For those who’re new to cavy possession, and questioning how lengthy does it take to tame a guinea pig, then we’ll reply all of your questions on this article. Together with ‘do guinea pigs wish to be held?’ and ‘how do guinea pigs present affection?’
Guinea pigs are social and curious little animals. Which implies they’re naturally primed to reply nicely to taming efforts. A assured guinea pig which has been dealt with gently from a younger age can usually be tamed by a brand new proprietor in a matter of weeks. Nervous pigs, or ones with a historical past of being mishandled, may have longer.
The way to tame a guinea pig
Taming guinea pigs ought to be a enjoyable and rewarding a part of the entire cavy-owning expertise. Progressing from strangers to greatest buddies is an extremely satisfying a part of bonding with any pet. However when you’ve by no means executed it earlier than, then it’s comprehensible when you’re unsure the place to start. And also you’re more likely to have plenty of questions on what’s regular. On this article we’ll cowl:
And information you on how lengthy to anticipate the entire course of to take.
Forging a bond – the best way to make guinea pigs such as you
So, you’ve bought your new guinea pig, and now they’re sitting all of a quiver of their new hutch, questioning what on Earth simply occurred to them and the place they’ve landed. Fortunately the primary stage in constructing a relationship with them is straightforward and also you’ll begin it straight away. As a result of guinea pigs like to eat, and also you’re their new meals supplier!
A nutritious guinea pig eating regimen consists of:
- Hay
- Retailer-bought guinea pig pellets
- And quite a lot of contemporary produce
And they’ll nibble away at that menu nearly constantly! In actual fact, their digestive system is tailored to all the time be in movement. It ought to by no means cease in any respect! In order that they’re always looking out for the subsequent meals to graze on, and also you’ll quickly uncover that their mouth all the time has meals in it. Associating you with meals transforms you right into a optimistic presence of their life, and somebody they are going to stay up for seeing daily. So even when you by no means cuddle them of their life, you could be positive your guinea pig will come to greet you with noisy wheeks of impatient anticipation everytime you method them with a bowl of veggies.
Now let’s step up your guinea pig taming to the subsequent stage.
The way to get your guinea pig to belief you
Executed appropriately, constructing a relationship with a guinea pig isn’t just rewarding for us, it makes their life richer and extra satisfying too. Wild guinea pigs reside in social teams, and it’s usually agreed by veterinarians and animal researchers that they take pleasure in being dealt with by individuals they belief. Dealing with has different advantages too. Brushing and nail clipping is less complicated on a guinea pig who likes to be held, and we’re extra more likely to discover indicators of sickness promptly if we deal with our pets regularly.
To determine their belief, we have to show that we’re a pleasant member of their social group, and never a menace. Which may appear apparent to us, however guinea pigs are a prey species, so their survival instincts inform them to not routinely belief something greater than them. Right here’s the best way to get your guinea pig used to you:
- Organize the environment so you’ll be able to comfortably sit with an arm inside their hutch for a few minutes. You don’t wish to get uncomfortable and find yourself fidgeting, so a small stool to sit down on may assist.
- Method slowly and softly.
- Put some treats within the palm of your hand, then slowly attain your hand into the hutch and sit nonetheless together with your palm up on the hutch ground for a couple of minutes. Don’t fear in the event that they don’t take the meals on the primary few events.
- Repeat for brief durations, a number of occasions a day, for a number of days.
- As soon as they’re used to your hand, strive gently scratching below their chin, behind their ears, and on high of head after they’ve taken the meals.
- Don’t drive them into contact – allow them to retreat at any time when they wish to.
Is your pig is joyful to be petted inside their hutch? Then it’s time to strive selecting them up!
The way to prepare a guinea pig to be held
Earlier than your guinea pig is able to be held, you’ll be able to transfer them round by ushering them gently into a large tube, and protecting each ends together with your palms. They’re unlikely to chew arduous when you attempt to choose them up immediately, however they could try to nip you, particularly in the event that they’re younger. They may additionally wriggle rather a lot, which makes it extra seemingly you’ll by chance drop them.
As soon as your cavy is fortunately taking treats from you and letting you pet them, strive selecting them up, following these easy guidelines:
- Method them sideways reasonably than swooping down from above.
