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Why does my guinea pig hate me?

Joscelyn

New Born Pup
Joined
Feb 3, 2020
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Location
Westland Michigan
I have three guinea pigs, Lexi, Cookie, and Ellie. Cookie and Lexi are sweety pies and let me pet them and they lick me. Lexi even gives me kisses through the bars of her cage and jumps on my lap. Ellie is the oldest and has never liked being touched. Shes not at all skittish and is actually aggressive. At floor time she will even push me out of the way. I dont know if she hates me or what but it hurts cause they are so spoiled and I give them so much love. They have a huge C and C cage with a bed. Anytime I try to pet her or pick her up for laptime she hates it. When I try to pet her, she will bolt and even trample over the other piggies. Its kind of funny cause if I move my hand slowly she will slowly back away and not hide. I know shes not scared of me so I dont know what to do to get her to like me. Ive had her for 2 years now.
 
Aww, don’t worry, she doesn’t hate you. Some guinea pigs are just ‘hands off’ pigs and that is their personal characteristic, in the same way that all people are different.

Also, piggies are prey animals, so some will never get over the discomfort of being ‘caught’ or ‘trapped’, even if it is for strokes and cuddles.

Don’t worry about being nudged out of the way, every guinea pig I’ve had has pushed past me, or headbutted me, or nudged me aside during floor time. They push everything out of their way. Guinea pigs are basically tiny little excavators 😂

I once had a terrified rescue pig who wouldn’t go anywhere near me for 3 years, but then she was very tame. I also had another rescue pig who hated being touched, would bite and squeal like she was being murdered. But she let me tickle her chin and cheeks when she was out for floor time.

I think hate is probably a strong word. Does Ellie popcorn during floor time with you there? Does she groom herself while you are there? Will she eat from your hand? Does she make gentle little guinea pig sounds? If she is scared, does she come back out of hiding when she hears your voice? All of these things are signs that your guinea pigs are comfortable with you and relaxed and trust you. It’s not as overt as licking, but it doesn’t mean they love you any less. Ellie might just have her own way of showing it 🙂
 
I have three guinea pigs, Lexi, Cookie, and Ellie. Cookie and Lexi are sweety pies and let me pet them and they lick me. Lexi even gives me kisses through the bars of her cage and jumps on my lap. Ellie is the oldest and has never liked being touched. Shes not at all skittish and is actually aggressive. At floor time she will even push me out of the way. I dont know if she hates me or what but it hurts cause they are so spoiled and I give them so much love. They have a huge C and C cage with a bed. Anytime I try to pet her or pick her up for laptime she hates it. When I try to pet her, she will bolt and even trample over the other piggies. Its kind of funny cause if I move my hand slowly she will slowly back away and not hide. I know shes not scared of me so I dont know what to do to get her to like me. Ive had her for 2 years now.

Hi!

Unfortunately too many owners are not aware that guinea pigs are prey animals usually with not much in the way of human interaction and not naturally born animated cuddly toys. What you see in terms of videos and pictures on social media is entirely driven by human choise of what is considered cute or fun. The reality is very different - but who wants to see piggies running away, wiggling or tweaking fingers when they have had enough handling (often after just 5-10 minutes)?

Please take the time to read these guide links. You should find them very interesting and helpful. They will help you understand guinea pig prey animal instincts and use their own social interactive behaviours to communicate with them. We cannot repeat it all in just one post; especially as we are all doing this for free in our own free time.
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
Who is the boss - your guinea pig or you?
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

You can find our full New Owners guide collection via this link here, which is worth bookmarking and using a helpful resource: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
 
Your piggy doesn’t hate you. The fact that she pushes you away just shows she trusts you! Lots of piggies would not touch humans at all during floor time, they would be scared to death of them! I have never heard of a guinea pig that doesn’t mind being picked up, most of them CAN’T STAND it. Poppy certainly very annoyed when I pick them up.
Here are some tips:
Some piggies just don’t like touching and handling, it doesn’t mean they hate you! It can take different amounts of time to bond fully with guinea pigs, and some will just be comfortable with eating from your hand and despise any amount of handling, whereas some will be much more bold.
I don’t take my piggies out of their cage for lap time, they just come out onto my lap if I tempt them with a treat. I also do ‘hand time’ which is the same thing but with my hand. Flossy now climbs up onto my hand when I need to pick them up and Poppy doesn’t mind me stroking her in the cage.
All guinea pigs are different, most HATE handling but some will put up with it :).
Does your guinea pig eat from your hand yet? If Ellie does, she completely trusts you!
 
Some guinea pigs are confident. My Teddy is so confident, but Berty wasn’t so much but he went through a stage where he’d come towards me but after a horrendous fight with his brother causing a seperation, he completely changed and hated being touched. Don’t worry it doesn’t mean she hates you!
 
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