ches won't stop biting the bars

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biscandmatt

biscandmatt

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as much as we love him, it's now getting very frustrating.

he's especially worse in the morning when he wants brekkie. but he bites them to wake one of us up, then bites for hay, then bites for attention.

he does it throught the day aswell and if we ignore it he does tend to stop but the morning he is like possessed! :{

he started a few months back and it's got worse. nothing has changed. if anything they have more space, they now have a fold out grid leading to floor time. they always have hay available, lots of toys that i rotate. he seems really happy.

we give loads of attention but i think he wants more. he can see us all the time in the lounge.

the thing is he can't wheek very well. he does this very quiet husky wheek bless him and he tries to call us over. but he can't do it loud enough so then he finds a louder way which is the cage bars.

he's such a sociable piggy, loves interaction with us. but i tend to sleep through alot of the noise in the morning but my o/h doesn't and he's up and down the stairs every 20mins from 6am sometimes.

we tried ignoring it but he bites and pulls soooo hard and we're scared he will hurt his jaw.

we tried blocking the bars at night with some fleece but he still manages to find somewhere to bite! :{

any advice please
 
how big is your cage? If it.s a good 5 by 2 or thereabouts you should have lots of space to re arrange everything to make it exciting every day. Loads of hay (have 2 or 3 different varieties for interest) edible tunnels (2 or 3 you can move about) dot some safe chewing sticks about so the environment is interesting but make a nice cosy sleeping area too. I think also (as this seems to be an attention thing) it.s important to keep your feeding times to set times each day - so the piggies learn that they aren't getting veg each time they wheek. I am quite new to pigs myself so hopefully someone who know s much more than me will keep us both right. I am assuming that piggies (like many animals) respond well to a set routine and if they never get attention or food before 8am then eventually they won't bother you before then? (my theory here may be wrong so wait for others' answers) also might be worth checking teeth just in case something is causing this that is physical and not behavioural?
 
tabelmabel said:
how big is your cage? If it.s a good 5 by 2 or thereabouts you should have lots of space to re arrange everything to make it exciting every day. Loads of hay (have 2 or 3 different varieties for interest) edible tunnels (2 or 3 you can move about) dot some safe chewing sticks about so the environment is interesting but make a nice cosy sleeping area too. I think also (as this seems to be an attention thing) it.s important to keep your feeding times to set times each day - so the piggies learn that they aren't getting veg each time they wheek. I am quite new to pigs myself so hopefully someone who know s much more than me will keep us both right. I am assuming that piggies (like many animals) respond well to a set routine and if they never get attention or food before 8am then eventually they won't bother you before then? (my theory here may be wrong so wait for others' answers) also might be worth checking teeth just in case something is causing this that is physical and not behavioural?
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they have a 5x2 c+c cage now and a grid that opens up to floor time which is a space of about another 5x2, maybe a bit more.

everything else like the hay etc and the toys, they have. i rotate aswell to keep them entertained.

we're going to try moving the water bottles to the back of the cage where the correx is higher and then we can completely cover any available bar at night! rolleyes then in the day i'm going to take that away and hang up lots more toys. gives me an excuse to go piggy shopping! :))

with feed time, we do try to keep a set time but he chooses when he wants brekkie and bites so much and tbh we give in because we are scared he will hurt himself. so we'll cover the bars with fleece pegged on and then try what you said, pick a time in the morning to feed them.

we're not so bothered about him biting in the day anyway but i might buy more toys for him to try and also i will look to extend floor time aswell.

i don't think he is going to stop now he's got into it. but i think you're right, we need to not give in until a set time.

i do think it's attention related but if it does carry on for a long time or gets worse after this then i agree we should get the vet to check his teeth just incase.

x
 
Hi, I remember you posting about this a while ago. Our Burt has continually bitten the cage bars since Clive was ill and getting lot of attention a while ago. Last weekend we bought some clear hard plastic sheeting (about £16) from b an q, and my husband has put it all around his cage, except for the place where his cage meets up with Clive's. We can still see him and he can still nose off with Clive but it has definitely already reduced the bar biting - he can't bite what he can't get to! Ours is a C and C cage with no roof - there is a picture of it on another thread somewhere.
Good luck x
 
bessiehen said:
Hi, I remember you posting about this a while ago. Our Burt has continually bitten the cage bars since Clive was ill and getting lot of attention a while ago. Last weekend we bought some clear hard plastic sheeting (about £16) from b an q, and my husband has put it all around his cage, except for the place where his cage meets up with Clive's. We can still see him and he can still nose off with Clive but it has definitely already reduced the bar biting - he can't bite what he can't get to! Ours is a C and C cage with no roof - there is a picture of it on another thread somewhere.
Good luck x
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i don't know why ches started to do this, and why he then calmed down with it and has now started again :{

i do think he just wants to communicate and he loves attention. he's so lovely.

the plastic sheeting sounds great. i'll have a look for the thread with it on. thanks.
 
