Bar biting

Eddie & Elvis

Eddie & Elvis

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
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Hi everyone, I haven't posted in a long time but I'm back!

Just this morning while my mum was making salad for herself, Eddie and Elvis were stood waiting at the bars, which they always do, but Eddie starting biting the bars, which he hasn't done before.

I gently used my hand to guide him away from the bars then put in some extra hay to distract him.

How can I discourage/ tell him off before it becomes a habit?
 
Lily once wanted to tear apart the entire cage whenever she heard me open the fridge door. So I let her throw a temper tantrum and only gave her a treat once she stopped biting the bars.

She got the hint rather quickly - it's always best to train animals through reward, I think :)
 
So I should just ignore him and let him bite until he gives up?

I haven't given him any cucumber this morning as I didn't want to reward him for biting the bars :)
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
So I should just ignore him and let him bite until he gives up?

I haven't given him any cucumber this morning as I didn't want to reward him for biting the bars :)
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That's what I did. I rewarded her good behaviour once she stopped. Not giving your piggy any at all probably won't get the message across - through my experience, the reward method always does the trick :luv:
 
Eddie was biting again so I completely ignored him and he quickly stopped when he realised it didn't get him any attention 😂 Then he got his slice of cucumber as a reward. It's done the trick already today so hopefully he'll soon stop biting completely.
Thanks for the advice! :)
 
Glad to have you back 🙂

One of mine (Rufus) is a bar biter. He also gives up quickly once I walk away or ignore him. He does it out of frustration at feeding times, because he's impatient and demands he must be fed before the others. I've never attempted to train it out of him, as he only does it at feeding times. It can be annoying, but not quite as annoying as when I have several horses kicking stable doors at feeding time 🤦‍♀️😂 It's never really been a problem because he doesn't do it when I'm not in the room.

Hope you and your guys are well!
 
Bradshaw Piggies said:
Glad to have you back 🙂

One of mine (Rufus) is a bar biter. He also gives up quickly once I walk away or ignore him. He does it out of frustration at feeding times, because he's impatient and demands he must be fed before the others. I've never attempted to train it out of him, as he only does it at feeding times. It can be annoying, but not quite as annoying as when I have several horses kicking stable doors at feeding time 🤦‍♀️😂 It's never really been a problem because he doesn't do it when I'm not in the room.

Hope you and your guys are well!
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Thanks! It's nice to be back 😊

Hopefully it's just when he's expecting food if at all. I just don't want it to become a problem so it thought I'd address it quickly. :)

Yep me and boys are doing great! Eddie's doing so well after all his teeth problems, I've got 2 happy healthy piggies again now :D Hope you're well too?
 
Eddie & Elvis said:
Thanks! It's nice to be back 😊

Hopefully it's just when he's expecting food if at all. I just don't want it to become a problem so it thought I'd address it quickly. :)

Yep me and boys are doing great! Eddie's doing so well after all his teeth problems, I've got 2 happy healthy piggies again now :D Hope you're well too?
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So glad to hear everyone is well and that Eddie is doing better! That news has made my day.

All good here. Thank you for asking! 🥰
 
Best of luck getting him to quit!

I had one pig start biting the bars, and initially I had some success with tickling her sides to get her to stop. But then the behavior became contagious and all four of the original girls started bar-biting furiously every time they sensed food. 😂 I couldn't tickle them all and they would not stop for anything. At least no one ever broke a tooth.

Since adding more pigs recently, the bar biting behavior stopped. Maybe it was just the example of the new pigs getting food without biting the bars first? They learn fast.
 
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