[GPDD] CARE: hiding house opinions

[Renee Roszkowski]

Hi everyone! I adopted 2 female guinea pigs from The Critter Corral in
Illinois last December. They had come from a large scale raid on a
breeder in California. We estimated their age to be around 6 months old
when we got them. Because of the situation that they came from, they had
hardly any experience with humans. They also missed having that
attention payed to them during that critical bonding age when they were
younger. They were very skittish and you could barely catch them to hold
them. They didn't really like being held. I had also read that in order
to get piggies to acclimate more quickly to a house you shouldn't put
houses in. I put houses in their cage for a little while. I didn't want
them to become over-stressed and sick coming into a new home. They
hardly came out of them, except at night. I did want them to bond to my
husband and me, so I took the houses out. Their personalities have
changed entirely. Obviously, having been with us for a year makes a
difference too, but they really came out of their shells after removing
their houses. They still don't like being held, but they don't run away
from us very much when we are near their cages. They come to the front
and stand up on their hind legs to beg for treats. I only put the houses
in if I know it's going to be cooler in the house to let them have some
more comfort. I see their behavior change if I leave the houses in
though. They hide and don't come out very much. I do put houses in their
pen that they get set up for playtime though. They usually run around
through them. I use 2 small stools that I bought from Walmart or 2
cardboard tunnels for houses. I am planning on getting them 2 of those
new giant igloo houses to have once in a while. I won't leave them in
their cage permanently though.  My other piggie Patches is in her own
cage due to some neurological problems. I don't put any house in her
cage because she seems to get confused in it and doesn't come out. She
has a hard time getting in and out of houses as well. When I do build
her new cage, I was considering making something like and upside-down
futon (www.guineapigfun.com) for her to have a place of cover available,
but it won't affect her movement around the cage. Hope that helps. :-)

Renee, Mary and Molly, Patches, Kate and Dora, Flash

Renee Roszkowski
Independant Beauty Consultant
www.marykay.com/ReneeRoszkowski