Another newbie

[apassioncoral]

Hello everyone. My name is Anna, and I guess my story is much like others. I had a guinea pig as a child and decided in February that I would like a guinea pig as another one of my companions. However when looking at information I found this site and realized that my poor guinea pig as a child was living in horrible conditions and wanted to do right by my new friend. In May I purchased the materials to make a C&C cage (4x2). Learned about vit C and fruits and veggies high in vit c (as my cavy of many years ago did not really recieve). I also learned how and where to find a guinea pig. I ended up finding two beautiful guinea pigs at my local humane society, 2 females about the age of 3-4 months old. They're wonderful and are now part of my family. They were taken to the vet the same day and have a clean bill of health, had the nails clipped (as I am still to chicken to do this). My biggest problem is handling. Any suggestions? They are both very social and will come up to the cage, touch their noses to mine, eat out of my hands, and make wonderful noises, however, I still am unable to hold them. This may be due to my lack of experience, this I understand. LOL! Anyway, sorry so long. Just wanted to say "THANKS, for helping my cavies adjust in a wonderful way with your experiences and advice!"

[katiecavyNC]

Welcome! Be patient - sounds like you are doing all the right things. GPs also tend to be very 'food motivated'. Letting them eat veggies from your hand, etc will help them understand you aren't scary.

My GPs avoid being picked up (all but 1) but once you get them, they are happy to sit in my lap and be cuddled and eat veggies.

[nonamian_girl]

Just corner them and scoop them up so you can take some pictures for us .

[Aertyn]

One of my pigs hates being caught during floor time, so I throw a tea towel over here, she freezes up, and you can pick her up gently in a towel.

If your nervous about holding a pig and the possibilty of her jumping, wrap her gently in a towel to make her feel safe. I use Hand Towels, they are just the right size so you can fold it over the butt region and over on both sides, making a Guinea Pig Burrito!

And welcome to the forum *echoes nonamians calls for pigtures*.