Poe has become more tame after being sick, she now lets me pick her up without trying to run away! Finally after 4 years I have gained her trust!
I know there are many guinea pig owners out there who spend much more time with their piggies and hence have a closer relationship with them. I don't cuddle mine that much because when I do hold them I always feel like it's more for me than it is for their enjoyment, they tend to freeze up and I'm sure it's much more stimulating running about with your fellow guinea pigs than it is being confined to the lap area of a giant. People don't understand why I have pets that run away from me instead of to me, but I have learnt to respect what they are comfortable with.
I think with guinea pigs (and this is true for all small furry creatures) everyone's first instinct is to scoop them up and interact with them on your (bigger, scarier, taller) level, when it mostly stresses them out (if they don't know you very well), because in the wild when a guinea pig is being grabbed and lifted, it's most likely fallen prey to something big and hungry.
So I mostly leave my girls alone, Sylbie especially gets stressed out when she's being cornered, she tries frantically to wriggle away and screams loudly. She's better once cradled in my arm, but she still mutters angrily and sometimes pulls my clothes. Tiramisu is so nimble that she just dodges my hands if I start bringing them around her. But all my piggies are friendly and curious when their feet are planted firmly on the ground, they come out of their hiding places when we approach the enclosure and actively run towards my hand (1 hand = food, 2 hands = suspicion) most likely in the hopes of edibles, but seem to also enjoy back scratches when they flop down and make their happy gurgling noise.
When Poe was on the vet's examination table recently, she kept on coming close to me and placing her front feet gently on my hand as if asking to be picked up and put back into her box (where she undoubtedly feels much safer). I feel super special to have earned their trust, and realize that guinea pigs just express it differently. I was so surprised when I was picking Poe up that she lifted her front feet and stepped onto my hand whilst I scooped up her bum with my other hand! What a mellow fuzz ball ^_^
I recently stumbled onto this blog and have been happily going through the archives since, this one post resonated with me and runs closely to my philosophy about keeping animals, have a read if you still care for more reading after my ramblings!
http://arabbitblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/bunnish-philosophy/
I know there are many guinea pig owners out there who spend much more time with their piggies and hence have a closer relationship with them. I don't cuddle mine that much because when I do hold them I always feel like it's more for me than it is for their enjoyment, they tend to freeze up and I'm sure it's much more stimulating running about with your fellow guinea pigs than it is being confined to the lap area of a giant. People don't understand why I have pets that run away from me instead of to me, but I have learnt to respect what they are comfortable with.
I think with guinea pigs (and this is true for all small furry creatures) everyone's first instinct is to scoop them up and interact with them on your (bigger, scarier, taller) level, when it mostly stresses them out (if they don't know you very well), because in the wild when a guinea pig is being grabbed and lifted, it's most likely fallen prey to something big and hungry.
So I mostly leave my girls alone, Sylbie especially gets stressed out when she's being cornered, she tries frantically to wriggle away and screams loudly. She's better once cradled in my arm, but she still mutters angrily and sometimes pulls my clothes. Tiramisu is so nimble that she just dodges my hands if I start bringing them around her. But all my piggies are friendly and curious when their feet are planted firmly on the ground, they come out of their hiding places when we approach the enclosure and actively run towards my hand (1 hand = food, 2 hands = suspicion) most likely in the hopes of edibles, but seem to also enjoy back scratches when they flop down and make their happy gurgling noise.
When Poe was on the vet's examination table recently, she kept on coming close to me and placing her front feet gently on my hand as if asking to be picked up and put back into her box (where she undoubtedly feels much safer). I feel super special to have earned their trust, and realize that guinea pigs just express it differently. I was so surprised when I was picking Poe up that she lifted her front feet and stepped onto my hand whilst I scooped up her bum with my other hand! What a mellow fuzz ball ^_^
I recently stumbled onto this blog and have been happily going through the archives since, this one post resonated with me and runs closely to my philosophy about keeping animals, have a read if you still care for more reading after my ramblings!
http://arabbitblog.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/bunnish-philosophy/
