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What makes a guinea pig trust you less

Ilovemyguineapigs21

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Quick question since i feel like my guinea pigs are more scared of me now because they hide when i go near their cage, they didnt use to do that. So maybe i did something that made them scared so what makes a guinea pig trust u less? Oh and if u have bonding tips pls tell me
 
It can help to do the exact opposite of what a predator would do - speak as you approach the cage (predators would approach silently), don’t loom over them, be on their level
 
As Piggies&buns said they don't like being loomed over so laying down next to them during floor time can help them feel less threatened by you because you are at their level. Is their cage in the floor? Having it on a table helps to not be so looming too
 
Can you think of anything you have done recently that might have spooked them?
 
Sometimes it can be something as simple as they heard a loud noise or a floorboard creaked as you approached. I agree about talking to them, chatter away whenever you are near and they will begin to associate your voice with everything being ‘okay.’ 🙂
 
I normally approach slowly while talking, and talk to him while I’m near him. I’ve had Teddy for 3 or 4 months and he still does hide but come out sometimes for food or a stroke. How long have you had yours?
 
I normally approach slowly while talking, and talk to him while I’m near him. I’ve had Teddy for 3 or 4 months and he still does hide but come out sometimes for food or a stroke. How long have you had yours?
Also hand feeding is great for piggies to trust you!
 
As Piggies&buns said they don't like being loomed over so laying down next to them during floor time can help them feel less threatened by you because you are at their level. Is their cage in the floor? Having it on a table helps to not be so looming too
Yeah its on the floor but a problem with that is their cage is really big
I normally approach slowly while talking, and talk to him while I’m near him. I’ve had Teddy for 3 or 4 months and he still does hide but come out sometimes for food or a stroke. How long have you had yours?
for almost 4 months
I normally approach slowly while talking, and talk to him while I’m near him. I’ve had Teddy for 3 or 4 months and he still does hide but come out sometimes for food or a stroke. How long have you had yours?
3 monthss but the thing is my guinea pig wasnt as scared as she is now. She was so chill before and when i put her back to her cage she wouldn’t even struggle unlike now :(
 
Did you get your piggie as a baby? If so, she might just be going through a phase as she begins to mature, a bit like puppies when they forget everything you’ve taught them and you have to start again 😅

Just keep doing what you’re doing and trust that the confidence will grow again 🙂
 
Can you think of anything you have done recently that might have spooked them?
Well so what happened was, i was sick and really couldnt move for 2 days so i had my sister take care of them, but ever since theyre more scared and my sister said she didnt do anything so maybe from the lack of contact with me they got more scared of me?
Did you get your piggie as a baby? If so, she might just be going through a phase as she begins to mature, a bit like puppies when they forget everything you’ve taught them and you have to start again 😅

Just keep doing what you’re doing and trust that the confidence will grow again 🙂
okkk and i got them when theyre 3-6 months so yeah theyre rly young
 
It seems as though that two days had some sort of impact on them aye. I always have to make sure I don't sneeze or sniff while I am in their room otherwise they will freak out. I have had my two girls for over a year now but it took a long time for lola to be as friendly as she is. She was quite wild at first and it took ages before she became really confident with me. I would not lose hope, whatever they felt about you not being there those two days, they will get over it and as long as you offer food by hand and spend time with them, they will gain trust again I am sure.
 
It seems as though that two days had some sort of impact on them aye. I always have to make sure I don't sneeze or sniff while I am in their room otherwise they will freak out. I have had my two girls for over a year now but it took a long time for lola to be as friendly as she is. She was quite wild at first and it took ages before she became really confident with me. I would not lose hope, whatever they felt about you not being there those two days, they will get over it and as long as you offer food by hand and spend time with them, they will gain trust again I am sure.
Yea ok hopefully :(. Also, I am still trying to hand feed her but its weird cause now she wouldnt take the veggie from my hand even if she sniffed it from my hand. Then once i put the food on her cage she would eat it seconds later :(
 
You mention she is struggling, presumably when you hold her, it’s also worth considering that there comes a point when they become comfortable enough to tell you what they do and don’t like. Staying still when held does not necessarily mean they are enjoying it, they can be staying still because they are simply too scared to move. As the gain in confidence they can be much more forceful with what they do and don’t like.
 
I’m pretty new to all this but we are at the point where they will let us hand feed them and even let me stroke them when they were eating pellets.
We had 2 days where they seemed to be in a mood with us and I wasn’t sure why. We just carried on with normal routine and currently they are behind me and my desk all day so they hear me talking.
They now start squeaking as soon as they hear a packet rustling and come to the cage door to let us feed them. Still hate being handled too much and we can only hold them on our cuddle cushions.
I think it just takes time for them to become use to us and trust us. Our boys are more trusting of me and my husband than they are the kids.
We sort of have a routine , feed them in the morning with pellets and fresh veg and fresh hay, then clean the poop out 2-3 times a day. Around tea time (evening meal time) we clean them out again, change bedding ( we use fleeces and bath matts) and fresh hay. Then before we go to bed we give them a snack of fresh veg.
My husband tells me I am cleaning them out too much but I feel like they are more use to me because I do this.
I think it’s just trial and error and they can have their own off days :-)
 
I’m pretty new to all this but we are at the point where they will let us hand feed them and even let me stroke them when they were eating pellets.
We had 2 days where they seemed to be in a mood with us and I wasn’t sure why. We just carried on with normal routine and currently they are behind me and my desk all day so they hear me talking.
They now start squeaking as soon as they hear a packet rustling and come to the cage door to let us feed them. Still hate being handled too much and we can only hold them on our cuddle cushions.
I think it just takes time for them to become use to us and trust us. Our boys are more trusting of me and my husband than they are the kids.
We sort of have a routine , feed them in the morning with pellets and fresh veg and fresh hay, then clean the poop out 2-3 times a day. Around tea time (evening meal time) we clean them out again, change bedding ( we use fleeces and bath matts) and fresh hay. Then before we go to bed we give them a snack of fresh veg.
My husband tells me I am cleaning them out too much but I feel like they are more use to me because I do this.
I think it’s just trial and error and they can have their own off days :-)

You do need to be careful cleaning out boars too often - twice a week for a full bedding change is enough but poop picking can be done as many times as you like - it can actually make them smell more if you change bedding too often as they will feel the need to continually scent mark but it can cause territorial issues if they feel the space is changing too much. It’s best to leave some soiled bedding in the cage with boars so they know it’s still their territory.
 
You do need to be careful cleaning out boars too often - twice a week for a full bedding change is enough but poop picking can be done as many times as you like - it can actually make them smell more if you change bedding too often as they will feel the need to continually scent mark but it can cause territorial issues if they feel the space is changing too much. It’s best to leave some soiled bedding in the cage with boars so they know it’s still their territory.
Thanks, I’ll stop changing the bedding so much then, I won’t tell my husband he was right though 🤫
 
Thanks, I’ll stop changing the bedding so much then, I won’t tell my husband he was right though 🤫

Until I fostered boars I really wasn’t aware of the strength of their scent or the impact of my rather too diligent cleaning was having on the ever increasing smell of eau de boar. With boar cleaning it’s definitely a good idea each time to leave something they’ve already scented in the cage so it smells familiar to them and they don’t feel the need to re-scent everything in sight.
 
Until I fostered boars I really wasn’t aware of the strength of their scent or the impact of my rather too diligent cleaning was having on the ever increasing smell of eau de boar. With boar cleaning it’s definitely a good idea each time to leave something they’ve already scented in the cage so it smells familiar to them and they don’t feel the need to re-scent everything in sight.
Thanks 😊
 
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