Nala is being a little too aggressive

[maxima423]

hi, i am new here and this is my guinea pig Nala, i was told she was a Aspen Long Hair guinea pig and she is about a year old and she is living by herself

okay on too the serious part, she is being a little too aggressive and i was wondering if this is normal and how i would go about this and "fix" it

the problem started about a week or two ago, whenever i pick up her bowl, she would do this little nipping, she also does the same thing when i pick up her hut when i go change her bedding, she would give me this little nip a couple times, it does not hurt or anything, and it is not biting, its just her teeth hitting my knuckle most of the time, she does make this chutting/rumbling sound.

now i was wondering if this is normal, i think its that time of the year and is looking for a mate, or is this territorial issues?

how do i go about this?

she isnt making any kind of sign that she is sick

she is a cutie and i am so distraught on why this is happening, she is also head bopping and she has never really done that before, she is not chattering, listened to a hundred sounds and it is definitely not that, so please help =[

oh and i live in the US, i dont know how i got this UK forum but ill go with it ^_^ lol

 

[lily 74]

One of my guinea pigs gently nips me when I hold her, she is a bossy one and doesn't like to be held for too long

She shares her home with another guinea pig and she is not aggressive to the other one.

A friend might distract her, and piggies are better in pairs

 

[Wiebke]

It is mild dominance/displeasure behaviour. She has simply started to treat you as she would another piggy she wanted to dominate.

Perhaps she would be happier if she had another younger girl to boss around?

PS: We are the forum with the most members - while we may not be US, at least you will usually get an answer in a fairly short amount of time! We have got quite a few US members now.

 

[SweetsPig11]

maxima423, I am also from the US lol I have a little male and only one right now (I am desperately trying to convince my husband to let him have a friend) however, back on the subject... he is a sweet boy, but he just bit me and ugh, he needs someone of his own species to boss around as I am his momma and he's supposed to love me, not boss and nip at me!

 

[maxima423]

another guinea pig is a no can do =[ my parents dont want another one since my mom is allergic to hairy creatures, it was a mission to have Nala, well actually Nala was my dads impulse buy and she was brought to me without me even knowing until i got home, i try to spend as much time with her as i can, i even bring her to my cousins house which has another female guinea pig that she gets along with, but they do get aggressive once and a while and with her behavior, i dont think i will be bringing her there any time soon

i guess my only choice is to wait it out and hopefully she settles down =T

 

[Julesie]

Could you maybe get a hairless guinea pig? I'm not sure exactly how allergies help but that might work?

The reason she gets 'aggressive' with the other guinea pig is not because she is being aggressive but because they are trying to work out dominance if I am right. But as they are not staying together, I'm sure she's probably getting mixed messages.

I'm not a guinea pig expert though so I hope someone can advice you better.

 

[maxima423]

Could you maybe get a hairless guinea pig? I'm not sure exactly how allergies help but that might work?

The reason she gets 'aggressive' with the other guinea pig is not because she is being aggressive but because they are trying to work out dominance if I am right. But as they are not staying together, I'm sure she's probably getting mixed messages.

I'm not a guinea pig expert though so I hope someone can advice you better.

yea thats a no can do, the other guinea pig was a short haired and it was the same, my mom started getting rashes and sneezing like a mad woman, so another guinea pig is a no can do =[ i can deal with her behavior, i was just wondering why it was happening, it all makes sense so i am okay with her behavior