of my boars got out of his cage and into another boars and started fighting once- it was crazy! Lucky I was in the room tidying at the time, think he heard the food bag and followed the sound haha but I actually managed to split them without getting bitten too- I know that was incredibly lucky but I was prepared to take the risk.

Have you been bitten a lot?
 
A fair few times! Often when I'm holding them, however, thinking of it, a lot of times it's an accident...they think I'm food, or they're trying to eat off my hand and miss.
Once, a piece of lettuce was covering my finger and Duncan took a big bite of the "lettuce":no:my poor finger bled! I know he didn't mean it, of course, he just wanted the food.
But they can nip, they just don't do it out of aggression, it's fear. But I'm still learning:nod:
 
One of my previous piggies would gently nibble my fingers during lap time but it was really gentle and I found it was more like affectionate behaviour- like when they nibble another piggys ear gently to show they accept them.

I guess piggies don't have the best eyesight haha I bet that really hurt! Bet the piggy had quite the shock too!
 
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