Blooming Piggies

[FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010]

Just got one of my guinea pigs out for a cuddle and it lasted about 2 minutes. The one left in her cage started squeaking, the one I was holding squeaked quietly back and I just felt guilty for separating them so put him back. How am I supposed to hold them and make them tame if they can't bare to be parted?

Why not take them out together at first so they get used to the idea? If you let them sit together on your knee, they might calm down a bit!
Also, have you tried taking one into a different room for a short time, so they can't squeak sadly at eachother?

I would be nervous about holding both of them together in case they escaped! Will think about it though for later on when everyone else is out. Thanks.

I'm a piggie veteran, you can probably tell, tho they don't get the same attention since my ds arrived :-(

You can take piggies out together when they are more accustomed to being handled. I've carried four at a time before, and had a whole lapfull of very happy, placid piggies.

It takes a bit of practice but you can easily hold one piggy against your body and scoop up another. Try also cuddling them lots singly so they get used to cuddles.

xx

I would cuddle them all day long but they don't seem to like being picked up and boy piggy would prefer a 2 minute cuddle. Girl piggy likes the cuddles more and is a biut easy to catch.

do you have a piggy bag to keep them in? we bought a few off ebay, they're fleece and cotton bags - good if you've got kids so they can cuddle them easier without dropping them etc. pop both of them in at once, they snuggle at the bottom and you can cuddle them both

I just feel I am doing something wrong as we have had them since September and they would still rather not be picked up. They run and hide sometimes when we come in the room and if we manage to get close to their cage to talk to them.

are they girls? my girls are like that - shyer and less sociable. the boys come up to the cage to nose around and say hello but the girls all hide at the back like I'm about to try and eat them. they're ok when they're picked up though and sit there chattering away

Fab - that is just how it is with mine! And we have had them just over a year

They quite clearly dont appreciate being picked up - catching them is a very tricky task. There is no way I could hold both at once - they are boys so way too big for a start!

sanfairyann - can you provide a link to the fleecy bag whatnot please? Perhaps if we had one of those we would get on better!

the first link is by the same lady who made our cute and cuddly gp bags. the others are some other similar but more 'bed like' ones I just found. aaargh wish I'd not just googled - gp accessories are sooooo cute

hide your credit cards before you click on links!

cgi.ebay.co.uk/Guinea-pig-cuddle-pocket-for-one-lilac-fleece-flowers_W0QQitemZ250557347808QQcmdZView ItemQQptZUKPetSuppliesSmallAnimals?hash=item3a5661b7e0

cgi.ebay.co.uk/Luxury-cavy-cosy-guinea-pig-bed-hedgehog-bag-house_W0QQitemZ320468902554QQcmdZViewIte mQQptZUKPetSuppliesSmallAnimals?hash=item4a9d6f629a

cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cosy-Cavy-Guinea-Pig-Snuggle-Sac-Bed-House-Poppy-Flower_W0QQitemZ200423458528QQcmdZVi ewItemQQptZUKPetSuppliesSmallAnimals?hash=item2eaa2b46e0

mine (2-4 at a time) would all happily sit on my lap together on a thick towel for quite a long time. They def like to feel secure though???

I would try in the evenings when the dc are in bed.

What is their favourite treat I used to get mine out and they would choose a carrott to eat

The boy is more scared, the girl is more sociable, I think they like me today as I cleaned them out at 8 and have bought them treats.

the way to a gp heart

I have a few jealous ones - they demand 1:1 cuddles or else they start nipping and snapping at their poor lapmates. the others are more than happy to snuggle up together though

My 1st gp was a stroppy moo, definately the boss when we got several more. Wonderful other to her babies, wonderful companion to me, fiercely loyal and loving - confident def loved her cuddles and roaming around the house and garden.

awww sleighgirl (wipes away tear) she sounds lovely. mine is like that too - stroppy but I admire her for it

I bought her from a huge pack (what is the name for 100+ piggies at a childrens zoo) at the local "park" and she stood out as the one who didn't panick like most of the others. Timid she definately wasn't.

I loaned her out to friends when they needed a sensible piggie to tempt there's back into the hutch/run when they'd escaped. She loved to roam but always back to her hutch and run very happily.

In the winter she would sleep in my bed bedroom.

maybe they're just having a wee chat Fab , along the lines "where are you then?" "I'm over here". "Anything exciting going on?" etc - not mad panic.

They have wildly different characters. We have two girls, nr 1 is the boss, she's dead lazy but the nice thing about that is she settles down immediatley on you, rolling a bit over to one side and she's fine. The other is wide awake and adventurous. She wants your full attention if you pick her up, clambering up practically onto your neck and sucking you in with her eyes. She's a bit too much for me but she's dd's favourite. I can't have them both on my lap at once, gp2 will start jumping on the back of gp 1 and generally annoying her.

If they are standing still at the back of their cage, you can try rubbing up and down with gentle pressure between their eyes. It makes them go still and then it's easier to scoop them up. Slide one hand under their tum and hold the bum with the other.

I am wondering about their food now. They seem to be always hungry. I don't want to over feed them or leave them hungry. Maybe I should weigh their food. They are inside at the moment and have been for a couple of weeks now.

I think that about ours as well,fab. some of them are humungous, some are lithe and one is really runty but was the runt of the little. she's 6 months and still looks the size of the 6 week gp they sell in pets at home but the others let her eat and I put the food in lots of different places. she's a happy little thing though. we got 2 pigs from someone else and they were massive, really massive, when they arrived but now they're a more reasonable podgy pig size. wonder if I underfeed? I top up twice a day with hay and once a day with pellets plus veggies. think it's enough really

mine are constantly eating, I think that's the nature of pigs. They are greedy little buggers. Our 2 girls are enormous

Mine get cereal in the morning and fresh stuff around 4pm. They usually get fed before the kids do.

Thanks for the links sanfairyann - debit card is hiding so no danger!
Ill have a peek now

I think they might need more hay. Since they have been inside I have put hay in their sleep area but not in the food bowl.