Still having trouble bonding.

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Abzz130297

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Hi guys back again,

I’ve had Chester and Bennie almost a year now and I can’t wait until next month when I can give them their presents lol. However I’m still having loads of trouble bonding with them. They started to get really good with me for a couple of weeks a couple of months back but over the past month they’ve gone really back in their shells again.

Chester won’t come near me at all, I can’t seem to pick him up and hand,e him, he runs and hides every time he sees me, he pees and freezes. Bennie takes food from my hands but that is as far as it goes, he won’t come near me otherwise, he runs away and hides, he squeals to high heaven when I try to handle him, I can’t touch one inside or outside the cage at all.

I honestly feel like they hate me, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. I had to pick them up a couple of weeks ago to check their nails and since then it’s been biting and digging at my clothes when I try to handle them. I honestly feel like they hate me. I had a tattoo done on Friday and now they won’t come anywhere near my hand (it’s on my wrist).

How can I tell I’ve done something wrong or if it’s the tattoo or if it’s just me. Can anyone shed a light I’ve done the treat thing and the spending time by the cage I’ve read everything I can and done 99% of it. I have to take Bennie vets next month for his nails to be clipped, Chester’s don’t seem to grow. Are they unwell? Please someone help me I’m at a total loss here I’ve had guinea pigs in the last and none of them have been this bad around me.
 
Abzz130297 said:
Hi guys back again,

I’ve had Chester and Bennie almost a year now and I can’t wait until next month when I can give them their presents lol. However I’m still having loads of trouble bonding with them. They started to get really good with me for a couple of weeks a couple of months back but over the past month they’ve gone really back in their shells again.

Chester won’t come near me at all, I can’t seem to pick him up and hand,e him, he runs and hides every time he sees me, he pees and freezes. Bennie takes food from my hands but that is as far as it goes, he won’t come near me otherwise, he runs away and hides, he squeals to high heaven when I try to handle him, I can’t touch one inside or outside the cage at all.

I honestly feel like they hate me, I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. I had to pick them up a couple of weeks ago to check their nails and since then it’s been biting and digging at my clothes when I try to handle them. I honestly feel like they hate me. I had a tattoo done on Friday and now they won’t come anywhere near my hand (it’s on my wrist).

How can I tell I’ve done something wrong or if it’s the tattoo or if it’s just me. Can anyone shed a light I’ve done the treat thing and the spending time by the cage I’ve read everything I can and done 99% of it. I have to take Bennie vets next month for his nails to be clipped, Chester’s don’t seem to grow. Are they unwell? Please someone help me I’m at a total loss here I’ve had guinea pigs in the last and none of them have been this bad around me.
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Hi!

Please read these piggy whispering and picking up guides and follow the tips on how to invite the boys into your group and how to tell them that you love them. You can train them to come into a pick up shuttle without any chases.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you?

However, please also accept that the majority of piggies are NOT animated cuddly toys and that if you let them choose, they'd rather live a piggy and not a human pet life. The more you push, the more they will run away. Your boys trust you enough to be honest with you.
Please consider whether it is your piggies or your misguided expectations that is the problem. Try some of our enrichment tips to just hang out with them and to discover the world from a guinea pig and not a human-centric perspective!
Interaction is sooo much more than just a cuddle session on the sofa, which is often stressful or boring for a piggy. Doing things together is a much better bonding experience as both sides can contribute and it is actually fun for everybody!
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please read these piggy whispering and picking up guides and follow the tips on how to invite the boys into your group and how to tell them that you love them. You can train them to come into a pick up shuttle without any chases.
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig Safely
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you?

However, please also accept that the majority of piggies are NOT animated cuddly toys and that if you let them choose, they'd rather live a piggy and not a human pet life. The more you push, the more they will run away. Your boys trust you enough to be honest with you.
Please consider whether it is your piggies or your misguided expectations that is the problem. Try some of our enrichment tips to just hang out with them and to discover the world from a guinea pig and not a human-centric perspective!
Interaction is sooo much more than just a cuddle session on the sofa, which is often stressful or boring for a piggy. Doing things together is a much better bonding experience as both sides can contribute and it is actually fun for everybody!
Enrichment Ideas for Guinea Pigs
Click to expand...

Thank you I've read these before I'll have another read though just in case I've missed something
 
I think you’ll just have to go back to square one. How do you pick them up? When approaching where they live, so you talk? Predators never let their presence known. How do they behave when you’re hanging around nearby - do they hide, or do they walk around and eat in the open?

Go back to hand feeding. Offer and remove your hand. Don’t try to stroke. Keep doing that for a week or two and see how it goes. Then you can start putting your hand in the cage and letting them come up to sniff you. Don’t move it, just leave it there for them to...explore at their pace.

Then you can maybe try stroking them when they’re eating. Approach from the side (within their eye line) rather than overhead - that’s likely to trigger their prey instinct.

Trust has to be built up slowly. Remember what they are - prey animals - even if they’ve been ‘domesticated’.

