my guinea pig

[big_john86ca]

my guinea pig is not warming up to me or my family she doesn't move much. We cut up carrots for her to eat thin slices and she doesn't touch them so i was wondering if someone can give me a suggestion about what to do or help her to warm up to us

[cinn&sprinslave]

How long have you had her?

[big_john86ca]

this would be the second day

[DocDolittle]

Well then you can't expect her to immediately warm up to you. My pig really only started getting comfortable with me after three weeks or so. They are prey animals and naturally wary in new surroundings. Is she eating at all?

[big_john86ca]

oh ok see i went on other sites and they told me if i didn't get them used to me in the first 3 or so days after i got her then she wouldn't want to be touched and she would start biteing everyone and by the way is there something u can suggest for her to eat so she gets her vitamin c because she doesn't eat the carrots we sliced for her and she doesn't really touch the apples either

[John4216]

Best things to do are:

1) Be patient..it takes a few weeks some times or longer...

2) Get another piggie as a friend...this will help a ton

3) Get a bigger cage/space

I think these 3 are almost absolutes....

I have 6 piggies now and 1 follows me around like a dog and plays with me...another will take food from my hand but always runs and doesnt want to be picked up or touched ever though she is fine once she is held and petted...your guinea pig will have its own personality...I think adding a friend for you piggie will help a lot also.

[big_john86ca]

yeah i have been working on getting her another female friend i just have to get a bigger cage

[Stereophobia]

Hi John, it really can take anything up to a few weeks for them to fully warm up to you. I seriously doubt that she will get agressive after only 3 days, after all they are natrualy timid animals and if you were that small would you want to take on someone your size?
Just give her some time, one thing that really helped with mine, was to find a piggy safe room (the bathroom was good for me, no wires or chewable items/small holes to get stuck in) and let them explore while I was sat in the room with them. Dont make any moves towards them, just sit and read if you want, and repeat as often as possible. Im at the point now after 3 months that they will try to climb up onto my legs to steal my book! so its a case of time and patience

[big_john86ca]

ok thanks guys now can u suggest some thing to make for her that i can find at home to make her feel more comfortable in her cage???

[Stereophobia]

It depends on where in the house she is. The more centeral to daily life the better she will be for a start. My girls are in the lounge positioned to be litteraly at the centre of everything, they are right behind me when Im on the computer, infront of the sofa, and 80% of the things I do in the room involve me walking past them.
In the cage seems to be subjective, Ive seen alot of people say that a hiding place teaches them to hide from you, but just as many say that its cruel, so thats up to you.
A massive hit for alot of people is a "Cuddle Cup" which is basicly a big fleecy pocket to curl up in.
Just remember that cavies are like us men, the best way to their heart is via food. greens hand fed can go a long way to bribing them into trusting you.

[big_john86ca]

ok so i can put her cage in the living room as a good place for her and i can feed her kiwi and cucumber slices right

[big_john86ca]

we have one other guinea pig in the house but it is male and we don't want them to mate so would it be a good idea to put the two cages close to eachother so they can atleast interact a little bit with eachother or no

[tashagurl]

You could put the cages close together. Your male would certainly be happy for the company, but you should quarentine your new pig for three weeks first. I think they could still pass infections and mite if they were close together.

[Stereophobia]

If youve built your own cage, you can house them side by side, with a dividing wall, this way they can chat without any problems. if they do hit it off big time, you may even want to consider getting your boar the snip so that they can live together, this would make a huge difference to them both.

[Trixie]

Try to keep the carrots as a treat.. They have been known to cause mouth sores and same with apples. I feed my piggies an apple every other day and a carrot inbetween. I also give them romaine lettuce, ciliantro(sp), mustard greens, turnip greens, green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, banana's as a treat, fresh green beans, split pea's, kale, spinach( though they don't seem to like it) red and green bell peppers.
They get there veggies twice a day. and unlimited hay

[pennick]

When I got my piggies I baby talked to them in a high pitched tone. Well now whenever I talk to them like that there ears perk up and they know its me and they come out to greet me. I have had them now for 3 months and they have just now let me pet them in their cage. As a matter of fact they go to a certain place in their cage where they know I can reach them by my hand and wheak until I pet them for a few minutes. What a joy.

[big_john86ca]

do any of you know how much the price would be to have my piggy snipped?

[big_john86ca]

oppps i spelt that wrong i mean how much does it cost to have my piggy spaid?