Taming wiggy Piggys?

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Piggysweeks

Piggysweeks

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Ive had my boys for some time now, and was told they will get used to me and become more social.
This cant be any further from the truth, they scream when handled they get really stressed when i used to catch them for lap time.
Now they sometimes squeek for dinner, but all in all seem to hate me.

i adore my wiggs but I dont want to cause any uneccesary stress by handling them.

But that said theres loads of members here each who have lovely social piggies? 8...
 
if its any consolation, not all pigs enjoy lap time - ive got 10 pigs and 4 of them hate lap time, they fuss and fidget the whole time - one of my boys lasts about 5mins before he pulls on your clothes (sometimes he catches your skin beneath which can be quite painful).

However when in their own environment - they are as laid back as they come and every single one will come up to the bars of their cage for a kiss/fuss.

Your pigs just sound like a few of mine - love you to death but for some reason hate cuddle time.... funny little creatures...

you probably already know this - but if i want to get any of my fidgets to sit still for longer than 5mins i bribe them with a piece of pepper or a few sprigs of corriander/dill - works everytime ;)
 
I wish this was the case, but these two scream, literally scream when caught and do nothing but distress calling to eachother and alot of teeth chattering when I'm near :(

I'm always really quiete with them and feed them treats and greens etc, its not that I'm a neglectful pet owner just seems my wiggs dislike me.
I have had peasey weasey since he was a young baby8...
 
Have you tried making up a run on the floor & sitting in it with them? I did that with mine (I still do) & they would come & get veggies from my hand & then I would pick one up on my lap & eventually they settled & are happy to sit on my lap & them climb off when they've had enough lol!

Also I always think it's easier to handle them after they've been fed, as about an hour later they are much calmer & less wriggly rolleyes
 
I tried this but they wont come to me for all the food in china. :(

they spend 10 mins scoping the area once greens are in the cage just to be sure nobody is around.

they have been like it for months now. I'm beginning to think i have failed them.:()
 
Piggysweeks said:
I tried this but they wont come to me for all the food in china. :(

they spend 10 mins scoping the area once greens are in the cage just to be sure nobody is around.

they have been like it for months now. I'm beginning to think i have failed them.:()
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Oh no you haven't, honestly it takes ages for them to get used to their slaves rolleyes

I can honestly say I thought the same with our first pair, now we are on piggies 6,7, & 8 & we have one who really hates cuddles, one that is coming around slowly & one that is a real cuddle monster (Daisy my pic) :) However I think it's down to Daisy having an operation on an abscess in Jan/Feb, she had to be handled a lot & now I really think she prefers human company lol :))
 
one of my girls still wont allow us to stroke her - she loves a chin tickle when it suits her & only ever for a few seconds, but if you go to stroke her she'll run off - she's nearly 12months old and we've had her since she was 8wks old - it's just her personality mallethead she's so pretty as well and i love to scoop her up and cuddle her al day - but it just aint going to happen :{

i do spend an awful lot of time just sitting and talking to my pigs - their cages are in our dining room, so if you want to get to/from the kitchen, you must talk to piggies - my daughter also interacts a lot with our pigs, so i suppose that helps also.

I'm sure your boys dont hate you - two of my girls are screamers when being caught/picked up - but they usually settle quite quickly - do you have each pig out alone? have you tried lap time with both together? if you can get one piggie to relax, the other will normally follow suit.

The run idea isn't a bad one and worked extremely well with my first boy - within 3wks he would come when his name was called and sat still to be lifted.

when it comes to treats - have you tried parsley? ive yet to come across a pig that can resist the smell of parsley! (it's like drugs for pigs) i bet if you set up a run area with some parsley in hand, they'd soon come to you to investigate :) do this enough (maybe alternate it with corriander and dill as too much parsley is not good) and you'll have them eating out of the palm of your hand...

alternatively - do you have a garden and access to fresh grass? a handful of grass/dandelion leaves will have the same effect as parsley - bet they cant resist for too long.........
 
I have one that is just so scared she never comes out, even after having her 6 months it is lucky to see her. Every time you make eye contact with her she runs and hides. With patience she is starting to take a little food from my hand in the cage. I love her, but I wish she was more outgoing. I feel sorry for her, she has nothing but anxiety. She is the dominant one though, and a little moody to her sister, she likes to sit by herself.

When my husband picks her up she makes really sad little noises, and then when I hold her she sits motionless in fear, waiting for the 'cuddle time' to end. I pet her gently and sometimes she relaxes enough to eat a piece of lettuce...but she never moves. When she has to pee she turns her head and glances at me. That is the sign she needs to go back home. I have experimented with this 'sign' and yes, that is her sign...you have to be quick to see it and hope you aren't watching the tele at that moment.

The other one is really friendly in the cage, but the moment she is on your lap, unless you are stuffing food in her mouth, she is bopping her head against your hand to make you stop petting her, and is bolting as fast as she can to get away.

No screaming from either of them though, thank goodness.

Not really much help, but I totally understand what you mean, they are so darn cut and you just want to cuddle and snuggle and interact with them, but they have their own ideas! Little independent souls they are.
 
I never seem to get tired of watching them walk around their cage though and listen to their little noises. They are in my home office, so they are with me most of the day so I catch a lot of little moments, like when they get the zoomies and run laps around the cage, or play with their hay ball with the bell on it, or sleep in their little bed so cute.

It goes a long way to melting your heart and gives me lots of patience for not getting to touch them as much as I'd like to.

I LOVE it when they squeak for treats and snackies!

I'm sure yours don't actually hate you.
 
Keep trying, some piggies can take longer than others. It took one of my boys around ten months before he completely trusted me. My arm used to ache holding the food in front of his pigloo because he'd stare at it for about ten minutes.

All the patience paid off though and hes the biggest lump ever now. He just flops out on your lap, legs and arms sticking out peacefully and you can stroke him with no problem.

His cage mate trusted me within a month completely and without running away just a week. Unlike Gilbert the one who took months though Ludwig still hates being picked up and runs but he's a big cuddle bug.

It really depends on their personalities but don't give up hope. They all go at different speeds. =)
 
I'm in the same boat. One who allows me to have a good ear rub and another who runs whenever I come near. Even with food in my hand. Mine are outdoors so I can't wait for winter to come (only time the other half said they can live in doors,condition of me getting them as he's anti pigs!) I'm even slowly clearing out the spare bedroom so that they can have the run of it with the indoor cage. Was beginning to think mine hate me. Even try to bite when I go to pick them up :0( but I'm slowly seeing progress. ESP with my big boy blaster. We're taking it one step at a time xx
 
Thanks guys i think ill start a diary of Taming them. i have had some of the most grumpy territorial rabbits and tame them in weeks, Guinea pigs are so so different it still makes me wonder why these two species were deemed acceptable to live together inbreeding
 
we have 5 wigs and over the 2 years we have been employed by them we have different levels of affection. the captain and rocky are both "good morning nice to see you can i have a fuss and some attention" marmite screams if you pick him up then climbs all over you and generally fidgets, ben hides and is quiet, and ozzie is just like rocky only 7 months old so its up to the pig I'm afraid keep trying ;)
 
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