Biting

[jadielin]

Hello everyone,

My girls are very attached to me and whenever I come home they are always first to greet me. They love being pet and always demand attention, whether it simply be just talking to them or giving them treats. However, whenever I pick one of them up she just bites me if I hold her for more than a few minutes. To be fair, I try not to pick them up too often because i know that they do not like it, but when I have to trim their nails there’s not much of a choice. I guess I understand why they nibble on me when I’m trimming their nails, but it seems to mainly be when I pick them up. Other than being annoyed with me, any ideas of why they would be biting?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Swissgreys]

It is probably their way of letting you know that they don't like to be handled, which is actually very common in guinea pigs.
Many are fine with being petted in their cage, but just don't like being picked up.

Of course you need to handle them sometimes to do health checks, clip nails, etc so you might find this guide useful.
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

 

[YvonneBlue]

I also have a bitey piggy. She is a really sweet girl and happy for me to scratch her head and chin when she is in her cage and clambers over me on the sofa but if i hold her for more than a couple of minutes she will nip me. She does this particularly if i'm not concentrating (maybe having a conversation with my OH) and she just decides i have held her for too long and i find her teeth clamped down on my arm (this was especially interesting in the summer when i wore t-shirts), it also makes nail trimming an exciting event.

Some piggies just don't like being held and that's fine until you need to do a health check and she isn't very popular at our vets either. I like that she is confident enough to let us know when she doesn't like something and doesn't just freeze with fear. It's funny really as she is bottom of the pecking order in the trio but definitely boss of the hoomans in her life.