Advice Please! Pig won't be picked up and bites bars!

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Bungle

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Hi there,

I can't seem to pick up my pig at all. When I reach into the cage to try to lift him, he dodges me and runs around the cage. Our previous guinea pig also did this. The only way we can get him is if he goes in his piggy bed and we lift that or if he tries to hide in his tube we kinda 'tip' him onto our hand. This is the only way. Often when we are holding him, he squrims and wriggles to try to get away - he won't settle unless there is a bit of food. I'm wondering if it's because we give him too much freedom? We live in an open plan flat and his cage is in the lounge area. We open his cage door to let him out several times a day to make sure he gets plenty of exercise. Which he does because he sprints around the whole room and kitchen squeaking and jumping. When he goes back in (which usually needs coaxing with a treat), as soon as I shut the cage door he starts to bite the bars of his cage. I'm really worried about any damage he might be doing to this teeth/mouth. I"m also worried he might be bored. He has a standard Pets At Home cage. He has plenty of food, water, lots of hay in a hay manager, piggy bed, fruit stick attached to side of cage and a large cardboard tube that he chews all the time and he has fleece bedding. I give him salad leaves (not iceberg lettuce), carrots, and other bits of veg.
We've had him since October last year.

Not sure what to do, help please!

Thank you x
 
Some piggies just don't like being handled.. mine just walk away from me and show there discomfort about me lifting them all, they like to go on wee adventures that just doesn't involve my lap :)).
 
My Mette-Marit does the same, bolts around the cage and tries to escape even when I've lifted her up. I'm glad guinea pigs have limited sense of consequences because if she prefers to die rather than ear cucumber with me I'd feel rather depressed...

But if your boy eats in your lap at least he's tamer than my girl!

I think piggies are differently too, your boy seems to be very active, rather than the cuddly type, he obviously likes his floor time :) I think maybe a friend would be a good idea to keep him entertained. If you go to a rescue for one you could ask for one who is comfortable around people and hopefully it will rub off a little on your boy!

I don't have any advice about the cage bar biting...
 
My previous guinea pig (Bungle) was exactly the same.

He is extremely active but he's also extremely happy. He squeaks all the time, esp when I talk to him or when I walk in the room, rustle bags. If I'm in the kitchen doing washing, he will come with me. He lets me stroke him though.

I really don't have the space for another cage or a bigger cage unfortunately. Toys wise, he has a large cardboard tube (chube) which he is destroying from the inside, he has a fruit stick attached to the side of the cage which he likes, he has a fleece piggy bed, hay from a hay manager, then obviously plenty of food and water. I give him choc treats now and then which he loves. He has loads of floor time and is free to wander everywhere. He loves to walk on the laminate flooring in the kitchen area! I did put a plastic cat ball toy in his cage but he wasn't bothered about it.

Maybe he just is his own little pig and likes adventure too much. When we first had him he used to sit on my shoulder and burrow in my hair but that was before we let him out of his cage.

Thank you all for help x
 
You give your piggy a good life, as he is happily popcorning around the flat, but he would really profit from a friend.

How old is your boy and would you consider getting him a suitable friend from a rescue? That might help with the gnawing, as the cage is like a solitary confinement prison cell for him - guinea pigs are social animals!
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37654

You may also think about enriching his cage life with toys and things to explore like a saucer which you have swirled with some fruit juice, toilet rolls filled with hay or veg, a towel pegged to the wall of the cage.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43520

Regulation p@h cages are usually on the small side. For 1 guinea pig you will need 2x3 ft minimum, for 2 guinea pigs, a minimum 2x4 ft cage, the more the better, especially for males. Have a look around our cage and hutch gallery in housing for inspiration.

His diet could do with a bit more imagination:
The mainstay should be unlimited hay, with 50g/1cupful of mixed veg per day in one or several servings and 1/2 handful of pellets or muesli for a piggy over 6 months old; unlimited for a youngster.
Here are some useful links:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37030
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=42
 
Oh and instead of giving him his veggied in a bowl you could put it all over the cage so that he can find it himself! It entertains my lot :)
 
This is what I used for my VERY shy Llewelyn at first and then again for sisters Nerys and Nia who came with razor sharp claws.

IMG_2648_edited-1.jpg


Tempt you boy in with a treat in the back. I always say "walkie walkie walkie" and they have learned to come in on their own volition; it might take some weeks to train, though. But piggies are usually cooperative once they realise that it takes the strain off from chasing them around.

Cuddle your boy in there (they love encloed spaces) and give him regular encouragement, like you would with a tiny dog. Piggies do soak up being a "good boy". Alternatively, use a towel and cuddle him underneath.
 
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