can guinea pigs be possessed?

[Jade and Marigold]

ok so i have 2 guinea pigs. (marigold is good piggy jade is bad piggy) i had a bonded pair of sows for about 3 years. one of them died, so after about 3 weeks, i adopted jade as a friend for marigold, who was starting to get depressed. ive had her for a year and a half now, and she is a little demon. when i first got her, i thought it was just because she was the new piggy. i bonded them properly, and to my and others knowledge, i did everything right. but for no reason jade just goes crazy for no reason. she bites me all the time no matter how calm and gentle i am and usually draws blood. she tries to bite marigold when i take them out together. (they have separate cages in the same room) she scratches for no reason, and shes only calm when she has food in jer mouth. marigold always tries to wheek at her and interact with her. she bangs her head on the side of the pop up fence separating them and practically cries for her to talk to her. while on the other hand, jade is eating and taking a nap completely ignoring her. then marigold squeaks so loud at her she jumps up and tries to bite her through the pop up fence. when i try to take jade out of her cage, she scratches me and bites me and makes me bleed. i dont what to do anymore. what I'm typing hardly puts into words what happens around here with her. is she actually possessed? please help me.

 

[Jade and Marigold]

also some times ill be chilling on the couch with jade and shes just laying on me, and then she just randomly stands up, and bites me.

 

[ScrufflesRules]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with Jade. It sounds like she might be quite nervous (she's not possessed). Contrary to popular belief, guinea pigs aren't naturally cuddly pets as they are prey animals. She might be biting out of fear. This guide has a lot more information in: " Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

Guinea pigs don't 'randomly' bite for 'no reason'. As humans, we just struggle to see the world from their point of view. I know you've had Jade a while now, but you may find this helpful to read: Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Because Marigold and Jade (beautiful names by the way) live in separate cages, they need to stay separate at all times. If you have them out for a cuddle together, they will find this stressful which may be a cause of biting.

Sorry I'm attaching so many links for you to read, but I think you'll find them really helpful. Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide (The 'enrichment' section has lots of fun ideas about how you can keep your piggies happy without cuddling them).

Let us know how you get on.

P.S. Feel free to post some photos of Jade and Marigold.

 

[Jade and Marigold]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to hear you're struggling with Jade. It sounds like she might be quite nervous (she's not possessed). Contrary to popular belief, guinea pigs aren't naturally cuddly pets as they are prey animals. She might be biting out of fear. This guide has a lot more information in: " Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

Guinea pigs don't 'randomly' bite for 'no reason'. As humans, we just struggle to see the world from their point of view. I know you've had Jade a while now, but you may find this helpful to read: Arrival in a home from the perspective of pet shop guinea pigs

Because Marigold and Jade (beautiful names by the way) live in separate cages, they need to stay separate at all times. If you have them out for a cuddle together, they will find this stressful which may be a cause of biting.

Sorry I'm attaching so many links for you to read, but I think you'll find them really helpful. Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide (The 'enrichment' section has lots of fun ideas about how you can keep your piggies happy without cuddling them).

Let us know how you get on.

P.S. Feel free to post some photos of Jade and Marigold.

hello! when i take them out, they always stay separate. i give them each equal amounts of food and the only time they touch is when jade tries to bite marigold. but when jades in her cage or alone with me, shes fine until she randomly tries to bite me. i have never hurt her or done anything to make her nervous. we have a fairly quiet household. when i take out marigold for a hold, she practically falls asleep on my chest. and thank you for the links, ill go read those now. oh and marigold is the black and orange one and jade is the coffee and cream coloured one also sorry for all the images

 

[Freela]

Tomie bites too. Most times for it's not all that hard and I think she thinks it's being affectionate. Whereas other pigs will lick or give kisses, Tomie does that too but 50% of the time she will nip us. The only time she has drawn blood is out of stress- she is okay being held but hates being carried and will get stressed and bite when we get up and walk with her, so we only do that with her nestled in a blanket so she can bite that instead.

We have tried some piggy whispering tricks (namely asserting dominance over her in piggy language) and this has helped somewhat. My daughter is the best piggy whisperer and she gets the least nips. The rest of the time it's just prevention- I don't really give her my fingers to lick the way I would with the other pigs, and I carry her in a blanket and wrap her in a blanket for nails trims and such because I know she will nip if stressed.

Try out the advice in the "biting" post linked above. That's what has worked the best for us. She's still not perfect, but she is definitely better.

 

[Princess Dustmop]

When you have the two girls out in the same space with no barriers, they are essentially having a bonding trial, since they are being asked to share the open territory. When you have them out, try having a barrier of some sort in between, so interaction can only be through bars. That way, Jade shouldn't feel like Marigold has the potential to usurp her territory and should show less aggression towards her (and wouldn't be able to actually bite her if she did).

I'd look into things like hand position, what soaps you use, and which order you handle your piggies.

