shy guinea pigs

[andrea315]

We have just got two pigs they let us pick them up and are happy to be handled but when put back in their house they spend the whole time hiding in their bedroom is this normal? I know we have only had them a day but will they start coming out to see us soon ??

Perfectly normal with any new small furry. They'll soon get to know your smell and get used to you. Once they realise that you bring them food, they'll love you forever and the constant wheeking every time you go past will make you long for the quiet days when they hid

Thank you only ever had bunnys and hamsters before its all new :)

Squeeeeeee piglets

To be fair to little (and non-so-little-great-lardy-lump-Boars) they are prey animals and will always be suspicious and view themselves as threatened.As long as you chat nicely, pick them up securely (though little piglies can jump out of your hands and have nails like razors -ouch ) they'll get used to you.

My GPs don't come running out of their housie to see us but they'll usually stand and let themselves be caught .Unless they are having one of their funny ha-ha days and scamper off into the wooden box to hide.
GP1 does a horrendous shriek "I'm being hassled here" and GP2 does his Benny Hill tootle round the Pighouse,

Food is always a good place to start though

Not unusual at all. Bribe regularly with parsley and cucumber and speak their names as you do. They will soon grow in confidence and learn their names at the same time. But whether they choose to answer to their names is another matter. Some do, some don't. You will also notice which one is the spokesperson of the pair . It will probably be the alpha pig.

ours have so many nicknames I don't think they'd recognise their own names now

DD calls them the POGS ( cross between pigs and hogs)

They careth not a jot. Provided it's a soft voice and a 'clink' of food bowls, they're willing to overlook.

We are doing they love their vegetables don't really like their pellets though any idea on how to get them to eat them breader gave me a bag of his mixed food so I could slowly change over but they are leaving the new beta pellets and just eating the mix ??

andrea like I said about guineas and weaning children. Grit teeth and keep with it. They will crack and try the new pellets.

70 at the risk of outing myself Old Boy's RL name was Todd. He got used to his name at a very young age by hearing it repeatedly. He came running to me when I called his name. My friends used to say he behaved like a little dog. His brother know his name but never wheeked in response to me until he lived in a separate hutch to Todd. Like I said he was not spokesperson pig of the two.