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Anonymous
hey /an/

I just got a guinea pig two weeks ago, and I've never had one before. When I take her out and let her play on my bed, sometimes she tweaks the fuck out and does stuff that looks almost like a seizure. I read on wiki that they do something called 'popcorning' Is that what this is?

When I pet her, she makes a purring sort of sound that, to me, sounds angry, like 'stop petting me' but I've been told otherwise.

Also, she's EXTREMELY skittish and frightens incredibly easy. How long does it usually take a guinea pig to get used to it's owner, or are they always so easily scared?

Is this behavior normal, or is my pig a freak?
>> Anonymous
This is all completely normal.

Popcorning is sort of like a happy dance. She's excited, and playful.

As far as I could figure with mine, the purring is a submissive thing.

She will probably always be startled by loud, unexpected noises and sudden movements, just because she's a prey species. However, she'll most likely get to trusting you in a few weeks or months, as long as you don't do anything to reinforce the idea that you're dangerous.
>> Anonymous
>>247952
OK, so she is happy then. :) Thank you. I was so afraid that I was scaring the poor thing to death just by existing nearby her.

Now I just fear having to clip her little claws...
>> tigerfeather !CrwtTbFNxQ
>>247952
Purring is actually something that they do when they're babies with their mothers. It just means that your cavy is comfortable with you.
>> Anonymous
>>247954
this is actually really easy to do. Everyone holds their guinea pigs up to their chest but i find it much easier if you lay down with them on your stomach. The you gently coax her paw on one finger and clip a tiny bit off the claw. Squeeze the clippers slowly, so if she starts to squeel and twitch, that means your up too far. Plus flash a flashlight under the claws to see where the blood line is.
>> Anonymous
>>248176
oo! That does sound like a much better idea, thank you! I'm not too worried about hurting her while doing it, since I clip my cat's claws at home (even though they're a bit bigger and less bitey). The fear is moreso her using my finger as a carrot, haha. When's a good time to start clipping? My mom and I guessed she's about a month old or so, and she told me that was too young to start clipping them.

Sorry for being such a n00b. ^^; I fell in love with her at the store and had to have her, so I didn't do much prior research. I really appreciate the help, as I had no idea where else to go to ask.
>> Anonymous
>>248179
i dont really think there is a certain age for it, just do it when the claws get long and start hurting you or are too sharp. I cut little rocky's nails when he was around 7 or 8 weeks old. I say this cause the pet store woman said they were around 6 weeks old, and he was a bit small. And as for the biting, i might be lucky, but my guinea pig nibbles lightly on my fingers and licks them more , and is that your cavy in the pic? i must say its a really cute one, even though i usually like short hairs better
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>248204
Yeah, it's mine. I didn't even know there were long-haired guinea pigs! The only ones I'd ever seen were short-hair ones that friends had. Like I said, I saw her in the pet store and fell in love.

She doesn't seem to be much of a biter, though. She's lightly nipped at my fingers and she did get my ear pretty good once, though I think she didn't realize it was a part of me. She's never drawn blood yet. She did scratch my arm up a bit today when she was trying to burrow in the blanket behind me. I think I'll try trimming them a bit next week and see how it goes.