Guinea pigs

[kate1976]

my son (11) has had 2 guinea pigs for over 2 years now but they still don't like human contact, he feeds them every day using his hand, he puts his hand in the cage so they can have a sniff but try to stroke or pick them up and they go wild!!

It's really a shame as when I was his age I had a guinea pig who was so tame and he wants to be able to hold them and stroke them like I used to do!

Any tips on how we can tame the critters down as 2 years of love and patience hasn't done anything for them, they just seem to be quite happy eating, sleeping and being as far away from humans as possible!!

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

[NancyBee]

Hi Kate,
I have 4 guinea pigs, and have kept g.ps. for 16 years so I know them pretty well. They are nervous little creatures and it is no good expecting them to come to you, you have to make all the running. If your son picks them up - separately - every day, and just spends time cuddling and stroking them, they will eventually calm down. My last one, Molly who has just died aged seven, was so tame she used to cuddle into my neck and I could do anything with her. With perseverence and as they get older, it will get better. Good luck. They are lovely little animals.

[kate1976]

Thank you for your reply NancyBee!

I think the thing he's afraid of is stressing them out too much as when we try to pick them up they go wild, running round, jumping about and squealing so as you can guess cleaning them out is fun as it takes longer to catch them than it does to clean the cage!!

I'll just tell him to hold his patience, he's held it for over 2 years so I'm sure he can keep it up!

Thanks again.

[behappy87]

I had 5 guinea pigs across 6 years and some were more tame than others. Whenever I tried to pick some of them up they'd try to run away from me, but I could pick them up if necessary. I agree with Kate, pick them up, even if they don't sound that they like it (maybe feed them a carrot or some lettuce whilst you're holding them - hopefully they'll realise it's not a nasty experience, and actually quite enjoyable!) They will eventually get used to it. I gave up trying to tame the ones that were slightly more stubborn as I could play with the other ones!!

[kate1976]

Thank you behappy87, I guess we'll just have to keep chasing them around so we can grab them, gives them good exercise anyway!!

Thanks again for your replies!!