Taming guinea pigs

[Sxophiee]

Hello!
I got my guinea pigs at about the start of the year and I’ve not gotten far at all in the gaming process. They will come up to me, sniff me, lick me and I can pet their nose and their side a bit.

I don’t know where to go from here and when to pick them up. Help!

 

[Bill & Ted]

Use a small box, tunnel or cat carrier to move them onto your knee, best to do this sat on the floor at first, in case one jumps! have a towel or bit of fleece for them to hide and feel secure under at first and make sure you have plenty of nice little bits of herbs, grass or veggies at hand. Taming is all about making them happy to come out of their cage and enjoying that experience, so little treats are a must x

 

[Fantasimo]

I've had my boys for about 7 weeks and they've come on pretty well. To begin with I made sure to pick them up and have lap time every single day. I just chatted (inanely) while I had them on my lap so they would get used to my voice and stroked their noses. I also stroked their ears and under their eyes as this is where pigs groom each other. One of them will settle down and shut his eyes on my lap now, the other one is more of an explorer but likes fully body scritches. I also left an old jumper of mine on top of their cage so they had my scent 24/7 (I apologise to them for this!)

Those things worked for me, but I guess all pigs are different. I had one guinea pig ages ago who took 3 years to warm up to me, but I just took it at her pace because she was a super nervy rescue and she was happy enough with her herd. Hope at least a tiny bit of that is useful