Do you sometimes reach in palm up, sometimes palm down? Flat fingers vs curled fingers? It could be certain hand positions feel more threatening or hold the connotation of being picked up or something similar.​

Are you using a scented soap or lotion? She may not like the smell.​

Are you handling Marigold right before you handle Jade? Maybe try washing you hands in between.​

​

 

[Viennese Furbabies]

I've had a girl once who showed a bit of a similar behaviour as Jade though not as bad. It was impossible to bond her with another piggy, she would react aggressive out of the blue and sometimes when sleeping on me, she would just turn around and bite me (not drawing blood, but also not just a little nip).
I always suspected that she was kept alone for the first years of her life and, since she was very attached to me, that her former owner had not really treated her as a guinea pig, but as a substitute baby. But of course I don't have any idea how she has been kept or how old she really was when I rot her (between 3 and 4?)
Maybe all of this behaviour was caused by a hyperthyroidism that was diagnosed later in her life.
So it could be an idea to have Jade checked through by a cavy savvy vet.

Would it be a possibilty to bond Marigold with another piggy since she seems to be in need of piggy company and keep Jade a bit more apart from the other two to give her more peace?

I don't think that a piggy can he possessed, but in my experience there are rare piggies who act really strange and aggressive even though the current owner isn't doing anything wrong, either because of an illness (hormonal or some other reason) or as a consequence of bad treatment in their former life. The later can be worked at with the right training, but it doesn't work all the time.

 

[Jade and Marigold]

I've had a girl once who showed a bit of a similar behaviour as Jade though not as bad. It was impossible to bond her with another piggy, she would react aggressive out of the blue and sometimes when sleeping on me, she would just turn around and bite me (not drawing blood, but also not just a little nip).
I always suspected that she was kept alone for the first years of her life and, since she was very attached to me, that her former owner had not really treated her as a guinea pig, but as a substitute baby. But of course I don't have any idea how she has been kept or how old she really was when I rot her (between 3 and 4?)
Maybe all of this behaviour was caused by a hyperthyroidism that was diagnosed later in her life.
So it could be an idea to have Jade checked through by a cavy savvy vet.

Would it be a possibilty to bond Marigold with another piggy since she seems to be in need of piggy company and keep Jade a bit more apart from the other two to give her more peace?

I don't think that a piggy can he possessed, but in my experience there are rare piggies who act really strange and aggressive even though the current owner isn't doing anything wrong, either because of an illness (hormonal or some other reason) or as a consequence of bad treatment in their former life. The later can be worked at with the right training, but it doesn't work all the time.

yes thank you for this one what you said above seems exactly like jade. her former owners said she was a bit of a bully to the other piggies and her sister. (she used to brutally attack her sister and drew lots of blood when they shared a cage ) her former owners said she was a "little bossy" and but it seems to be much more than that. but, last night, she fell asleep in her bag on me

 

[Jade and Marigold]

When you have the two girls out in the same space with no barriers, they are essentially having a bonding trial, since they are being asked to share the open territory. When you have them out, try having a barrier of some sort in between, so interaction can only be through bars. That way, Jade shouldn't feel like Marigold has the potential to usurp her territory and should show less aggression towards her (and wouldn't be able to actually bite her if she did).

I'd look into things like hand position, what soaps you use, and which order you handle your piggies.

Do you sometimes reach in palm up, sometimes palm down? Flat fingers vs curled fingers? It could be certain hand positions feel more threatening or hold the connotation of being picked up or something similar.​

Are you using a scented soap or lotion? She may not like the smell.​

Are you handling Marigold right before you handle Jade? Maybe try washing you hands in between.​

​

back when i first got jade, i had them out in the same area together, in the living area of the house so marigold hadnt gotten it smelling like her. i kept the oven gloves on hand, just in case something went wrong. before i could even get ready, jade charged at her and bit her on the ear and rump and then ran under the couch. she was only under there for about 2 mins, but the whole time she kept poking her head out and watching the show. now, moving on to the way i hold them, i pick up jade first, palm down, fingers flat, and i use the gentle, lightly scented soap when i wash. i only use lotion or perfume when i go out, and my deodorant is scented with orange.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

Hi. Firstly I would have her checked by a piggy savvy vet to rule out any underlying health condition she may have that could be causing her pain. Aggression in animals can sometimes be as a result of pain, even if there is no obvious sign of where or what that pain might be.
Also the behaviour you describe could be due to fear aggression, this is where a piggy has decided that "attack is the best form of defence". There can be many reasons for this such as having been bullied or hurt by other piggies earlier in life or by being overwhelmed and fearful when introduced to new surroundings and guinea pigs. So they may appear to be bossy or aggressive when really they are just scared. They may then continue this behaviour in order to make themselves feel secure. The behavior and bonding guides on the forum may be of help to you.

 

[Merab]

I agree with the above posts about a vet check and understanding a prey animal.

Please relax, Jade is not possessed.

She sounds as if she has a very strong and bossy character and she is lucky to have such a caring owner.
She’s beautiful

 

[Lady Kelly]

I agree with what's been said above about getting a vet check just to be sure there isn't something going on. I mean other than that I was surprised to see that she doesn't look like she has any Abyssinian in her, some of the traits sound so much like my late Jemima and I always put it down to little pig syndrome coupled with the aby attitude! Jemima never liked being held, ever! On the rare occasion that she came face to face (through the bars) with my mum's Jack Russell/chihuahua cross she would stand her ground until the dog backed off crying! And yes, when I needed to hold her (or just wanted to) she would nip me when she was ready to go back in the cage (anything from 5 seconds to 5 mins I think ). She was once sat on my knee and just nipped my stomach through my t shirt and it blinking well hurt.