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Adopting Taming an Older Guinea Pig?

J.Bosley

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Hi all!
First off this forum is amazing! Everyone is so kind and helpful. I recently adopted (well fostering then possibly adopting) a 2 year old Female Guinea Pig, her name is BleuBelle and she is adorable! I was told that she is very friendly, but so far she is super shy and isn't making a peep of noise.... The second day I had her I upgraded her tiny cage to a slightly bigger one and gave her an area to hide. I was told she didn't like veggies, but so far she has inhaled them! I've been sitting by her cage daily and just chatting to her, and today made some progress! She actually took some lettuce from me.

Id love some advice and tips on how to socialize her! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Ive added some pictures if anyone knows what breed and colour she is.
 

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J.Bosley

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Here's another photo from the person who originally rescued her
 

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CavyChrissy

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Hi [MENTION=31349]J.Bosley[/MENTION] ! BleuBelle is adorable! I love the gray. I think she is called a gray agouti Abyssinian. I've had my girls Lucy and Snickers for about 3 weeks, but they are about 3 1/2 years old. Every day I notice they are more comfortable with us. I think it just takes patience! And she will definitely be swayed with food. My girls have already learned to start wheeking at my husband every time he walks by because they know he'll sneak them an extra piece of lettuce.
 

J.Bosley

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Hi [MENTION=35775]CavyChrissy[/MENTION] thanks for the advice! I've heard her only wheek quietly once.... It makes me feel bad that she doesn't! Mind you she's only been with me two days. I thought she might be an Abyssinian! I'm gonna try bribing her love with some fruit too haha. Luckily I have tons of patience! I'm really hoping she warms up. Her nails are so long! I don't want to gain her mistrust by grabbing her now to cut them
 

J.Bosley

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Update: Bleu allowed me to pet her today! And she loves bell peppers. I was able to get her to take pieces of the pepper from my hand. Which was awesome! Really happy she's warming up
 

Katie Vetter

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A tip for winning over with food: cut the food up into pretty small pieces. This will make her think that she is getting a whole bunch of treats while she really is just getting the normal amount. This worked amazingly with all six of my pigs and their taming. Each time they allowed me to touch, pet, or pick them up they were able to have a tasty nibble. :)

What a beautiful girl BleuBelle is! Such amazing colors! I would wait on the nails until she trusts you a bit more. That, or take her to a vet. Most vets offer their nail trimmings for a reasonable rate, around $10-15 is about average I've found although it could be a tad more. It might be a bit expensive for you, but if it redice her stress around you it could be worth it! That, and once a vet has most of the nail cut back it will be a lot easier for you to keep up with them on your own. If you ask, the vet will most likely show you how to correctly trim her nails as well. One of my rescue girls came in with horribly overgrown nails while her cagemate had perfect ones. The reason being that the owner was afraid of cutting the quick because her nails are very dark! If/when you get to doing nails on your own, be sure to always have a bit of powder, like cornstarch, to stop the bleeding if you noaccidently clip the quick of their nail. :)
 

J.Bosley

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@ Katie Vetter thanks for the advice! I ripped the pepper up a bit, but will try petting her and then rewarding her with the pepper. Luckily I am an animal person haha and cut lots of nails! All my dogs, my cat and my rabbit haha. So I should be okay with it once she warms up to me. Might have the vet do it first, and then maintain them!

I mi also think she's gorgeous! Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
 

wombats

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Aww, what a pretty little pig. I'm glad you're starting to win her over--just be patient and keep doing what you're doing. She'll warm up to you in no time!
 

J.Bosley

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Thanks [MENTION=35201]wombats[/MENTION] I'm hoping she keeps warming up more and more
 

stray hares

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Aw, many years ago I used to have a silver agouti abby with a white belt like your Bluebelle. His name was Eugene. :)
 

J.Bosley

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Aw, many years ago I used to have a silver agouti abby with a white belt like your Bluebelle. His name was Eugene. :)

I definitely love her colour! Eugene is an adorable name by the way
 
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