Boarworld
Junior Guinea Pig
Hello,
I’ve posted here before and had some brilliant advice so hoping someone can help here!
I previously had two long haired boars who sadly we lost earlier this year. They were my first piggies and even though they only got to 18m old they were incredibly tame, very cuddly. I was able to trim their nails, brush them, give them a haircut and even give them a very brief bum-bath when I needed to if they got a dirty with no issues. Well, they weren’t the happiest having their bottoms washed, but I could do it without worrying that they were going to panic so much they’d escape in the house and they’d enjoy their towel snuggles and a treat afterwards.
I now have three very young sows. One, a Rex (I think!) is 12 weeks old so shes short haired. The other two are litter sisters, and are 18 weeks old. They’re Sheba Mini Yaks so they are very long haired, total messy bad hair day bundles of cuteness. I’ve had them since they were all around 5 weeks old. The Shebas came first and the Rex joined them a few weeks later. They bonded pretty easily and all get along beautifully.
Generally they’re happy and (I think!) healthy little girls. They have a lovely big cage, lots of enrichment and they live inside with tons of daily interaction. They’re very used to all normal household noise, they don't even care when I hoover.
We handle them daily - sort of - and this is where we’re having a problem. I herd them into their carrier because I can’t pick them up from their cage and bring them out into a secure floor time run. They’re perfectly happy being in there with us. We sit still and just let them play, and come to us. They’ve got to the point where they will climb on us, sit on our laps, and hand feed small treats like pea flakes. We can even get the odd stroke of the nose in when they climb up.
However. I cannot pick them up! At all. They are terrified of it and I struggle to even catch them. Which I know is normal and i wouldn’t mind, am happy to just carry on giving it time except for the fact that I can’t health check them or groom the Shebas. I’ve never been able to weigh them. I’m happy that there is no issue on the weight front as they’re young, never stop eating, and I can see them growing at a rate of knots by eye at the moment but the Shebas are pretty much fully grown so I do need to get a baseline weight for them now. The Shebas are also getting to the point where they really do need a haircut and a good groom around the bum - I can see one of them is getting a bit messy - and they all need their nails trimming.
If I need to take them to the vet nurse for this then I will do because I need them to be kept healthy but I would rather avoid this because I know from my boys that piggies detest going in the car.
I can deal with them being skittish and not liking being picked up to be groomed - needs must - but the problem is they get so distressed that they bolt. There is no way I can keep them still enough to get at them with a brush, let alone scissors for a trim!
Any suggestions?
I’ve posted here before and had some brilliant advice so hoping someone can help here!
I previously had two long haired boars who sadly we lost earlier this year. They were my first piggies and even though they only got to 18m old they were incredibly tame, very cuddly. I was able to trim their nails, brush them, give them a haircut and even give them a very brief bum-bath when I needed to if they got a dirty with no issues. Well, they weren’t the happiest having their bottoms washed, but I could do it without worrying that they were going to panic so much they’d escape in the house and they’d enjoy their towel snuggles and a treat afterwards.
I now have three very young sows. One, a Rex (I think!) is 12 weeks old so shes short haired. The other two are litter sisters, and are 18 weeks old. They’re Sheba Mini Yaks so they are very long haired, total messy bad hair day bundles of cuteness. I’ve had them since they were all around 5 weeks old. The Shebas came first and the Rex joined them a few weeks later. They bonded pretty easily and all get along beautifully.
Generally they’re happy and (I think!) healthy little girls. They have a lovely big cage, lots of enrichment and they live inside with tons of daily interaction. They’re very used to all normal household noise, they don't even care when I hoover.
We handle them daily - sort of - and this is where we’re having a problem. I herd them into their carrier because I can’t pick them up from their cage and bring them out into a secure floor time run. They’re perfectly happy being in there with us. We sit still and just let them play, and come to us. They’ve got to the point where they will climb on us, sit on our laps, and hand feed small treats like pea flakes. We can even get the odd stroke of the nose in when they climb up.
However. I cannot pick them up! At all. They are terrified of it and I struggle to even catch them. Which I know is normal and i wouldn’t mind, am happy to just carry on giving it time except for the fact that I can’t health check them or groom the Shebas. I’ve never been able to weigh them. I’m happy that there is no issue on the weight front as they’re young, never stop eating, and I can see them growing at a rate of knots by eye at the moment but the Shebas are pretty much fully grown so I do need to get a baseline weight for them now. The Shebas are also getting to the point where they really do need a haircut and a good groom around the bum - I can see one of them is getting a bit messy - and they all need their nails trimming.
If I need to take them to the vet nurse for this then I will do because I need them to be kept healthy but I would rather avoid this because I know from my boys that piggies detest going in the car.
I can deal with them being skittish and not liking being picked up to be groomed - needs must - but the problem is they get so distressed that they bolt. There is no way I can keep them still enough to get at them with a brush, let alone scissors for a trim!
Any suggestions?
