How to make your guinea pig trust you

Video: How to Make Your Guinea Pigs Trust You

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Strengthening your relationship with your guinea pig
Part 2 of 3: Caring for your guinea pig
Part 3 of 3: Appreciating Your Pet
Tips
Warnings
Additional articles

Guinea pigs are great pets. With their cheerful disposition, they give their owners great pleasure and are completely undemanding to care for. However, as with any pet, you will need to put in some effort to strengthen your relationship with your guinea pig. Whether you've recently acquired a guinea pig or haven't made friends with the one you recently acquired, it's important to start developing a good relationship with your furry pet. That said, trust is a key element in a good relationship between a pet and its owner. For your part, there are a number of things you can do to build trust in your guinea pig.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Strengthening your relationship with your guinea pig

1 Hand-treat your pet to gain trust. The best way to gain the trust of your guinea pig is to feed it wholesome food. In addition to hay and pellets, hand feed vegetables and occasionally feed fruit.Treating your guinea pig at regular intervals will help them associate your scent with their favorite treats.
- Fruits and sweeter types of vegetables are ideal treats for your guinea pig. Try giving her a slice of banana, apple, or bell pepper once a day. Be aware that guinea pigs, like humans, may have their own eating habits. Offer your pet a variety of fruits and vegetables until you figure out which ones he likes best (again, treat him out of hand). If you feed your guinea pig regularly, it will begin to associate you with feeding and caring.
- Remember that guinea pigs need vitamin C, try to choose vegetables and fruits rich in this vitamin for them.
2 Learn to handle your guinea pig correctly. The guinea pig needs a lot of attention from the owner, that is, you should be ready to pick it up more often. In this case, you must be careful and be sure to provide support for the pet's legs. Grab the guinea pig under the belly with one hand and under the butt with the other. Hold your guinea pig closer to your body in your arms, especially if you are moving somewhere.
- The key to keeping your guinea pig comfortable in your arms is to keep it safe. It will be more difficult for your pet to gain confidence in you if he is afraid of falling. Hold the guinea pig securely in your hands, but do not squeeze to keep it comfortable.
3 Spend quality time with your guinea pig. It is not enough just to be in the same room with a guinea pig while she sits in her cage. To effectively strengthen your relationship with your pet, you should definitely release your guinea pig from its cage. Set aside some personal time to play with a guinea pig running freely on the floor every day.
- Guinea pigs love to play hide and seek. When your pet is out of the cage, place some empty paper bags on the floor for him to use. Hide treats in some of the bags and watch your pet enjoy exploring the area!
- Be sure to keep a close eye on the walking pet. He can easily find for himself several excellent hiding places, and then it will be difficult for you to find him.
- At the very beginning of playing time with the guinea pig, offer her a small piece of a treat. So she will have a positive associative connection between pleasant rewards and the time spent with you.
4 Talk to your pet. Talking is another great way to strengthen your relationship with your guinea pig. Guinea pigs are social animals and love attention. Place your pet cage in the room you spend the most time in, perhaps in a gym or home office. Try to talk to your guinea pig throughout the day. This may seem a little odd at first, but over time you will even enjoy talking to someone who will never contradict your opinion.
- Say the name of your guinea pig often. From it, the guinea pig will understand that you are talking to her. Soon your pet will begin to look forward to every next communication with you.
5 Learn to understand the behavior of your guinea pig. To gain the trust of your pet, you need to spend some time studying the individual characteristics of the guinea pig. Usually these animals are quick-witted, sensitive and full of energy. Pay attention to your pet's habits to understand what he likes or dislikes. Identify places where he enjoys scratching and you will certainly gain his trust.
- Guinea pigs are extremely sociable and enjoy being in company. Consider getting a friend for your pet. Caring for two guinea pigs at once is only slightly more difficult than caring for one guinea pig.
- Don't worry if your guinea pig doesn't immediately respond to all your efforts. As with any animal, it will take you some time to gain her trust.

