New Guinea pigs

[unsure111]

We have just purchased 2 New Guinea pigs l. We've been thinking about this for months and did research. We love them already and they are the cutest little balls of fluff.

But their so scared one more than the other. One of them freezes we thought he was dead and kept nudging him. Their not really coming out of the bed bit of their cage that's hidden so I'm hoping their drinking still. We've got a little soft bed for them for when we get them out and they can sit on our knee and even in there they are terrified and burrowing in the back.

Is there any we can try to get them used to us or less scared? Or will this take a while?

Bonus if you give me a few ideas of what you feed yours as well so I know we've got all the right things in for them. Thanks

We’re in the same position as you and have had our two a week. We’ve been sitting next to the cage and chatting to them and they’ll now happily take food from our hands. Any sudden movements and they’ll bolt back into their house!

We give them spring greens and coriander every day, split between morning or night, plus a slice of pepper, sweet corn cob etc. I’ve found food a bit of a minefield and there’s lots of conflicting information. They always have access to hay and we give them pellets every morning.

My sister has 3 piggies , the latest 2 arrived just before lockdown and are the tamest , friendliest pigs I’ve ever met . I think it’s a mixture of regular handling and being kept in a busy part of the house so they hear people a lot and there are lots of different noises etc .

Price of entry: 1 fluffball photo pls.

It will take a while. Bribe with dandelion leaves (not too many).

Should have said their favourite foods are kale and parsley and they all come running to get a red grape , they literally climb up the side of the cages whenever they see someone .

Ours have only recently started being voluntarily handled & we've had them since January. They like to snuggle into DD's dressing gown but refuse to even look at if it's just been washed - they can tell. They have also started climbing out of their cage if the top is off to wander around looking for DD but I am ignored unless she's out & they will grudgingly accept my presence in their space if I have food

Plenty of hay, pellets & spring greens - ours love broccoli & can smell it a mile off it always results in plenty of squeaking but it's rationed carefully.

They also eat pepper (but not yellow), cucumber, cherry tomatoes & strawberries.

Have realised they are spoiled piggies!

I've had my 2 piggies just over a year. They were a little nervous and skittish at first but they are friendly and outgoing now. They still sometimes try to run in their house when we go to get them out but they aren't skittish and are more bolshy and cheekily run round their cage in a game of chase.
It just takes time for them to gain trust like any new pet in a new household.
They are just the best pets tho!
Mine love honeydew melon and corn on the cob.

It's mostly a case of being patient while they get used to you and to the sound of your voice.

I chat to mine when I bring them their food, and always have a spare bit of parsley on standby when I pick them up. After a while they started associating my footsteps and voice with food, which means that I hear little squeaks of joy when I'm anywhere near them.

It took a couple of months for the most timid one to feel braver, but even she will now happily come and rub noses when I open the cage to bring food. The bravest and cheekiest one took a couple of weeks. The third one took about a month or so. A lot will depend on personality and how greedy they are. :o

I agree that the advice about food seems to be so conflicting. Mine like things like spring greens, green pepper, a little bit of apple now and then, and a crunchy piece of carrot. Parsley is their one true love though.

It does takes time. Our pigs are handled every day, they are in the house and are used to all the noises, so are now very tame. We always make a special noise before we feed them, like a kissing noise! and they now squeak like mad when they hear it, they think it a signal for cucumber! Give it time, it's lovely when they get excited to see you!

We feed ours kale, spinach leaves are a favourite and green beans, celery, cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, corn on the cob, apple and carrot as a treat due to sugar content, strawberries, melon
Obviously not all in one sitting

Thanks everyone found more information on this thread than when I first got them.

The food are very confusing everywhere says different. I've obviously got a lot of hay for them and been and got carrots, lettuce (I've heard they can't have a lot of that) and green beans. But seems like I need to get parsley ASAP for them. They've had a bit of broccoli and carrot today and their nuggets.

I'm just so scared if we make to much noise they will have a heat attack or something 🤣 we've been handling them for a short period and then putting back in cage. Hope this is the right thing to do.

We definitely need to practice not getting hay and shavings absolutely everywhere when we re stock the cage.