Burt does it for food! My husband's not home at the mo but I'll ask him what the plastic stuff's called and post back. Also, the price was sixteen pounds, no idea where that pirate icon came from! Also, the picture on here doesn't have the plastic on, but will give you an idea what we're working with. I think it was a post about someone deciding whether to separate their pigs ...
 
bessiehen said:
Burt does it for food! My husband's not home at the mo but I'll ask him what the plastic stuff's called and post back. Also, the price was sixteen pounds, no idea where that pirate icon came from! Also, the picture on here doesn't have the plastic on, but will give you an idea what we're working with. I think it was a post about someone deciding whether to separate their pigs ...
Click to expand...

ches is the worst at veg times.

i can't find the thread but if your husband gives some details i'm sure i will beable to ask my dad and he will know what it is.

i meant to ask you, if i haven't already, do you go to ashleigh vets and see aidan? i noticed your thread about their diets sounds exactly like what i have been told by aidan. i have followed all his advice and ches and maisie do very well on what he has said. he's one of the best exotics vets so i go with what he says is best because if the net wasn't available, you'd ask an specialist vet wouldn't you what is best. so yeh, i feel strongly about it! :))
 
I have a bar chewer, even though he's out in the shed we can still hear him in the living room when its quiet. We still haven't found out why he does it - it just seems to be an addiction that he can't quit lol

We've tried everything from changing his hutch around to giving him more attention it doesn't stop him. It seems to be his fav thing to do so as long as all his needs are met we leave him to it.
 
I know how you feel. Since I've taken the boys pellets away Ludwig is constantly biting the bars. If I cave in and give him a few pellets - hand fed- he stops chewing for a little bit then continues on about an hour or so later when he wants more.
 
Yes we go to Aiden - he is ace :) The plastic stuff is Perspex from the sheet floor at b and q- he says you have to go in store for it, not online.
 
piggie-power said:
I have a bar chewer, even though he's out in the shed we can still hear him in the living room when its quiet. We still haven't found out why he does it - it just seems to be an addiction that he can't quit lol

We've tried everything from changing his hutch around to giving him more attention it doesn't stop him. It seems to be his fav thing to do so as long as all his needs are met we leave him to it.
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wow, that must be loud! :))

it is an addiction! ches gets so into it that he sometimes doesn't even notice we have put his plate of veg down rolleyes

i worry about him hurting himself but i don't see what else we can really do.
 
Julesie said:
I know how you feel. Since I've taken the boys pellets away Ludwig is constantly biting the bars. If I cave in and give him a few pellets - hand fed- he stops chewing for a little bit then continues on about an hour or so later when he wants more.
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that's it - he gets one thing then demands another. rolleyes

i don't mind the noise really. just worry he will hurt himself.
 
bessiehen said:
Yes we go to Aiden - he is ace :) The plastic stuff is Perspex from the sheet floor at b and q- he says you have to go in store for it, not online.
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he's amazing isn't he :) i thought i could hear aidan when i was reading your thread about diet :)) i must admit though, i still give a teeny few pellets at night time. and like you, all leafy greens, hay etc, and cucumber and green pepper as 'treats'

the perspex sounds good. i have no idea how we would attach it but i'll nag my dad until he helps. :)) for now i think we will try moving things about and buying new toys and then see. :)
 
I found with my little bar muncher that if you remove them from the bars (pick them up and move them away) they will eventually stop , if that donesn't wprk try add a "no" in there with it. Also if you give them something to chew on like cardboard wood etc. it draws attention away from the bars.

Most of the I can get Patches (the bar muncher) to stop most things by just saying her name to get her attention.
 
My Freddy has been really bad lately and late last night him and the hamster were both chewing bars. It was driving me crazy, so I found a spare piece of coroplast I had lying around(which coincidentally turned out to be exactly the right size) and slipped it in between the bars and the coroplast bottom box. No more chewing after that :-) The hamster was still at it, but fortunately she is not quite so loud.
 
