Behavior Taming

When she nibbles at my finger, she does it lightly, she has never bit me.

Some guinea pigs simply don't like to be pet. Give her time and she may eventually allow you to.

You can do trick training instead! It's a fun way to interact with your guinea pigs and makes them grow very bonded to you. I trick train my guinea pigs and they like to follow me around on floor time. They also jump in my lap when I sit on the floor.

It took my girls seven months to hold still for me to pet them. I always come at them low and from an angle were they can see my hand approach. That helps not to startle them. You're doing great for just 4 days. Keep feeding them by hand and talking to them and you'll keep making progress.

Guinea pigs a prey animals, and unlike other common pets will probably retain a fear of you forever. My Clementine is 6 years old, and I've had her since she was about 3 months old, and some days she's completely fine with me, and some days it's like I'm a monster trying to eat her. But, I do not really mess with her too much or her cage mate who has a neurological problem. I tend to give my animals the autonomy to choose if they want to interact with me or not. The only time I force it on them is when I'm checking weight, overall health, etc.

ClemmyOddieIndy said:

I tend to give my animals the autonomy to choose if they want to interact with me or not.

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Love this!

I'm a huge advocate for low-stress handling techniques for pets of all species. Giving the animals choice is a HUGE part of that. I find that the more you do this, the more often your pets will seek your company and choose to interact with you. While tricks are fun for me to train, I focus a lot on handling exercises and behaviors such as nail clipping, being comfortable (and still) on the scale, and loading into and out of carriers. I have done the same with my dog when I still had him and he was like a warm floppy puppy when I brushed his fur or did his nails or cleaned his ears, etc. Tricks are a great way to "break the ice" with a shy animal and help the brain develop into one that is more resilient for those unavoidably stressful situations and more open to new experiences.

Thank you for all the advice xx

Update: Cappuccino let me pet her without running away! She was just munching away on some fresh hay when I decided to give it a go, I let her sniff my hand and gently stroked her, she then started running and popcorning around her cage

My guinea pigs weren't used to be for about a couple months. Now when I pick them up, they purr and are relaxed! Except they still run away into hideouts when they realize I want to pick them up...:sad: If i extend my finger in front of their mouth, they'll lick it ( i think it's because of the salt on our hands), so just make sure they only lick your finger a bit. If you handle her every day, she'll get used to you much faster! Is she in a room that you spend time in a lot? That would help because she'll see you and be with you more. Hope this helped!

Popcorn321 said:

My guinea pigs weren't used to be for about a couple months. Now when I pick them up, they purr and are relaxed! Except they still run away into hideouts when they realize I want to pick them up...:sad: If i extend my finger in front of their mouth, they'll lick it ( i think it's because of the salt on our hands), so just make sure they only lick your finger a bit. If you handle her every day, she'll get used to you much faster! Is she in a room that you spend time in a lot? That would help because she'll see you and be with you more. Hope this helped!

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Yes, she is in my bedroom, I try to spend as much time with her as possible. Thank you for the advice.

You might find this video helpful. I've found tons of helpful clips on You Tube! Good luck. Oh, and my piggies are the same. I've had them a few months. Pinkie Pie is doing very well and seems to enjoy being held. Sparkles really hates being messed with and I respect that but keep interacting with her, hand-feeding her treats and so on.

10 Tips for Taming Your Guinea Pigs

@ Pinkie Pie, thanks for the video you posted!! It was very helpful & all your piggies are adorable!

Pinkie Pie said:

You might find this video helpful. I've found tons of helpful clips on You Tube! Good luck. Oh, and my piggies are the same. I've had them a few months. Pinkie Pie is doing very well and seems to enjoy being held. Sparkles really hates being messed with and I respect that but keep interacting with her, hand-feeding her treats and so on.

10 Tips for Taming Your Guinea Pigs

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Thank you for the video it helped a lot.