- Scooping up with one hand below their butt, and the opposite hand behind their entrance legs.
- In the event that they attempt to get away, don’t chase them round – strive once more one other day.
- As soon as they’re off the bottom, assist them as totally as potential, by holding them in opposition to your physique.
- When you’re in place, enable them just a few moments to settle.
- Don’t fear in the event that they make a noise – vocalising while being deal with is kind of regular, and a guinea pig who stays quiet may truly be sick.
Don’t rush to get to the tip of this course of. Take your time and let your guinea pig set the tempo. It might take a number of weeks with a rescued older guinea pig, however it’s more likely to be faster with infants.
The way to tame a child guinea pig
For those who’re taming a child guinea pig purchased immediately from a breeder, hopefully they’ve already been dealt with fastidiously every day, and are very aware of it. With a bit luck, they’re already used to being held by males, ladies, and youngsters, and encountered all the standard family sights and sounds, like televisions, washing machines, and the sound of visitors outdoor. A child guinea pig with a head begin like that is more likely to be fairly fast and straightforward to tame of their without end dwelling. Don’t neglect that you just’re nonetheless a stranger to them at first although, so that you’ll want to start out in the beginning and construct up their belief in phases.
Subsequent, we’ve bought some ideas for taming a rescue guinea pig, or one who wasn’t tamed by their earlier proprietor, for no matter motive.
Prime ideas for taming a scared guinea pig
In case your guinea pig taming isn’t progressing as rapidly as you’d like, be affected person and take coronary heart – you’re going to get there finally. Listed here are some ideas for making headway:
- Go gradual. Dashing to tame a guinea pig will solely stress them out and set you again.
- Maintain low. The decrease you might be, the much less predatory you seem. Sit subsequent to them on the ground when you can!
- Create hiding locations. A guinea pig with nowhere to cover immediately goes into excessive alert. It’s a lot tougher to tame them whereas they’re burdened, so make certain they’ve mattress packing containers and tunnels to cover in.
- Check out totally different treats. Some guinea pigs go wild for dandelion leaves, and others are loyal to whoever brings them celery. Experiment from this checklist of protected guinea pig snacks, and discover out what treats win over your cavy.
- Toys. Flip treats right into a sport by hiding them in paper baggage of hay. Or search for appropriate toys within the guinea pig aisle on the pet retailer.
Subsequent let’s have a look at the way you’ll know once you’ve succeeded in taming your cavy good friend.
How do guinea pigs present affection?
A useless give away {that a} guinea pig likes you is once they rush to return and see you, and method your hand once you put it within the hutch. Hear for chuttering or clucking sounds too. These cute little noises, made both singly or in pairs, are the sounds a guinea pig makes to let their social group know the place they’re and what they’re as much as, once they’re fortunately going about their enterprise in a carefree style. A guinea pig making these sounds round you may be very comfy in your organization!
How lengthy does it take to tame a guinea pig – abstract
So now you know the way to tame your guinea pig as rapidly as potential. There’s no fastened timeframe for making a guinea pig such as you. Assured people who’ve been handled kindly and dealt with gently by their breeder or earlier house owners will turn into tame with a brand new proprietor in a matter of weeks. However nervous people might take longer, or by no means actually loosen up in any respect. That doesn’t imply you’ll be able to’t take pleasure in proudly owning them although. It’s nonetheless satisfying to assemble an appropriate dwelling for them, and watch them benefit from the sanctuary you’ve offered from the issues that fear them.
As soon as your guinea pig is tame, tell us how lengthy it took to get there within the feedback field down under, and what ideas you’d share with new house owners simply beginning their guinea pig taming journey!
Readers Additionally Appreciated
References
Bradley. Regular Habits and the Scientific Implications of Irregular Habits in Guinea Pigs. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Unique Animal Apply. 2001.
Donnelly & Brown. Guinea pig and chinchilla care and husbandry. Veterinary Clinics Unique Animal Apply. 2004.
Intestine et al. The impact of human interplay on guinea pig conduct in animal-assisted remedy. Journal of Veterinary Habits. 2018.
Richardson. Care of guinea pigs. Veterinary Nursing Journal. 2011.
Tynes. Habits of Unique Pets. John Wiley & Sons. 2010.