Behavior Is lap time upsetting my guinea pigs?

[Vasundhara]

Hi!

It has been a week now since I adopted two beautiful girls - Sakura and Caramel. With every passing day, I could gradually see them becoming more and more comfortable with my presence. They started eating in my presence, and would not run into their hideys when I came into the room and I was audible to them. In fact, it was quite cute that they would hear my voice, come out of their hideys and start wheeking for food.

They had NOT started eating from my hand as yet but I thought since they were getting more comfortable, it would be a great time to start floor time and lap time. I started it off two days back and I feel like I am back to square one with my girls. They don't come out when they hear my voice and as long as I am there, they refuse to eat. They still wheek for food but only if they hear me in the kitchen. The moment I come into the room, they hide and go completely silent!

I feel really conflicted about how to progress with them. Should I stop taking them out for floor time and lap time? Or should I just give them a few days to get acclimatized to it? They have a 4ft x 4ft cage so I think they are getting sufficient exercise. Just confused about the best way to interact with them henceforth.

 

[lisa325]

No, don't stop, it's because they're still getting used to you, sometimes they need a little nudge, but if you persevere and especially if you hand feed them some veggies at lap time, they will come around eventually. My guys used to hide wherever they could, up my sleeve, under my armpit, any place they felt they could fit, but now they're so confident and hang out in the open. They get lots of out of cage time every day, followed by lap time before bed and they're very content to pancake out and enjoy being stroked.

 

[Vasundhara]

Thanks so much guys. Your words of support were really needed! I will continue with the floor time and see how it goes!