New little members

We've had our two girls for nearly 4 weeks now and same as you OP they were so timid and frightened when we first got them that I found it very stressful. But gradually over time they are getting more confident. We bought an inside playpen for them so that we can have them inside from time to time and so that they can get used to our voices, and noise and I think it's helping. 🤞🏻

We adopted 3 girls in February and they were terrified. Regular handling each one individually 5-10 mins and within 6 weeks they were so much better. Now well it's crazy, they recognize my daughters voice and go mad, they know when it's dinner time and scream when they hear the chopping board. They hop out when you open the cage and are so tame and loving. They do pee an awful lot and need very thorough cleaning, they also go through a ton of veg!

Ours are also in the house.

We definitely need to practice not getting hay and shavings absolutely everywhere when we re stock the cage.

I do like your optimism but hay & shavings everywhere are now part of your life 😂

Little white foot 😍
Nose stripe 😍😍

It's one of life's mysteries how something so small can produce so many pellets of poo in such a short time. It's like having a furry Hansel & Gretel leaving a trail behind them. (Or Gretel, Gretel, & Gretel in our case!)

@ethelredonagoodday we have just bought a play pen for inside so hoping we can let them run around in that and get used to us. But we have had them out the cage their not running around at all. Just going into a ball.

I honestly feel so much better than this is normal and we're not doing something wrong.

Ours still dash into the hidey house most of the time. Bit when they think we arent looking the sneak out and run around like crazy! Main thing I think it's to keep handling and talking to them.

Ours live in our bedroom (when they're not in their outside run) and they know dh coming upstairs means food!

They like to wake us up as soon as it starts to get light (which late June in Scotland is about 3:30 am) with a game or two of "runny roundies" which can be a team sport (all 3 or only two) or a solo pursuit. I think it's a bit like velodrome cycling!

They are a prey animal, you are very big creatures who are likely to eat them . The more time they can spend in the house, to hear your voices and the normal household noises (provided you're not playing death metal at 105dB all day long), the more they will get used to you. They need at least 2 hidey places, each preferably with 2 doors, so they can easily hide.

Soon enough they will know the noise of the fridge door or a rustly salad bag means food, and will yell at you until it arrives!

This morning they were eating a stick of carrot each from us my daughter was extremely happy about this. So it's a good start.

Another quick question. How often do you change the cage completely like full spray down, new bedding etc? And each day do you just scoop out as much droppings as you can and put new hay down?

Guinea pigs are prey animals, so basically anything they aren’t 100% sure of makes them freeze and pretend to be dead (already dead things dont get eaten by many things in the wild). There other instinct is to run and hide if there is anything close enough to hide under, so they will stay under or in things if they get the chance. Remember this when they’re running round the living room!

Guineas also have very bad eyesight, so you need to talk to them constantly when your near them, they will recognise your voices and feel reassured. Don’t pick them up if they don’t want to be picked up just yet, tempt them with veggies and they will let you pick them up quite quickly.

I have 2 pigs, one very friendly and outgoing who loves an adventure, the other is really shy and will hide at the first noise, both have been treated exactly the same in the 4 yrs I’ve had them, it’s just down to personality. The quiet one does love a cuddle with us tho and will actively try to get to me when she hears me.

Food wise, clean fresh hay, more clean fresh hay. 80% of a pigs diet should be hay. They also need a constant supply of pellets and fresh water. Not the mixed food you can buy, that’s like giving a kid a constant supply of cereal with marshmallow etc in it, they basically pick the bits they like out.
Fresh food wise, a handful per pig twice a day is plenty. Watch how much vitamin c you give them as it can cause stones inside them.
Not too much fruit as it will give them the runs.

AVOID anything onion or potato based and rhubarb, it’s poisonous.
If your not sure what is ok to give them a quick google will usually tell you.
Mine love parsley, basil, green leafy veg, tomatoes, spinach, lettuce (not iceberg, it’s too watery) kiwi, pea flakes.

A brilliant place for advise is www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/
Very helpful people with lots of experience

The other thing that's helpful is to make sure all your movements and speech are smooth, not jerky or sudden, and wherever possible, approach them with your hands from the side, rather than from above like a big horrible bird of prey (though at the moment they'll run away even from a side approach).

Thanks everyone your comments have been very helpful. Can any of you help with the changing/cleaning of their cage? I got them Monday and tonight I've changed the shavings and hay. But I've used quite a lot of shavings since Monday. What do you do with yours?