Scared Piggie

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Clarey008

Clarey008

Junior Guinea Pig
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One of my girls, Lily makes a strange teeth chattering noise when I go to pick her up. I have only had her a week as I was given her by a colleague. She makes this noise when she is scared, does anyone elses piggies make strange noises when they are scared? I picked her up today by placing cucumber in her upside down hidey, which she then hopped into but it is quite a traumatic experience putting her in her run.
 
Teeth chattering is a normal "back off, I don't like you near me" noise, and if you've only had her a week then she'll still be getting used to you - we've had our girls just over 6 months now, and they're still not entirely comfortable with being picked up (understandably: they're prey animals in the wild, so associate "feet are off the ground" with "a bird is eating me").

For now, using cuddle-cups or hideys to move her is probably clever. Try hand-feeding her when you offer her greens and generally 'being about' - talking to her, sitting near the hutch, putting your hand nearby so she can smell it.
 
Thank you, none of my other three guinea pigs have done it, so I was a bit surprised by it but your explanation makes sense.
 
Teeth chattering is a warning to back off or stop what you're doing, as she feels threatened. Because you've had her a short time, it's likely she just isn't comfortable with you yet. A lot of guinea pigs, even when they are used to you, simply don't like the feeling of being 'chased' and picked up (since they are prey animals in the wild, this makes sense, as anything chasing them in the wild would be doing so to eat them, not to pick them up and give them a cuddle!) Moving her with the hidey sounds like a good solution right now, and she may get more comfortable with time.

One of my pigs, Hadley, doesn't mind being picked up sometimes, other times she lets out a shriek of displeasure when you catch her! It seems to depend on her moods- sometimes she is quite content to be picked up, other times she seems to have plans made that I am interfering with! LOL!
 
Aah bless, Hadley sounds like a strong willed one. Once I have picked up Lily she seems fine, so I guess she just needs time.
 
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