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Behavior Piggies TOO Friendly!

mufasa

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When I read questions here about "When will my guinea pigs ever stop being afraid of me?", I have to chuckle to myself. I went through that time when I started out with piggies almost three years ago, but now my girls are much too friendly...or maybe bold and belligerent would be better descriptors!

Amy and Quinn live in a swimming pool now, since we're in our new house with a devoted pet room where it can be permanently on the floor. I clean it every day because I use Carefresh with paper underneath, and I swear those girls have to be underfoot in whatever area I'm trying to work in. When I try to put down fresh paper, they insist on creating tunnels and give me the dirtiest looks when I remove their freshly made tents. They know full well when I'm sweeping out the old bedding, but they think the process should also involve the giving of many treats, so they have to be wherever the broom is, getting in the way, scattering the freshly swept pile, sitting up to beg, and generally being pests. They're on their freshly refilled food bowls before I can even put them down. If I touch them to shag them away, they don't run. I just get an annoyed hop or a little chatter, and the pig body stays firmly in the way.

Even when I'm not cleaning, they think it's goodie time whenever I walk in the room. They immediately pop up on their haunches to watch me and see what tasty treats I'm bringing. They get quite put out if I'm empty handed and give me baleful stares at the edge of the pool until I leave the room.

If you have shy guinea pigs, be careful what you wish for! They're get tame sooner than you think, and "tame" will mean underfoot.
 

Banshee

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Oh boy can I relate! When I adopted my guinea last year he was living with a lady who had a two year old son, and they had a ball for him. Well the child thought that he could kick the ball when the guinea was in it! And the lady was too poor to buy bedding more then once every two months, and considering that his cage isn't even large enough in floor space for a hamster.... Yeah it got really gross. Never the less, he was sooo shy and afriad of people when I got him. Now if I so much as open the fridge, he hears it and weeks up a storm (keep in mind he's on a different level of the house and almost on the opposite end), and if I walk in the room and didnt bring him some food he sits there and stares at me with such a judgey expression. He hates the act of being picked up, but once he is he gets so disgruntled when I set him down.
 

mufasa

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I can totally relate! My Quinn was like your piggy when I first adopted her. She'd been owned by a kid who didn't want her, and I suspect it was Darla from "Finding Nemo," as poor Quinn was so flighty. Amy was more laid back, as she came from a home with several older kids and a big dog she was used to being in the middle of harmless chaos. Now they're both bold and spoiled rotten.
 

animalmadlover

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Has anyone ever noticed that some people (usually the ones that own small cages) often list their guinea pigs as being friendly and tame, then when you get them they are flighty and nervous. I have to wonder what their definition of friendly is.

That is the magic of c&c cages- really happy, tame and friendly guinea pigs!
 

pigger123

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Has anyone ever noticed that some people (usually the ones that own small cages) often list their guinea pigs as being friendly and tame, then when you get them they are flighty and nervous. I have to wonder what their definition of friendly is.

That is the magic of c&c cages- really happy, tame and friendly guinea pigs!

I'm sure the pig was friendlier and tamer when they were with the owner that they knew in an environment that they were used to. Unless the person was lying to get someone to adopt them. The vast majority of piggies are nervous when you get them, regardless of where they're from or whether they live in a C&C cage. (I'm not bashing C&C cages of course, since they're amazing and they do contribute to much better personalities once you get over the initial skittishness of a new pig).
 

pinky

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Has anyone ever noticed that some people (usually the ones that own small cages) often list their guinea pigs as being friendly and tame, then when you get them they are flighty and nervous. I have to wonder what their definition of friendly is.

That is the magic of c&c cages- really happy, tame and friendly guinea pigs!
They probably just say that so someone will take them.
 

animalmadlover

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Yeah I agree, but then again, not many people are big on c&c cages where I live :(
Your piggies sound adorable! @mufasa
 

janinehunt

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Hi @mufasa, haven't seen you on here in a while! It sounds like Amy and Quinn have got you very well trained!

You're lucky to have such friendly pigs. My loud and friendly pig Basher passed away, and now I have two quiet ones. No more screaming for food in our house, and we miss that. So I'm trying to train up Pumpkin and Bubbles to be noisy and demanding, and with diligent spoiling I'm making progress! It's mostly grunting, but every now and then I get a whisper-wheek or two. But they're becoming good beggars, standing up at the side of the cage for treats, which is so cute! You hate to disappoint them, don't you! :D

I'd love to see some pics of your swimming pool set up, and of course the girls.
 

