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Terrified Of Lap Time

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ayemee

ayemee

Adult Guinea Pig
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I've had the girls for almost 3 months now.

Mabel will let me pet her and pick her up without too much fuss.

Amber on the other hand is a totally different ball game. She has built up enough trust to take food from my hand and let me pet her head in the cage. Even though you can tell she doesn't really totally appreciate it.

When it comes to lifting her out the cage I have to use a cosy or tube. Which I don't mind doing at all. However once she is on my lap she goes crazy! She will fidget like crazy in the cosy/tube and if she's on my lap she will try and just dive off the edge of the sofa! It's all very stressful for both of us. I'm not sure what to do.

Any help would be wonderful. I managed to get her to settle in a fleece on my chest this afternoon. But the moment I move she will fidget and try the diving manoeuvre again...

Here she is at the most relaxed I've ever seen her on me.

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I can appreciate she might never like being handled. But I need her to tolerate me handling her to some degree for weighing, anytime she may need Meds, health checks ect.
 
I'm no piggy expert but one thing I do know (from owning many animals over the years) is they are all so individual.
Look at it this way- you must be doing something right as one pig will let you pick her up.
Amber may just be more sensitive and have a more aloof personality.
I have a female piggy- Tallulah- who is very cantankerous and hates being picked up. She was a grumpy mummy with her babies and is generally just a grumps! Lol
I'll be honest I just let her be... There's nothing to be gained by chasing her about trying to make her succumb to something she doesn't enjoy.
I can pick her up for health checks and if she needed the vet but other than this I don't see the need to fuss her.
Take small steps and keep trying but also maybe take into account that Amber may just prefer a little less interaction.
 
Yeah I can appreciate fully that she may not like being handled. That's perfectly fine by me :)

She's just so skittish that even weighing and health checks are a challenge. I was just wondering if there was a way I could help calm her down.
 
Yeah maybe that's it.

I put off trying to handle her because of how stressful it is.
 
What about using a soft towel to initially pick her up?
Or picking her up in a snuggle sack? You can get snuggle pouches that you can carry about with you .... Maybe try one of these? It may help Amber bond with you?
 
Yeah the snuggle sacks have been the best things so far :)

Although once it's on my lap she wants to come out of it and launch off the sofa! She's obsessed with just running off! :doh:
 
We had a portable snuggle sack when we had rats and they work really well.
You could pop Amber in there and carry her about as you do a few jobs talking to her and giving her cuddles.
 
Rach1 said:
We had a portable snuggle sack when we had rats and they work really well.
You could pop Amber in there and carry her about as you do a few jobs talking to her and giving her cuddles.
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This is an idea! Thank you. I'll try it when their new bigger cosy arrives this week in the post. :)
 
Joey used to be exactly the same, I just kept persevering - snuggle sacks/covering him a bit with a blanket helped, and every time I got him out Id give him a bit of veggie treat. It took a long time for him to relax during laptime but we got there :)
 
katie-elizabeth said:
Oh, and having the boys out at the same time for laptime seemed to help, too!
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That's a good idea! When I had Amber out I could hear Mabel making little wheeks. I think she was looking for her and was a bit unsettled because she wasn't there. The thought of having them both darting off the sofa is scary though! Haha!

Whatever one does the other one copies..
 
Me and my sister sit on my bed opposite each other, and have one on each lap, then if they venture off it doesn't matter because we're both there to stop them wandering over to the edge of the bed! Oh and if my sister wasn't around, I use to sit in their indoor run with them, so if they got off my knee they'd just be in the run :) It meant I didn't stress as much too because it didn't matter if they got off my knee! I'm sure it helped when I was more relaxed :)
 
katie-elizabeth said:
Me and my sister sit on my bed opposite each other, and have one on each lap, then if they venture off it doesn't matter because we're both there to stop them wandering over to the edge of the bed! Oh and if my sister wasn't around, I use to sit in their indoor run with them, so if they got off my knee they'd just be in the run :) It meant I didn't stress as much too because it didn't matter if they got off my knee! I'm sure it helped when I was more relaxed :)
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This has given me some ideas! Thank you :D
 
I know what you mean about it being stressful. My Saga piggy is terrible with handling. He won't let me pick him up at all, even in a cuddle sack. I persevered for a few months at the beginning, trying to get him used to being handled. But in the end I just realised that is his personality. He lets me tickle him under his chin and stroke him in the cage while he is eating, but that seemed to be it. I take him to the vet to have his nails clipped as I definitely couldn't do it. But I have discovered that suddenly things are different if we are outdoors. When I put him into the run on the grass and sit in there with him then he is glued to my side and just wants to be stroked and tickled while he munches away. He even purrs! So give that a try in the nice weather :)
 
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