Bringing your Guinea Pigs Home
The First Few Days
When you bring your guinea pigs home, give them 3-4 days to assimilate to their new surroundings before you start to pick them up and play with them.
Guinea pigs take several days to become used to a new environment and the first few days are a frightening time for them. Loud noises will easily spook them at this time, and it won’t help either if you hover over them.
Note:
Guinea pigs are territorial, so if you are bringing more than one home, be sure to give each of them a small nook within the cage that they can claim as their own. This will ensure that no territorial fighting will happen.
Don’t Loom!
Guinea pig owners have a tendency to just perch themselves over their pets’ cage to observe their antics. What they don’t realize is that this “hovering” is very scary for their pets.
When you are hovering over them, you resemble an eagle that is about to swoop in for a kill. Try not scare your pets. Watch your pets from the side of the cage so you won’t seem like a predator but more of a friend.
Bribery
If you want to gain your pet’s trust, the best way to do it is through bribery. So if you want to already be able to cuddle your pet, start bribing it!
So what better way of bribing them but through food. Guinea pigs love to eat a lot of things so you won’t be at a loss as to what treats to use. Look through Chapter Five and find out what those treats are.
Best Bribing Ways?
So are you ready to learn how to bribe your pet?
It may take some time but it’s quite simple. Let your pet see what you brought, then put it just at the opening of the cage. Sit quietly and wait in front of the opening with your hands on your lap.
After a little while, if it doesn’t move towards it, quietly take it away, secure the opening, and leave. You will need to be patient and do this several times before it will learn to come and get the treat.
When it starts coming to get the treat, sit a bit closer each time so it is going to get more and more used to your presence.
Soon enough, it’s going to be trusting enough to get a treat from your hand or even when you offer it directly to him. It’s going to be all worth it when you see your pet excitedly welcoming your arrival.
To Pick Your Guinea Pig Up…
However, do not use a treat to entice your pet to come to you so you can pick it up. It’s not going to get it to trust you and may even destroy your chances of befriending it.
When it is already comfortable enough to get a treat from your hand, you may start stroking it gently until it gets used to this proximity. This will assure your pet that you are not a predator out to get him. Remember that your guinea pig’s instincts would not let you get this close if it were out in the wild.
The Actual Holding
When your guinea pig already trusts you enough so you can pick it up, make sure you are careful. Their body structure is quite delicate and it won’t take much to cause damage to their lungs.
Make sure to fully support their body when handling them. Cup the torso with one hand and the rear end with the other and gently carry them.
Guinea pigs can be easily injured if you drop them because of their delicate bone structure, so be very careful when carrying them. Children also love to handle guinea pigs; when they do, they should be supervised so as not to unwittingly cause harm.
Relaxing Your Pet
There’s nothing better for a guinea pig owner to have their pets comfortable enough to just sit quietly on their laps while they are reading or watching TV. It is possible, but it will take some time to gain their full trust.
Handling your guinea pig for the first time is crucial. Make sure that you do so without any noises around. Give it a treat and try to make it eat on your lap.
Give your pet enough time to get used to you. Soon enough, it will learn to like having you handle it. Some guinea pigs even squeal in delight at the sight of their owners!
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