EcthalionMCB

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I personally didn't like the mess caused on the surface my C&C cage was sitting on caused by the leakage through the coroplast and corners. my pigs now live in an approximately 2 foot by 4 foot cage, with shelf in each cage (except pregnant piggy's cage as I don't want her deciding that it would be fun to jump off the shelf, or ramp and hurt unborn baby). mine are very friendly to me, but run away if someone else tries to touch or catch them in the cage.
 

EcthalionMCB

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my cage setup lol
 

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PeanutnCookie

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The point of the C&C cage was to give the pigs more space. Have you tried the Midwest cage? Still more space than a petstore cage but no leakage like the C&C
 

lunarminx

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@EcthalionMCB I have redone my c&c cages so many times and never leaked once. What were you using for bedding and how long between cage changes?
 

mufasa

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That's why I like the swimming pool. Sturdy, no leakage problems, and easy to clean with the way I have it set up. I don't know how well it would adapt to fleece, though (I use a thick layer of newspaper with Carefresh on top, and I have the water bottle in a small cat litter pan with attached grids. I keep newspaper in the pan and change it out a couple times a day so the bottle won't leak all over the Carefresh in the cage). You also have to be careful if you have other pets. They can jump out of a pool, so it can't go on a table. Mine is on the floor, and I have four cats, but all four are old, fat, and could care less about the piggies (well, except one...he and Quinn have an illicit love affair). I'd never trust the dog alone with the piggies, so the room is always gated off with just enough room for the cats to go in/out, and then blocked off with impenetrable room dividers when we go out as double doggy protection.
 

joys_cavies

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My Bailey is super friendly. She gets a long with my cat (declawed and 13 years old) she gets a long with my dog (border collie mix who I also let around my mice) she loves to be held. My friend held her and Bailey immediately took food from her and purred. When new people walk in she doesn't run and hide (her sisters do tho lol) she stays and eats or chews on the bars until I hold her. She has gotten a long with every guinea pig I've introduced her to. So far only 2 but one was very dominant and she took over the mom role of a new baby I got. At the pigsitter she is currently at their boar escaped (they are in different rooms and he's to chubby to jump over the cage) and the pigsitter found them rubbing noses. She is insanely nice and I love her for it. She also lives the camera. She's more of a diva than a guinea pig when it comes to cameras lol
 

BaconAndEggs

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Haha, I understand! :) Whenever I come into my boys' room, they put their paws on the bars and start wheeking away!
 

joys_cavies

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Lol. They're saying pay attention to us lol [MENTION=33364]BaconAndEggs[/MENTION]
 

BaconAndEggs

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I know! Probably because whenever they do that I can't resist giving them a scratch... But don't we all?
 

joys_cavies

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Yes. They have us wrapped around the pinky toe on they're back pay and they know it
 

Chaylee

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This is a few days late, but my almost two year old male, Reese, isn't scared of anything. He chases peoples feet when they go in his floor time room, he is very rarely startled by loud noises, and I have to scoot him out of the way when I sweep up the boys' cage because he's nosey and likes to get in my way. He's sweet, when he wants to be. If he's tired of you petting or holding him, he let's you know real quick. I have to wear a hoody when I hold him. He has a "tickle" spot, too. There's a spot on his left side right behind his leg that, if you kind of scratch it, he spazzes out and popcorns all over the place. Then he comes right back for more. He's an odd piggy, but I love him to death :)
 

joys_cavies

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This is a few days late, but my almost two year old male, Reese, isn't scared of anything. He chases peoples feet when they go in his floor time room, he is very rarely startled by loud noises, and I have to scoot him out of the way when I sweep up the boys' cage because he's nosey and likes to get in my way. He's sweet, when he wants to be. If he's tired of you petting or holding him, he let's you know real quick. I have to wear a hoody when I hold him. He has a "tickle" spot, too. There's a spot on his left side right behind his leg that, if you kind of scratch it, he spazzes out and popcorns all over the place. Then he comes right back for more. He's an odd piggy, but I love him to death :)
Reese is my two pig Bailey and Mocha combined into one lol. Emmy is just a shy little piggy but her tickle spot is under her chin lol
 
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