Hi, I am new here, my name is Eddie. I am watching a guinea pig at my house while her family is on vacation; I have never owned or watched a guinea pig before. I've done a little reading online, but still just a beginner. It's been about a week, but I'm sure she's still confused/uncomfortable (I certainly would be!). I hear that guinea pigs are very social and like attention. I know ideally she'd have a guinea pal too; she did, but unfortunately, the other died several weeks ago. But I try to get her out, let her walk around, talk to her, hold her, and pet her, several times a day. I can't really tell if she likes that, because she tends to just stay still and/or hide in the folds of the cloth that I hold her with. So I would guess that she seems to be mostly scared and not comfortable when outside her cage, but doesn't seem panicked at least, as she doesn't tend to make noises. Sometimes if I pet her she does make an unvoiced purring sound -- i.e., just a vibrating, no noticeable vocal accompaniment. She doesn't run from me in her cage when I pet her; only when I try to pick her up, but after I've got her, she doesn't fight. She eats plenty. I guess I'm kind of just asking in general, how happy/unhappy does she sound, but...
ONE PECULIAR THING IN PARTICULAR about which I'm curious is this: After I've had her out, holding her, for 5 or 10 or 20 minutes, and I'm taking her back to the bedroom and she sees/smells her cage, she starts actively sniffing the air and getting antsy. I would say it seems that she is wanting to get back into her cage (she does like to hide, so that makes sense). The funny thing is, at this time, she often starts biting my fingers -- not just a nibble, but aggressive, it would seem. My assumption at the interpretation of this is: "PUT ME BACK IN MY CAGE ALREADY, DAMMIT!" I suppose there is a slight chance that she actually DOESN'T want to go back to her cage, and is telling me, "NO, STOP! You're taking me back to my cage, and I'm not ready." Seems unlikely, but I suppose it just seems a little odd that she would bite me wanting to go back into her cage, when one might expect that she would be used to the fact that "this is the point where he is going to put me back in," in which case, no reason to bite. She doesn't bite me any other time, aside from a nibble now and then when she's testing if my finger is food or not (I assume).
Any insight? Thanks in advance! (Sorry for the long post, but I figure the more details the better).
ONE PECULIAR THING IN PARTICULAR about which I'm curious is this: After I've had her out, holding her, for 5 or 10 or 20 minutes, and I'm taking her back to the bedroom and she sees/smells her cage, she starts actively sniffing the air and getting antsy. I would say it seems that she is wanting to get back into her cage (she does like to hide, so that makes sense). The funny thing is, at this time, she often starts biting my fingers -- not just a nibble, but aggressive, it would seem. My assumption at the interpretation of this is: "PUT ME BACK IN MY CAGE ALREADY, DAMMIT!" I suppose there is a slight chance that she actually DOESN'T want to go back to her cage, and is telling me, "NO, STOP! You're taking me back to my cage, and I'm not ready." Seems unlikely, but I suppose it just seems a little odd that she would bite me wanting to go back into her cage, when one might expect that she would be used to the fact that "this is the point where he is going to put me back in," in which case, no reason to bite. She doesn't bite me any other time, aside from a nibble now and then when she's testing if my finger is food or not (I assume).
Any insight? Thanks in advance! (Sorry for the long post, but I figure the more details the better).
to the forum,
