[Gpdd] CARE - establishing trust

[Suzy Dunser]

Hi all,

Well, Cocoa and Rocky seem to be happy in their new C&C cage (photos  
soon!!) - at least, the bottom level. It's got two levels, 2x4  
squares on the bottom and 3 squares above. There's also a mezzanine  
at one end that makes a half-height space underneath, and they have a  
litter tray/bed under there . At the other end of the cage they have  
a little house with a pile of hay next to it. The cage is completely  
enclosed because we also have cats. Basically they spend their non- 
eating time in the dark spaces (which I know is what they would do in  
nature). So far they haven't ventured up the ramp.

I would like to be able pick them up without too much chasing, and  
get them to be a little more trusting and friendly to me. (Right now  
they get happy when I bring the food, but otherwise look at me as  
though I might eat them.) But... I don't want to freak them out or  
make them think their safe spaces aren't safe by, say, opening the  
door next to the dark space under the mezzanine. So what I do now is  
sit next to the cage and talk to them, and try to hand-feed them  
leaves. So far they don't take them, although they will pick up a  
leaf I drop near my hand if I keep my hand still for long enough.

My question is, will they eventually get braver on their own, or do I  
have to pick them up while they're still afraid so they can get used  
to it? I know as prey animals they will probably never love the  
moment of "capture", but at the moment they run and hide if I even  
move too suddenly. That said, they've only been in the inside cage,  
with people walking past on a regular basis, for a few days. They are  
11 weeks old now.

Thanks for any experience you can offer...

Suzy with Rocky and Cocoa