Part 2 of 3: Caring for your guinea pig

1 Prepare for the appearance of your guinea pig ahead of time. Before bringing your guinea pig home, make sure you have everything you need for it. First of all, you must provide your pet with a comfortable home. You should also have a good supply of food for your new friend.
- One of the most important accessories for keeping a guinea pig is a good drinking bowl. Ask the pet store employees to recommend you a quality drinker from a trusted manufacturer. A good drinker will always provide your pet with fresh and clean water when he needs it.
2 Provide your guinea pig with a comfortable and safe place to live. Most of the cages sold for guinea pigs are actually too small. Try to pay attention to more spacious cells that are at least 0.7 square meters. Such a cage can be designated as a cage for some other animal. There is nothing wrong with that, in this matter you should not worry about the names.
- If you can't find a suitable cage, then you can make it yourself. You can also take advantage of modular prefab cages, which are less expensive, spacious enough, and can be customized as you see fit!
- Make the guinea pig's cage interesting. Guinea pigs like to run; try to find your pet such a cage in which there will be various platforms and levels.
- Place bedding in the cage. Guinea pigs enjoy digging into the litter and nesting in it, so the pet should have enough material for this kind of activity. Despite the fact that pine and cedar sawdust is often sold in stores as bedding, they are not best suited for small animals due to the substances they contain. At the pet store, it is best to look for paper-based bedding, or even lay fleece or other absorbent material on the bottom of the cage as bedding.
3 Remember that the best food for your guinea pig is grass or good quality hay. They should form the basis of your pet's nutrition. In addition, the guinea pig can be offered some pelleted food (no more than the amount that can be completely eaten in 20 minutes). The components of the pelleted feed are ground and compressed into identical pellets, which does not allow guinea pigs to selectively approach food, eating all the most delicious and leaving uneaten components that are not so tasty, but useful. However, feeding your guinea pig only granulated food can lead to obesity or excessive tooth regrowth.
- Also, the guinea pig should be given several servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Guinea pigs cannot produce vitamin C on their own, which is why it is an important component of their diet, which cannot be obtained from pelleted feed alone. The following vegetables can be safely fed to guinea pigs: kale, romaine lettuce, carrots, celery (after removing the strings tying the bundle), spinach, parsley, and cilantro. Remember that different vegetables have different restrictions on the amount they can eat per week. Fruits are rich in sugars, so you can only feed them once a week. You can try offering your guinea pig apples (seeds removed), blueberries, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, oranges, peaches (pitted), and cherries (pitted). Additional lists of safe vegetables and fruits can be found online. Try to feed your pet organically grown vegetables and fruits and be sure to wash them thoroughly with water before feeding your guinea pig.Any fruits and vegetables remaining after feeding should be removed after 4 hours to prevent the spread of bacteria.
4 Keep your pet clean. Usually guinea pigs take care of their own cleanliness. But once every three months, it is permissible to bathe your pet (if it gets very dirty). Place the guinea pig in the sink on a rag. Spray your pet gently with room temperature water and rub to distribute the moisture evenly.
- Take some shampoo and lather it on your guinea pig fur. Then, gently but thoroughly rinse off the shampoo.
- Wash only the body of the guinea pig, not the head. Water should not get into your pet's eyes.
- After bathing, gently pat your pet's fur with a soft, clean towel.
5 Monitor your guinea pig's health. Show your guinea pig to your veterinarian once a year. At a routine check-up, your veterinarian will check that your pet is at a healthy weight and that there are no signs of illness. Try to find a veterinarian for your pet who will answer all your questions in detail and patiently.
- You also need to see your veterinarian every time your guinea pig shows signs of discomfort or changes in behavior.
6 Calculate the cost of keeping your pet in advance. Before bringing home a guinea pig (or two), make sure you factor in the financial cost of a pet in your budget. You will have to purchase a crate and a drinker for your guinea pig, and start regularly purchasing food and bedding for her. It is also wise to factor in the cost of periodic vet visits. The annual cost of keeping a guinea pig can be up to five thousand rubles and even more.

Part 3 of 3: Appreciating Your Pet

1 Appreciate your pet's company. Animals are able to understand the mood of people. If your guinea pig trusts and appreciates you, then you should respond in kind. Think about the valuable contributions your pet has made to your life. Is it bad to have company in his face when no one else is around? The more you appreciate your guinea pig, the more it will affect the well-being of your relationship.
2 Let your kids help you care for your guinea pig. Taking care of pets teaches children responsibility. Guinea pigs are ideal pets for children. Let the children help feed your guinea pig, teach them how to clean their cage. Collective care of pets will only benefit you and your children, and the guinea pig itself.
3 Be aware of the benefits of having pets. People who have pets tend to be in better health than those who do not have pets. Owning a guinea pig offers the same benefits as owning a cat or dog. For example, hanging out with a guinea pig can help you fight depression and lower high blood pressure.

Tips

It will be good if all your family members learn how to properly care for your guinea pig.
Be sure to have a plan of action in case you have to temporarily leave the city.
Give your guinea pig something to eat.
If your guinea pig will be completely alone for a while, leave the radio on for her to get used to the voices.
The guinea pig's feet should always rest on something.
Do not make sudden movements or make loud noises when you are around a guinea pig. If this happens regularly, the guinea pig will be stressed.
When you bring your guinea pig home to your home, leave it alone on the first day to get used to it. The next day, try hand-feeding her to start a trusting relationship.

Warnings

Despite the fact that at first the guinea pig may bite your clothes or fingers, when you pick it up, know that it is not trying to harm you, but simply scared. In this case, release it and try to pick it up a little later, when it is calmer.
Be careful when handling any animal.