My guinea pig runs away......

Question

I have had him for a year now and he still runs away. He flings his bedding everywhere. Is there a way to change that? I have been feeding him iceberg lettuce from day one and my friend says they cant eat it, should i stop feeding him it?

Answer 1

Guinea pigs are naturally prey animals, and it's perfectly normal for any guinea pig to run away when you attempt to pick them up. It's just a prey instinct that never really does go away, but it may get a little better over the years. It just depends on the guinea pig.

Also, iceberg lettuce is much too high in water content and can cause your guinea pig to develop diarrhea, so yes, you have to stop feeding that immediately.

Answer 2

Yes,  stop feeding him iceberg lettuce.  It may be called lettuce but it is just fiber and water, no nutrition at all. (  Immage you living on a diet of wet newspaper.  It would be about the same nutrition.)  It would be better to feed him raw spinich leaves or red leaf lettuce.

As for him flinging his bedding around.  Where did you get his cage ( or tank)?  Is it new from a pet store or did you get it used.  In either case I think that he is smelling something in it.  Another animal or snake the was either in it or near it.  I think you should clean it with a mild bleach solution (1 tablespoon or bleach in a gallon of water).  Toss all items that can't be washed down and wash everything and the inside and outside of his cage.

After you put him back into his cleaned enviroment and start giving some food with some real nutrition.  Let him get use to your scent.  Get an old glove and wear it on your hand for a few days and then put it in the cage.  He will soon will get the idea that your hand is just a part of his 'world' and soon it will become a friendly part of it.

Hope this helps.  Guinea pigs can be great pets but like most pets you have to treat and train them right.

Answer 3

Yeah Iceberg lettuce is poisonous to rabbits and guinea pigs so its a good idea if you stop feeding him this. Sometimes some guinea pigs are very nervous pets and can be hard to tame(i find Sows/female guinea pigs are tamer than Boars/males,but other people may find this different..) Supossedly picking them up often helps to tame them,but I find this often doesn't work!

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value whatsoever. Give him other greens like chard or spinach or beet tops or even other types of lettuce. When you give him carrots give him the tops too. They like apple slices. Remember that guinea pigs are like humans and can't make their own Vitamin C (unlike rabbits, who can).

If you put him in a cubes and coroplast cage, you can choose how high to make the sides so that he doesn't flip his bedding onto your floor.

To tame your g.p., you may want to keep ONLY guinea pig pellets (NOT rabbit pellets - see above note re Vitamin C) and water in his cage all the time, and personally deliver every morsel of wonderful yummy veggies directly to his fuzzy little face. Make a little whistle noise to alert him that you're coming with a treat. And do this many, many times each day. Every time you go near the cage, stop and give him a bit of a treat. Oh, and put his cage right in the middle of things so that he gets used to people being around all the time.

Good luck with him!

Answer 5

please stop feeding him ice berg lettuce!!! I would recommend feeding him grass or timothy hay, that is a lot more healthy for them.