How do you pick them up? Do you chase them around the cage?

Have a read through the whispering and how to pick up threads. Maybe you could come up with a key word to use for when it’s time to take them out the cage. And use something to pick them up in - a tunnel (see video), a box, a cuddle sack etc.

I’ve had the boys for just over two years now, and they still don’t like being picked up. One will sometimes not run away but over times he will. It happens, they may never be comfortable with it.

Good luck.
 
:agr:
I have had my two since July 2018. Dexter is very friendly and very comfortable with my presence, he will take food from me and come and take to me but he will not let me pick him up. Pops will run off when he sees me. He stays in his hide when I am doing things around their pen. He has never taken food from me. The only way I can pick them up is to get them to go into their pet carrier (which they go into very easily) and then pick them up from there to carry out their checks etc. Once I’ve got hold of dexter, he is mostly fine (although more likely just tolerating) being handled, but Pops will scream and call out to dexter. I have to work fairly quickly to get things done with pops so as to not upset him. I have been the same with both of them ie using the tips but I am now resigned to the fact that popcorn is never going to be comfortable with being handldd.
 
Piggies&buns said:
:agr:
I have had my two since July 2018. Dexter is very friendly and very comfortable with my presence, he will take food from me and come and take to me but he will not let me pick him up. Pops will run off when he sees me. He stays in his hide when I am doing things around their pen. He has never taken food from me. The only way I can pick them up is to get them to go into their pet carrier (which they go into very easily) and then pick them up from there to carry out their checks etc. Once I’ve got hold of dexter, he is mostly fine (although more likely just tolerating) being handled, but Pops will scream and call out to dexter. I have to work fairly quickly to get things done with pops so as to not upset him. I have been the same with both of them ie using the tips but I am now resigned to the fact that popcorn is never going to be comfortable with being handldd.
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Thank you for sharing that with me xx
 
Siikibam said:
I think you’ll just have to go back to square one. How do you pick them up? When approaching where they live, so you talk? Predators never let their presence known. How do they behave when you’re hanging around nearby - do they hide, or do they walk around and eat in the open?

Go back to hand feeding. Offer and remove your hand. Don’t try to stroke. Keep doing that for a week or two and see how it goes. Then you can start putting your hand in the cage and letting them come up to sniff you. Don’t move it, just leave it there for them to...explore at their pace.

Then you can maybe try stroking them when they’re eating. Approach from the side (within their eye line) rather than overhead - that’s likely to trigger their prey instinct.

Trust has to be built up slowly. Remember what they are - prey animals - even if they’ve been ‘domesticated’.

How do you pick them up? Do you chase them around the cage?

Have a read through the whispering and how to pick up threads. Maybe you could come up with a key word to use for when it’s time to take them out the cage. And use something to pick them up in - a tunnel (see video), a box, a cuddle sack etc.

I’ve had the boys for just over two years now, and they still don’t like being picked up. One will sometimes not run away but over times he will. It happens, they may never be comfortable with it.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thank you, yes I’m going back to square one now it’s the only thing I really can do now. As for picking them up as they still have a hutch at the moment it’s literally base them around or just don’t touch them, they avoid everything I put in there to get them into to do it it takes me about 5 to 8 minutes just to catch them, I don’t pick them up much as I hate chasing them around the cage I don’t wanna freak them out more.
 
Don’t chase them around, that freaks them out even more. Try maybe cornering them or herding them into a corner then picking up. When you hold them, support their bottoms and bring them close to you so they feel secure.

But as said, start slowly first.
 
Siikibam said:
Don’t chase them around, that freaks them out even more. Try maybe cornering them or herding them into a corner then picking up. When you hold them, support their bottoms and bring them close to you so they feel secure.

But as said, start slowly first.
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I do try I don’t like picking them up because they always run away and I have to chase them so I only do it once every so often
 
If you don’t catch them, give a few minutes then try again. I also think you have to be confident when doing it. I wonder if they sense fear in us sometimes...
 
Siikibam said:
If you don’t catch them, give a few minutes then try again. I also think you have to be confident when doing it. I wonder if they sense fear in us sometimes...
Click to expand...

I think they sense my fear too I never used to be frightened of picking them up but I’ve started to feel bad cos they don’t like it
 
Tigermoth said:
Can you kind of corall them where they are? I used to put things like their hay tray etc in the way to reduce the space they had to run to make for a quicker catch.
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The hutch itself doesn’t have a lot of room in it as they have their igloo in there and the ramp is in the middle of it, even though it’s a 6ft cage and I’ve put some old c and c grids around it to make a front garden, the only way I can do it is either chase them into the loft part and shut them in but that scares them or trap them in the front garden and shut the hutch doors, I’ve tried both ways they seem to still be petrified and then they don’t come near me for more weeks on end.
 
You’ll just have to accept that they may never get used to being picked up. But don’t chase them. Maybe use snuggle sacks, or boxes or close them off so they’re upstairs in the loft.
 
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