The Guinea never bonded

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CryingRaven

CryingRaven

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I got a Guinea for my daughter from Cragslist around July this year. The owner said she just didn’t have time for her anymore. I was looking for a pet so I was very carful to pick one that was said to be used to handling and very sweet.

At first Guinea, (which is what I have taken to calling her. :) seemed a little skittish of us but she would let us hold her. Then it seemed she slowly became more upset when we would take her out. My daughter is always genteel with her. She learned very young how to handle small pets and I have strict no holding rules unless I’m in the room.

It has gotten so bad that any time our fingers are near she will bite. She’s a long haired pig so grooming can not be over looked and is a must no matter how upset she is. Bottom line is I want this pig to have a good life. I want her to like us as much as we like her.

We have tried sitting daily with her but it never seemed to help. She has never eaten with me near, no matter what I give her. The only thing is she will beg my daughter for a treat, but since I’m the one doing the bathing of her I think she only sees me as someone bad.

What I would like to know is there something other than just sitting beside the cage every day with a treat, that will get this girl to like us, and not want to bite us every time we try to take her out.
 
Hi,

Have you tried giving her hair a really good trim? - that way, you wouldn't have to groom her every day and could just do 'nice' things, like cuddling and giving treats. I've got a very hairy Sheltie and if I keep her hair trimmed quite short, I only have to give it a brush and trim about once a week. You also wouldn't have to bath her as often.
I would also recommend picking her up in a cosy cup or snuggle sack (or something like that), as guineas seem to feel more secure if they're picked up and carried within something. You just have to wait until she's in the snuggle sack, then calmy pick her up. Or you could pick her up and immediately wrap her in a towel or fleece - piggies really LOVE this!
Also, she would be much happier and more confident if she had a friend to live with. Guinea pigs are very much herd animals and, in my experience, the very timid characters are always far, far more relaxed with a friend. Would it be possible to get her a guinea friend? - sows almost always accept a baby female, so that pairing would be pretty much guaranteed to work. :)
Finally, some guinea pigs just have shy personalities - of my 5, I have 2 that are pretty much bomproof, but don't like being cuddled (Primrose will often nip fingers when picked up); 2 that are more shy, but very cuddly; and my Sheltie, Roxy, who is still really skittish after 18months with us, but is happy to be cuddled once out. Hopefully, your lady will become far happier and more friendly if you put into place all the suggestions above, but I'm just trying to say don't be too hard on yourself if she idoesn't end up being the sort of piggy who will run over to you to be picked up. I really do think that the single biggest thing you could do to improve her quality of life , would be to get her a little friend.
Good luck - you WILL get there with her in the end. :)
 
ok I will let you into a secret, something I have not told on here before.

When I got the three girls, two youngsters and a baby daughter from one of them and they were "well handled". I found they were petrified of me to begin with and it took weeks of just every day twice a day going into the hutch, talking to them, trying to catch them and give them veg each time I cuddled them. I had problems catching them and it took months to have them stop hiding from me every time I went to the hutch.

Gradually they would come to the front of the hutch, I saw other peoples pigs on here that could be stroked in their pens and I felt such a bad owner as my 3 were scared of me still when I tried to get hold of them. I introduced a neutered male, he had a similar issue, wasnt particularily handled (the foster home did a great job to get him as far as he was), but I resided myself to have 4 wild pigs.

But time and patience really does pay off, even though I lost the boar and had to start again with an even more skittish little lad, I knew he would gain in confidence and trust gradually and with 3 girls who were much more confident and relaxed would help as well.

I still cant touch them in the pen or hutch, I still have to catch them in a sqube or tunnel, or corner them. But I have two that will take food from my hands - not every day but if they feel like it, all 4 are fabulous and well if they are happy to be picked up every now and then, then so be it.

On the other scale are the two boys, both long haired and very ticklish but with long coats they need grooming. I keep the skirts short, some people trim the whole coat but I like them to have a bit of a do so I just trim around the floor area, bums and plums :)). If there is a knot they can be a bit tetchy but careful trimming of the knot and they are fine. I cant touch them in their pen either but they do like a good cuddle so are very different to the girls.

Biting - well two of the girls have tried, the baby and the boss pig, both got into a strop with me and didnt want to be touched but they are fine now, although fudge (the baby) does still tend to try on occasion. Its all down to getting them used to it, offering tasty treats during handling (they may not always want to eat it), talking to them and patience.

Have you got a friend for the guinea? They really do much better with another. I have to go to work now but if not already done I can post the link to pb recommended rescues and see if you can find a friend for guinea.
 
Thanks so much both of you or your input.
I do cut Guinea’s hair short. And she looks so cute with it all woolly looking.:<>

I will begin looking for a friend for her.
 
My five all have very different personalities (pigonalities?). I started out trying to handle them all the time but that meant they were running from me all the time, so instead I started to just stand by the cages talking to them. Tosca and Tutte soon started coming out for a chat and wheeking at me to hurry up with the rations. It took Dido six months to wheek at me.

Bella and Mimi were the two freebies that came with the buy three - they were born here in March. Bella has absolutely no fear and launches herself at me when I open the cage. Mimi is so skittish that I usually just get to see a blur as she shoots out of her hiding place. I only really get to see her when she stops to eat! I'm lucky though as mine are all teddies or short-haired so don't need quite so much coat care.

A piggie friend will help as it's someone she can talk to who understands. For humans patience is the key as earning piggie trust can take months
 
I tried putting her in a towel tonight and she did much better. I even got to pet her head.
 
