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Fastpaintedhorse

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Hey so I have 2 guinea pigs and was wondering if anyone had any tips on getting them to trust me.I've tried hand feeding But I can't get past that. And every time I go to pet them they just run away
 
How long have you had them?
If they will take food from your hand, then they do trust you.
As prey animals, most piggies don’t like being touched, won’t like being picked up.
When you approach them, talk to them first, don’t loom over them, be on their level etc - basically do the opposite of what a predator would do.
There are piggy whispering tips in the link I have added below, but you do need to accept that for a lot of piggies, taking food from your hand is the most they will ever do.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
 
Piggies&buns said:
How long have you had them?
If they will take food from your hand, then they do trust you.
As prey animals, most piggies don’t like being touched, won’t like being picked up.
When you approach them, talk to them first, don’t loom over them, be on their level etc - basically do the opposite of what a predator would do.
There are piggy whispering tips in the link I have added below, but you do need to accept that for a lot of piggies, taking food from your hand is the most they will ever do.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Click to expand...
Ok thanks I've had them for about 2 weeks now
 
Fastpaintedhorse said:
Ok thanks I've had them for about 2 weeks now
Click to expand...

That’s such a short amount of time. You’re looking more at months, potentially years, rather than just a few weeks for them to really settle. It took one of mine 18 months before he would even take food from my hand. Even the most confident of the two took six weeks before he stopped running away when I entered their shed.
 
Talk to them.. never approach without talking as this can startle them.. Had 1 of mine a year and she still runs a mile at times lol!
 
My advice (worked with my boys) is handling every day, even if just for ten minutes. Talk to them, stroke them, tuck them into a hoodie so that they feel safer when you’re holding them. Also, leave something that smells like you over or beside their cage so that they your smell becomes familiar and safe to them. Then gradually try hand feeding while they’re in your lap. They will start to eat when they feel more comfortable. Might take some time, but once you’re their ‘safe’/‘food’ person, they’ll trust you more and more ☺️
 
I agree with what has been said above. when hand feeding I put the hand that is not holding food into the cage first and get them to sniff it and put their front paws on it before/ as they get fed to build up trust but hand feeding when their still so new to you is a great sign.
 
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