hey! sorry for the delay in response!
i think the root of Chorizo’s problem was that he didn’t trust being outside of the cage by himself. when i would take him out alone, he would usually get really anxious and start calling out for his cagemate (Chico) within five minutes, and then get too fidgety/noisy/stressed to handle within ten (or fifteen on a good day). so with Chorizo, i started taking him out of his cage, and then doing laptime/cuddles literally right beside it. my thought process with this is that he would be close enough to Chico/familiarity to be comfortable, but removed enough that he’d have to exercise his trust in me. we started with shorter 10 minute sessions, then 15, then 20. once he was okay with that, we’d start moving away from the cage, first the chair ten feet away from it, the floor on opposite side of the coffee table twenty feet away, then the dining room space which is adjacent to the living room where their cage is, and finally, my bedroom which is completely separate from the main living area of my apartment.
i still use this method because Chorizo just isn’t a cuddly lap-pig. he would much rather spend his time outside the cage exploring so i try not to push lap-pig expectations on him. so for example, Monday and Tuesday night we’ll hang out next to the cage, Wednesday and Thursday we’ll be on the couch, Friday we’ll go back to being beside the cage, Saturday we’ll snuggle in my bedroom, and Sunday we’re on the couch again. i try to keep all his sessions in the 20 to 25 minute range, but i’ll push him a little bit on the days that he’s in on the couch or my bed. i also usually do laptime late at night, generally around 10pm or so when the pigs are less energetic.
oh also! when i first started posting about my cuddle troubles with Chorizo, a lot of people recommended i do the towel trick, which involves wrapping your pig in a towel so they feel secure. this was the answer to my prayers for Chico, but it was the exact opposite for Chorizo. i would still suggest trying it though b/c i think Chorizo might be part of the anomaly squad.
anyway, i hope this helps! i’d been working with Chorizo not enjoying laptime for a long long long looong time prior to this, but i started doing the above method in maybe late April/early May and it’s gotten me the best results. i think the key here is that i (finally) realized what Chorizo’s underlying problem was so your results may vary if your pig’s is different from his, but do keep me updated on your progress, @rainbootsandunicycles! ♥
