Is your guinea pig afraid of you? This article tells you how to earn their trust. Eventually the guinea pig will trust you.
Steps
Step 1. The day you take the guinea pig home, be patient
Guinea pigs are beasts very fearful. Limit yourself to being with the guinea pig 10-15 minutes every hour. If she does so much on your clothes, gently put her back in the cage without yelling or making any sudden movements. At this point, all you have to do is change.
Step 2. The second day it will be time to feed the rodent
Take the correct food dose and have it eat from your hand. If it gets food off your fingers, great! It will be easy to earn her trust. Otherwise, try to get him used to eating from your hand.
Step 3. Keep trying to get your hand to eat the guinea pig every time you feed it
If it already takes food from your fingers, start pulling your hand approximately 3 cm towards you. See if the guinea pig follows you. Each time he eats, he moves his hand a little further away.
Step 4. Even though the previous steps referred to food, that doesn't mean you should stop holding the guinea pig in your arms
When you want to get her, make sure she has noticed that your hands are in the cage. If he walks away hastily, don't worry - it's his instinct. Place your hands under her paws (all 4) and surround her hips tightly, loosely but firmly, as you lift her. Bring it close to your chest, with its paws resting on your shirt, then move your hands so that one is under the animal's back to support it and the other is above its back. If you are sitting, place it gently on your lap.
Step 5. Give your guinea pig a lot of attention
To trust you, he needs to be comfortable when you're around.
Advice
- Show the guinea pig respect and trust - it will become mutual.
- The key to getting to a guinea pig's heart is food! Always keep a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C!
- Try to keep the noise level in the guinea pig's environment low. Big barking dogs or a loud TV can scare her off.
- If you see that the guinea pig is sleeping, do not disturb it. Since these animals are restless, seeing your guinea pig sleeping is a very good result.
- Carrots are healthy for the guinea pig; try to get him to eat bits of it from your hand.
- Try to be alone with the guinea pig on the first day. If there are too many people, he can get scared.
- Pamper the guinea pig a lot, so that it gets used to your hands.
- You must have the cage ready when you take the guinea pig home.
- Pick her up gently, doing it suddenly can scare her.
- Be sweet.
- Make sure your guinea pig is happy, comfortable, has a large enough cage, lots of toys and places to hide. If you buy another one to have company, this will help him increase his confidence and, consequently, it will be easier for him to learn to trust you.
Warnings
- Hurting or scaring the guinea pig will cause her to lose faith in you. Just like people, guinea pigs can lose confidence and feel hurt.
- When choosing your guinea pig at the pet store, avoid subjects that hide or get scared with every movement - it would be very difficult to gain their trust.
