Hello, I am a relatively new owner who'd appreciate some advice, please.
Our two guinea pigs Peggy and Polly are about 16 weeks old, and we've had them around six weeks. Over the past week or so, Peggy has become very jumpy, irritable, and reluctant to be picked up. She darts away like lightning whenever I try to even touch her, and squeals and struggles if I attempt to pick her up. A few days ago she gave me a wee nip while I was holding her. She was being well supported, front against my chest with my hands supporting her back and hind quarters, so she shouldn't have felt insecure.
(Polly, on the other hand, is perfectly content to be handled, stroked etc.)
Today I managed to get Peggy into her carrier (by picking a willow tube she was in) , lined with a fleece bed, where she was okay with just being stroked, but as soon as I tried to pick her up, the squealing and struggling began.
Peggy wasn't like this when we first got her, at least, she might have been a bit more jumpy than Polly, but not to this extent.
Both girls seem to eat and drink well enough; every morning I find that virtually all the hay, nuggets and fruit and veg I left the day before have been eaten.
I wondered if Peggy might have a mites problem, or if it's just temperament/shyness, and she just needs more handling and taming? She has chocolate brown to black fur, and on checking I can't see anything obvious. I don't think she's scratching herself particularly, either.
Peggy also seems lively enough when she's moving about and feeding, and does the popcorning, and makes the all the usual "happy" noises. It's just as soon as I try to pick her up, she objects strongly.
Neither Peggy nor Polly have ever been roughly handled or dropped, or anything like that.
Anyway, thank you for reading, and thank you in advance for any advice offered.
Our two guinea pigs Peggy and Polly are about 16 weeks old, and we've had them around six weeks. Over the past week or so, Peggy has become very jumpy, irritable, and reluctant to be picked up. She darts away like lightning whenever I try to even touch her, and squeals and struggles if I attempt to pick her up. A few days ago she gave me a wee nip while I was holding her. She was being well supported, front against my chest with my hands supporting her back and hind quarters, so she shouldn't have felt insecure.
(Polly, on the other hand, is perfectly content to be handled, stroked etc.)
Today I managed to get Peggy into her carrier (by picking a willow tube she was in) , lined with a fleece bed, where she was okay with just being stroked, but as soon as I tried to pick her up, the squealing and struggling began.
Peggy wasn't like this when we first got her, at least, she might have been a bit more jumpy than Polly, but not to this extent.
Both girls seem to eat and drink well enough; every morning I find that virtually all the hay, nuggets and fruit and veg I left the day before have been eaten.
I wondered if Peggy might have a mites problem, or if it's just temperament/shyness, and she just needs more handling and taming? She has chocolate brown to black fur, and on checking I can't see anything obvious. I don't think she's scratching herself particularly, either.
Peggy also seems lively enough when she's moving about and feeding, and does the popcorning, and makes the all the usual "happy" noises. It's just as soon as I try to pick her up, she objects strongly.
Neither Peggy nor Polly have ever been roughly handled or dropped, or anything like that.
Anyway, thank you for reading, and thank you in advance for any advice offered.