When our boy Sunny came to live with us he was much the same. I started wrapping him tightly in a towel and carrying him round with me for an hour or two. I constantly offered nice treats and eventually he did calm. When she nips blow on her face and say NO. This stopped Sunny nipping but I imagine gaining confidence helped too. she could be depressed if she is alone, this can come out as aggression. Also are you certain she doesn't have mites or lice? This can also make for a very tetchy piggy. My boys have caught them twice, the vet reckons you can get a bad batch of hay that infects them.
Good luck with guinea, she is lucky to have found a dedicated family to care for her Xx
 
It does often take time. My two are still not completely at ease and I've had them around six weeks now. They are getting better. I talk to them everytime I go past the cage and don't handle them every single day, but when I do, they are getting more relaxed. Dougal has started approaching me cautiously when I open the cage to see if I've got any treats lol.

I think if you can get them to come to you, then it's far better than stressing them out by trying to catch them every day. :)
 
It can take a long time to gain the trust of a piggie, some longer than others but it's worth the wait when they finally do learn to trust you. In my experience a lot of shy piggies really do come out of themselves and blossom when they have friends, the more pigs I have in a group the more relaxed they seem to become. I'd definitely agree with everyone else who's suggested getting her a friend. The best thing is to find a reputable rescue who do piggie dating. Good luck.
 
Getting a piggy to trust can take a long time, but it is worth it! she is already past the first (frozen from fear) stage and is confident enough to tell you what she doesn't like - that is actually a good sign, as it means that yes, she IS bonding with you and reacting to you kindness!

Give her little veg or herb treats and lots of praise when handling her - like you would with a little dog; piggies react to that as well! Tell her gently, but firmly what behaviours you do not like (never shout or punish - piggies don't have a concept for "no" ). If you can, try to train her to come into some kind of conveyance, like a tunnel, an upturned hut, a padded cardboard box with one end cut off, etc. That will take away a lot of the stress.

I would also recommend to keep her hair pretty short, especially on the sides and the bum/leg area where piggies tend to mat most. She will come out a lot more if you do not pull her hair all the time! 4 out of my 6 longhairs don't like to be groomed at all, so they have hairdos that do not require a daily ordeal.
 
CryingRaven said:
I tried putting her in a towel tonight and she did much better. I even got to pet her head.
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My youngest one ONLY sits still for cuddles if he can burrow into a towel or snuggle sack, so this was a good idea. He's tame enough to take veg from my hand etc. but isn't very cuddly, so your girl may just BE that way. My older boar looooves a cuddle, but I have to corner him to pick him up. He's great once I've got hold of him, but getting hold is a nightmare!

I had a biting boar, but he turned out to have an inner ear infection that had festered for some time without any other symptoms, and I think that made him especially tetchy regarding handling. My more tame boar now will nibble my fingertip if I've been handling vegetables and smell like carrots, but it's a VERY gentle nibble and there's no malice in it at all, whereas my previous boar bit like he meant it and often drew blood. My understanding is that biting is not common behaviour for guinea pigs.

The fact that this is behaviour which has APPEARED (although you don't say how recently), and she hasn't bitten from day one, makes me inclined to suggest a vet visit. If she had ALWAYS bitten you, I would assume she may have been mishandled (even accidentally) by her previous owner and therefore was just taking longer to come round. But this isn't the case, and sometimes various ailments -- ear infections, mites, etc. -- can make a guinea pig uncomfortable and they may dislike handling for that reason. There is probably nothing wrong, but it may be worth a thorough check to rule it out.
 
SpinningNickel said:
My youngest one ONLY sits still for cuddles if he can burrow into a towel or snuggle sack, so this was a good idea. He's tame enough to take veg from my hand etc. but isn't very cuddly, so your girl may just BE that way. My older boar looooves a cuddle, but I have to corner him to pick him up. He's great once I've got hold of him, but getting hold is a nightmare!

I had a biting boar, but he turned out to have an inner ear infection that had festered for some time without any other symptoms, and I think that made him especially tetchy regarding handling. My more tame boar now will nibble my fingertip if I've been handling vegetables and smell like carrots, but it's a VERY gentle nibble and there's no malice in it at all, whereas my previous boar bit like he meant it and often drew blood. My understanding is that biting is not common behaviour for guinea pigs.

The fact that this is behaviour which has APPEARED (although you don't say how recently), and she hasn't bitten from day one, makes me inclined to suggest a vet visit. If she had ALWAYS bitten you, I would assume she may have been mishandled (even accidentally) by her previous owner and therefore was just taking longer to come round. But this isn't the case, and sometimes various ailments -- ear infections, mites, etc. -- can make a guinea pig uncomfortable and they may dislike handling for that reason. There is probably nothing wrong, but it may be worth a thorough check to rule it out.
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Thanks for your concern but the bitting doesn't seem to be as much of a problem unless she is really worked up and upset. If i'm just picking her up shes ok. And though I am still looking to get her a friend she is emproved now that we have started holding her wrapped up. She likes her chin scratched best.


To everyone thank you so much for your insight. I'll post pictures of her as soon as I can. I've posted a want add on Clist for a baby girl pig and checked the local rescues. Nothing yet, but there will be something one day I'm sure.
 
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?m...ll=52.643063,-1.230469&spn=6.775737,19.753418 (only helpful if you are in the UK)
a link to the recommended rescues for you. If your prepared to travel a little further a field you might find the right friend for guinea, even better if you find a rescue that can sow date for you so guinea gets to pick her own friend (or two). Dont discount neutered boars as well, once they have had the snip and are past the isolation safe period, they can be a couple perfectly well.
 
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