What To Do With A Traumatised Piggie?

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HannahPiggie

HannahPiggie

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I have now had my piggies for around 9 weeks. For the first 7 weeks my Martin was the one who liked to be handled. He would sit still and let me pick him up easily, and then sit on my lap and relax for 20 mins or so. Whenever he was getting fidgity then I'd put him back in his cage. His brother Saga has never liked to be handled which I have now accepted. But over time he seems to trust me and is always there to greet me when I come into the room. He is the one that wheeks his head off, and he now lets me stroke him in his cage.

However, a couple of weeks ago, Martin wriggled in my hands as I was carrying him and jumped onto the floor. After about 15 mins I got him back into his cage. But ever since this he has been completely terrified. He stays inside his house most of the time, although he does come out a bit in the evening for food. He will take food from my hand if I hold it right by the entrance to his house. But when I have tried picking him up again then he goes mad and has even leaped over the roof of his house and into another pigloo to get away from me. This is such a dramatic change from what he was like before. And as it has been 2 weeks I am worried that I will never get his trust back and be able to handle him again. This makes me sad for myself and for him because he clearly used to enjoy it before. Plus it is making it hard to clean out the cage as I have to do it in sections while he hides in the other part. And what would I do if he needed to go to the vet?

The only solution I can think of is getting a cosy so I could pick that up with him inside. What do you think? Would this be a good idea? Is there anything else I should do to calm him down and make him happy again? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
That's sad to hear about this, I think the cosy idea is good; i'm not an expert on this but it sounds like you may have to almost re-introduce yourself to him.
@Wiebke may know more.
 
I would start from scratch. Go back to spending time sitting by the cage and just talking quietly to him. Then after a few days see if you can get him to take food from your hand while he is in his hidey etc. I think it is a really good idea to shepherd him into a cosy if you need to pick him up but try to limit the pick ups he needs at the moment.

Just give him time, hopefully he will come round eventually but it will take time.
 
My pigs go through stages of wanting constant attention and wanting to be left alone. I believe it is because they are like humans and like to do what they want on their terms!

The cosy idea is a good one and will hopefully help x
 
HannahPiggie said:
I have now had my piggies for around 9 weeks. For the first 7 weeks my Martin was the one who liked to be handled. He would sit still and let me pick him up easily, and then sit on my lap and relax for 20 mins or so. Whenever he was getting fidgity then I'd put him back in his cage. His brother Saga has never liked to be handled which I have now accepted. But over time he seems to trust me and is always there to greet me when I come into the room. He is the one that wheeks his head off, and he now lets me stroke him in his cage.

However, a couple of weeks ago, Martin wriggled in my hands as I was carrying him and jumped onto the floor. After about 15 mins I got him back into his cage. But ever since this he has been completely terrified. He stays inside his house most of the time, although he does come out a bit in the evening for food. He will take food from my hand if I hold it right by the entrance to his house. But when I have tried picking him up again then he goes mad and has even leaped over the roof of his house and into another pigloo to get away from me. This is such a dramatic change from what he was like before. And as it has been 2 weeks I am worried that I will never get his trust back and be able to handle him again. This makes me sad for myself and for him because he clearly used to enjoy it before. Plus it is making it hard to clean out the cage as I have to do it in sections while he hides in the other part. And what would I do if he needed to go to the vet?

The only solution I can think of is getting a cosy so I could pick that up with him inside. What do you think? Would this be a good idea? Is there anything else I should do to calm him down and make him happy again? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Wow fab names! From "The Bridge" right? I'm a big fan of that show! :D All I can add is maybe get Martin checked by a vet in case he has injured himself? Use a tunnel to get him out, cover both ends once he is in it & lift him out carefully. Pop them in a pen/run together & sit in it with them, offering nice veggies to get them to come up to you. Do that every day & it may take a couple of weeks but he will learn to associate you with nice things again :D Good luck!
 
Hi Poppy's mum! Thanks :) Yes, I love 'The Bridge' too, as you can guess from the names! They have both really lived up to them too lol I am pretty certain that Martin is fine physically. He is eating well and just tonight he came out and ran around his cage, looking very sprightly when he knew I was coming to put veggies in the cage. I really need to order a cosy to lift him out. A tunnel doesn't work because he shoot through it too quickly!
 
You can make them if you have time:

(That's the one I used)

If you don't have the time, there is a large range Ebay.
xx
 
You need to go back to basics with him and treat, 9 weeks in a piggies life is a relatively short time and they can take months to fully settle. A snuggle sack or bed to use to get him in and out the cage would help a lot. Lots of sellers on ebay and some members on here make them if you take a look on either the members websites section or items for sale, I thoroughly recommend Just Add Pets :) Something I recommend is using a food he loves, I use herbs like parsley. And every time I handle them I will offer parsley. So each time they get it a positive responses fires in their brain and they soon learn you aren't going to harm them and they get a tasty treat :)
 
I've bought all my cozies from @cavy-couture. She offers a wonderful selection of fabrics.

If you look in our video section at the top of the page you will find a video which offers advice on how to catch a piggy using a cosy or tube, without all the stress.
 
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