Biting

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Bonjour

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Why are my guinea pigs biting each other on the backside? A lot of running around the cage and biting one another in turn.
 
If it is not breaking the skin and not causing any injuries, and is more of a nudge, telling off type behaviour - then it is called nipping and is a dominance and power behaviour.

If they are actually biting each other, fighting, aggressively chasing, cornering, or causing injuries - then that is hugely of concern and likely means their bond is failing/has failed.
If there are fights and injuries being caused then they just be immediately and permanently separated

Wiebke

Thread 'Bonds In Trouble'

1 Causes for bonds to fall apart
2 Bonds in Crisis
- What are the signs of a dysfunctional bond?
- Bullying
- How can I test whether a bond is no longer working?
3 Failed bonds and what next?
- What to do if my piggies have had a major fight?
- When rebonding doesn't work out


1 Causes for bonds to fall apart

Every fall-out has of course its own...
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boureki

Thread 'Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs'

1 List of dominance behaviours in ascending order of aggression
2 What may cause this type of behaviour in boars?
3 When do you see these behaviours in sows?
4 What can trigger fall-outs?
5 Further helpful guide links


I thought it may be handy to have a sticky on typical dominance behaviours for a reference - hopefully it may help humans understand guinea pigs and their behaviour a bit more and hopefully prevent some avoidable problems!


1 List of dominance behaviours...
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Wiebke

Thread 'A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours'

1 Introduction
2 Entries in alphabetical order
A
- Attention seeking and begging
B
- Back foot swipe
- Barbering (eating hair)
- Bar biting and rattling
- Begging: see Attention seeking
- 'Biting' Behaviours: Biting, Nibbling, Nipping, Tweaking
- Body language
- Border watch/lie-in
- Bullying
- Bum digging: see Poo stealing
-...
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Hi

This very normal, very mild dominance behaviour which you will see a lot of. Absolutely nothin to worry about. It is a very carefully judged gesture of power that is not breaking the skin nor is it hurtful. ;)

Wiebke

Thread '" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)'

1 Serious defence bites
- On edge, spooked or cornered
- During cuddle time
- During bonding
2 Nibbling and accidental bites
3 Tweaking
4 Nipping other guinea pigs


Biting can be a worry or a problem for new owners, especially those with small children. However, there are some very different issues lumped together under the broad umbrella of “biting”, sometimes with fatal consequences for the poor, misunderstood and not appropriately handled guinea pig that...
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It's probably just nipping, but if you have long-haired or fluffy breeds, injuries may not be immediately obvious, so make sure to check their backsides regularly. If there are wounds, that's a sign that those piggies are not getting along and should not live together
 
Thanks. There's no blood or fur flying , just an awful lot of teeth chattering and nipping. I find it so strange as my previous guinea pigs didn't do it.
 
Bonjour said:
Thanks. There's no blood or fur flying , just an awful lot of teeth chattering and nipping. I find it so strange as my previous guinea pigs didn't do it.
Click to expand...

These behaviours are mild dominance but if you are worried things are tipping over into a problematic bond, then we may be able to advise further if you provide more information: their ages, sex of the piggies, cage size, amount of resources within the cage etc

Things such as cleaning too much of the cage in one go can set off additional dominance as it disrupts territories particularly in boars so we can also advise further there if needed
 
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