How to Get Your Baby Guinea Pig Used to You

28 14:23:35

How to Get Your Baby Guinea Pig Used to You

How to Get Your Baby Guinea Pig Used to You. A guinea pig is a popular small pet for children or apartment dwellers as they are quiet and easy to care for. When you bring a baby guinea pig home, it is likely to be frightened and will hide from you. In order to make regular grooming including brushing and nail-clipping easier, as well as enabling you to move your guinea pig in and out of its cage for cage cleaning, daily exercise and vet visits, get your guinea pig used to your presence and your touch. You can accomplish this quickly with baby guinea pigs, who adapt more easily to a new owner than adult guinea pigs do.

Many guinea pigs enjoy cuddling once they become accustomed to your touch.

Things Needed

Fresh fruits or vegetables, or fresh hay
Guinea pig cage with enclosed home space

Step 1

Isolate your guinea pig in its new environment for several days. As prey animals, guinea pigs are easily stressed during the adjustment to a new home and can become overly stressed with additional stimulation.

Step 2

Kneel or sit beside the guinea pig cage when in the room. Do not hover over the top of the cage. Guinea pigs in the wild are often prey to birds such as eagles, and instinctively shy away when they sense something hovering above them.

Step 3

Feed your guinea pig treats at the same time each day. Initially, you will need to leave the hay or greens outside of the door of the house within the guinea pig enclosure. If it does not exit the house to eat within a reasonable amount of time, remove the food until the next day. Move the food slightly farther away from the house each day so that the guinea pig has to exit the house to eat. When it becomes comfortable eating in your presence, feed it from your hand.

Step 4

Pick up your guinea pig with one hand supporting its bottom and the other hand over its back after it is receptive to being hand fed. Wait until it relaxes to bring it close to your body. Hold it each day to allow it to become used to your touch and your smell. Guinea pigs will purr when they are content from being held.

Step 5

Brush your guinea pig regularly to assist in its grooming. Long-haired guinea pigs should be brushed daily once they are accustomed to being held.

Warnings

Ensure that your guinea pig has a large cage in a bright room with no drafts, a sheltered house area with a roof and adequate toys, food and water.
When handling your guinea pig, ensure that distracting noises such as the television or washing machine are minimized.