guinea pig fit

Question
Hi,we recently rescued allot of g.pigs from a backyard breeder,disgusting living conditions,they roam free with predators chasing them,she also feeds them to her snakes.We managed to rehouse most but we have one young girl who is terrified as overtime we pick her up she fits.We would appreciate any ideas?cheers

Answer
Well by the sounds of it she is basically wild.
I used to have free range guinea pigs, but those were in a cat proofed garden with a duck and dog who used to protect them and had hedgehog houses that they went into at night. never mowed my lawn once and they had a great life but that women god, i hope you reported her.

okay so your wild piggie...

this is a difficult one, and will take a long time. normally guinea pigs have a degree of trust in humans, this comes from them learning that the human is bringing them food. this piggie wont know that. an outdoor hutch for the time being is a good idea, and i recommend keeping her in one for at least two months, feed her, clean her out and give her bedding but do not pet her, in fact other than her upkeep dont go near her. after two months she will have an idea that humans = food. then you need to move her into the house ideally the living room or somewhere where people spend a lot of time sitting. she will over time get used to a quieter presence of humans. leave her like this for another month or two and then it will be time to introduce floor time. in floor time dont go reaching for her, come floor time sit in her little pen and let her go about her buisness exploring around you, this will take time, do not pick her up. do this for at least a month then pet her while she is on the floor, do not attempt to pick her up. she will run from under your hand when you pet her, do not chase her with your hand into a corner. just try to pet her when she comes near every floor time. if she can be tamed she will eventually let you stroke her, if she does then after a few more petting sessions you can try placing her onto your knee to pet, if she wants to run off your lap let her.

another good tip, if you pair her with an already freindly guinea pig it should speed up the process providing they bond.