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Behavior Baby guinea pigs afraid in their cage, not of us

Mousewife

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Our two new boys came home yesterday. We are thrilled to have them. They are quite young. 4 weeks and 6 weeks.
They have been handled since the day after they were born and are very comfortable being held.

The problem is, they are not at all comfortable in their new cage. I’m not sure what to do about it.

The younger one is quite bold and outgoing. He adores my daughter. When she picks him up, he peeps and “talks” and crawls all over her. When she puts him back, he goes right back to snuggling his brother.

The older one hardly moves. I mean, I know he did last night bc the “kitchen” area is full of poops, but mostly he just hides in the tunnel.
When I hold him, he stretches out long and relaxed on my chest. He likes putting his head right over my heart. He was a little close to my face last night and kicked me in the chin while he was stretching.
but when I put him back, he puffballs back up and just hides.

they have lots of pillows, toys, hides, etc. They both prefer to snuggle in one tunnel together.
while it’s super cute, I’m also a little concerned that they seem so scared of their cage.

recommendations?
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Give them time. Some pigs adapt quickly and others, not so much.

When I brought Simon home last year his living arrangements had changed significantly. He really liked Leo right off the bat, but had never had so much room and open space to run around in and he was afraid of it. I estimate that it took a couple of months before he was completely comfortable in his new surroundings. At night when the lights were off, he would explore on his own but during the day, he would hide most of the time.
 

Mousewife

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Was he ok with being held and stuff though?
that’s the part that is a little odd for me.

they are way more personable outside of the cage than in it.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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Yes, he has.

Simon has been the one pig I've ever had who has never minded being picked up, and absolutely loves being held and given love and attention. Punkin and Scooter didn't mind being held or given attention, but unless they were ill neither one really wanted to be picked up.
 

ItsaZoo

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They are pretty young and will need time to get used to the sounds of the household. It’s so good that they were handled, they should be pretty social.

It might help to have some calm music playing and you could try draping fabric over the corners of the cage so they feel more protected. Since you have two, make sure all their hideys have two entrances so one doesn’t get cornered or trapped. And two hay piles, and even some fabric fringe dividers in their cage for privacy. They may be buddies now, but when they reach adolescence in a few months they will most likely squabble like teenagers.
 
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