IHorseCarzzy5 said:
I found with my little bar muncher that if you remove them from the bars (pick them up and move them away) they will eventually stop , if that donesn't wprk try add a "no" in there with it. Also if you give them something to chew on like cardboard wood etc. it draws attention away from the bars.

Most of the I can get Patches (the bar muncher) to stop most things by just saying her name to get her attention.
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we tried lifting him away and he kept on doing it. he has plenty of things to chew but prefers the bars! rolleyes

maisie sometimes chews the correx. not often but all i do is say her name in a certain tone and she stops. she's a good girl :))
 
Humfred said:
My Freddy has been really bad lately and late last night him and the hamster were both chewing bars. It was driving me crazy, so I found a spare piece of coroplast I had lying around(which coincidentally turned out to be exactly the right size) and slipped it in between the bars and the coroplast bottom box. No more chewing after that :-) The hamster was still at it, but fortunately she is not quite so loud.
Click to expand...

that could be an option at night. the correx sides to their cage are a bit too high for them to see over and i think this might not be helping as ches likes to be out in the run for floor time so he can see what is going on. the only place low enough is on the grid that opens out for floor time so i was thinking of actually lowering the front and side of the correx so he can see all the time. the reason we didn't do this originally was because our house can be quite draughty.
 
i had an idea of something that may help to start with and it did luckily. my o/h usually puts their veg on the plate and then their stalky hay next to it, and their soft hay in the bedroom area. what happens then is ches eats the veg and then see's an empty plate. he likes his stalky hay on a plate. so o/h put some flattened soft hay down with the veg on and then the stalky hay on the plate and i told him to put an extra big pile of soft hay as ches likes to burrow and fall asleep in a big nest! :))

well ches bit the bars for veg at 6am! rolleyes o/h did all that and we never heard a peep from ches again until we were both up! :) he then bit it a tiny bit asking for floortime but that has been it all day. :)

so i think we're getting there. so we will lower the correx so he can see out better in the day, move the bottles to the back of the cage and then at night we can peg fleece blankets over the front and sides so he can't bite, then pick a set time for one of us to feed them breakfast. :)
 
Blimey this is worse than having a baby! :)) My correx is 6 inches high but my fleece liner covers it & my grids are the mesh ones which they don't seem keen on chewing rolleyes

My piggies get fed around 8.30-9.00 ish, fresh food, then pellets around an hour after that. I give them their fresh hay first though rolleyes
I then top their hay up before I go to work around 11 ish then they have their tea about 5-6 pm, fresh food & hay, pellets a bit later.

Sounds like mine are a bit more laid back about their meals :))
 
I am pretty sure you have the right size cage, and maybe change the setup everyday. Put wooden chews by the bars. If that doesn't work, try sour apple yuck! spray or squirt water beside him when he chews on the bars. Or cover the bars in fleece.
 
Poppy'sMum said:
Blimey this is worse than having a baby! :)) My correx is 6 inches high but my fleece liner covers it & my grids are the mesh ones which they don't seem keen on chewing rolleyes

My piggies get fed around 8.30-9.00 ish, fresh food, then pellets around an hour after that. I give them their fresh hay first though rolleyes
I then top their hay up before I go to work around 11 ish then they have their tea about 5-6 pm, fresh food & hay, pellets a bit later.

Sounds like mine are a bit more laid back about their meals :))
Click to expand...

:red i know! i think i make them into diva's! :red :))

he's not been too bad lately actually. he must have known i was talking about him! :))

when i get paid i'm ordering all the things i need to stop the morning biting. cost me a fortune these lot, but of course i will need to buy a wide variety of toys! haha
 
gpmomma said:
I am pretty sure you have the right size cage, and maybe change the setup everyday. Put wooden chews by the bars. If that doesn't work, try sour apple yuck! spray or squirt water beside him when he chews on the bars. Or cover the bars in fleece.
Click to expand...

i would like a bigger cage for them but i think a 5x2 with the same again for floor time is ok? if i move some things i can make floor time even bigger so i will do that more often. :)

i'm going to order lots more things to hang on the bars so hopefully that will help.

aw, i can't bear to squirt anything near him or tell him no. :red

i am moving the bottles though so i can cover every bar he can reach at night!
 
we have sorted this now. :) i managed to find a way to cover the bars with fleece at night so he has breakfast now when one of us gets up. he seems fine with that. also bought them lots more toys. he still bites at tea time but not as much. :)
 
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