Skittish young guinea pig

Piper&Kierstein

Piper&Kierstein

New Born Pup
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Hi all! I recently just joined this forum and became a proud parent of 2 beautiful guinea pig girls. I have a young guinea pig and an adult. The young ones name is Kierstein and the older one is Piper. I just got my piggies last Saturday. Piper is coming along nicely she just started today taking carrots from my hands instead of fleeing and she allows me to pet her in her house without taking off running. But Kierstein is not as accepting she will run off when I talk to her or even come close to the cage which I know is normal for some piggies. What was really weird was one day I was petting piper in her strawberry shaped house and Kierstein was across the cage for some weird reason she ran straight into my arm to get into the strawberry with Piper. I just thought that was strange since shes always scared of me. Does anyone know the reasoning for this?
 
Was it the only (or the only obvious) cover she could get to? I suspect she was spooked, made a mad dash for cover, and bumped into you along the way. It seems counterintuitive to run towards you, but it may have been a sound or something that prompted the fear, and even if it was you the 'fight or flight' reflex is often not that logical!
 
Piper&Kierstein said:
Hi all! I recently just joined this forum and became a proud parent of 2 beautiful guinea pig girls. I have a young guinea pig and an adult. The young ones name is Kierstein and the older one is Piper. I just got my piggies last Saturday. Piper is coming along nicely she just started today taking carrots from my hands instead of fleeing and she allows me to pet her in her house without taking off running. But Kierstein is not as accepting she will run off when I talk to her or even come close to the cage which I know is normal for some piggies. What was really weird was one day I was petting piper in her strawberry shaped house and Kierstein was across the cage for some weird reason she ran straight into my arm to get into the strawberry with Piper. I just thought that was strange since shes always scared of me. Does anyone know the reasoning for this?
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Hi! You just happened to be where she was instinctively running to for safety because something else had spooked her. ;)

Give her time and use our piggy whispering tips. Building up trust in a piggy that is not used to humans and has likely been born to a stressed mother is not a quick process, but it is so much sweeter a milestone when you get there! ;)
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
 
Thank you guys for responding. She sometimes goes into those beds but not generally. Usually when she flees she goes into the woven guina pig house. I had been sitting there for a good 2 minutes before she came out of the woven house and right into my arm 😂 it can sometimes be very difficult with kierstein. I'm trying to be patient but it's hard to do that when I can see that piper is coming so far and kierstein really has no interest. She just wants to flee even if I look up at her from my bed she flees lol.
 
Recommend the Whispering tips. My two were as different as yours - they still are after 2 years. Once you've picked her up, Clover is very relaxed about meeting new people, but Silk not so much. She still startles much more easily than Clover, but when I do get her out she totally melts into me or my daughter because we are her "safe" people. But they both run away when you go to pick them up!
 
Time and patience are necessary with piggies.
They are prey animals.
Just be calm and gentle with her and in time she will come to trust you. The pig whispering tips are really helpful.
Enjoy them and please let us see lots of pictures.
Welcome to the forum
 
Merab's Slave said:
Time and patience are necessary with piggies.
They are prey animals.
Just be calm and gentle with her and in time she will come to trust you. The pig whispering tips are really helpful.
Enjoy them and please let us see lots of pictures.
Welcome to the forum
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Yeah, I know it requires patience. I just see Piper being much more willing. I actually got to hold her on my lap for about 2 minutes. I'm sure she would have stayed longer but I didnt want to overwhelm her. The small one is Kierstein and the bigger one is Piper.
 

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Also, I'm not sure if this is normal but I cleaned their cage for the first time and piper started going under the beds and moving them all over the place.
 
Piggies&buns said:
Totally normal. Furniture removal is often a piggy’s favourite hobby!
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Lol! Thanks for that! I am definitely looking to upgrade my cage. I have the midwestern cage which is pretty okay but piper keeps trying to popcorn and she keeps hitting the cage. I saw a C & C cage I really like it's like 130 dollars but it's not so much an issue of money as it is an issue of space. I am probably going to move out this big black tv thing my grandparents have in here.
 
Piper&Kierstein said:
Lol! Thanks for that! I am definitely looking to upgrade my cage. I have the midwestern cage which is pretty okay but piper keeps trying to popcorn and she keeps hitting the cage. I saw a C & C cage I really like it's like 130 dollars but it's not so much an issue of money as it is an issue of space. I am probably going to move out this big black tv thing my grandparents have in here.
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Your current cage is definitely sufficient so don't feel rushed to change to a c&c, if I were you I would look into making your own c&c, when purchased already made the prices can rocket. Research on Amazon for the grids, and then you can make the c&c exactly how you want it and can also change it to other layouts in the future, rather than being stuck with one set up.

Also your little one will eventually learn to trust you, and remember, most piggies don't like the act of picking them up, but ultimately once they learnt I trust you, they will be more comfortable during the cuddling and cage petting
 
dannif_piggies said:
Your current cage is definitely sufficient so don't feel rushed to change to a c&c, if I were you I would look into making your own c&c, when purchased already made the prices can rocket. Research on Amazon for the grids, and then you can make the c&c exactly how you want it and can also change it to other layouts in the future, rather than being stuck with one set up.

Also your little one will eventually learn to trust you, and remember, most piggies don't like the act of picking them up, but ultimately once they learnt I trust you, they will be more comfortable during the cuddling and cage petting
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I would love to create my own. But my problem is I cannot cut a straight line for the life of me! I can take measurements but cutting straight lines is the struggle 😂
 
Piper&Kierstein said:
I would love to create my own. But my problem is I cannot cut a straight line for the life of me! I can take measurements but cutting straight lines is the struggle 😂
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The corrugated plastic base can guide you! Or some people even use lino flooring at their base! What ever you do I'm sure your guineas will love it :)
 
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