My 2 Guinea Pigs

Question

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Thank you so much for telling my this. I have one more question though. You tell me to get them a treat after I handle them, but they do not seem to want the treats. If I take a piece of hay, and put it to their mouth, they take it, but a treat they reject. Why?
Followup To

Question -
I am hoping that you can answer my question about my two guinea pigs. I have two females, and they are very shy. When I try to take them out they put up a small fuss. Once they are out they are very calm, and purr very often. My problem is that they are very shy, and often nip at eachother and then stand still. This worries my a bit. Can you please help me?

Answer -
The nipping is most likely one trying to be dominant over the other. Basically she wants to rule the cage, the toys, the food bowl, ect. This is not uncommon, but as long as they are not getting into fights that can potentially hurt each other, then they should be fine together. The nipping is just one's way of telling the other that something is hers, or to leave her alone.

As far as being shy, a lot of guinea pigs are shy by nature. One of my boys I have is not shy at all, and one of my girls will litterally chase you down so she can give you a kiss. But, my other female is very shy. She will come up to the cage for treats and nose rubs, but does not want to be held, and will make it quite known.

Some guinea pigs will never get over their shyness, it's just their personality. On the other hand, you can hand tame others and help them get over their shyness. Do it by handling them daily, and then afterwards, reward them with a treat. Over time they will put the two together and realize that being handled = yummy treat.

Hope this helps!

Answer
Just as a side note, you'll probably get one message saying that this question was outside of my expertise. Just ignore it, I accidentally pressed the wrong selection when I went to answer you.

As far as treats, you can try several different things. A piece of romaine lettuce, a slice of orange, a piece of zucchini or summer squash, a slice or mustard greens, or maybe a piece of broccoli.

If they refuse those, then just give them a piece of hay as their treat. Guinea pigs love hay, and as long as you are offering them something that they love, the message will come across the same.