New girl is a biter

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redfrock

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I'm a bit concerned about our new girl Mango. Initally she was chewing the bars but only when she wanted my attention. I have sorted that one out. Her and Badger get their veg first and then the other 4 get theirs. However she appears to be a bit of a biter. My husband is very nervous about it as he was bitten very badly by one of our previous boars (who also had it in for his cage mate, my beloved Roman). Whereas the other girls will like and nibble, simply to see if we are edible, it would appear Mango would rather take a chunk out of us. She is on pregnancy watch so wondering if this would make her snappy? If it isn't that, can anyone give me any pointers on what to do? I don't want to be having to wear thick gloves when I need to pick her up :(
 
Biting can be due to fright or for reasons of dominance as well.

Tell her in a firm voice ( but not shouting) "No!". If that doesn't help, you can also blow your breath into her face.
 
Flumpet's a biter. She used to nibble at first which was sort of cute but she now gives a nasty nip and has drawn a teeny bit of blood from my thumb. I occasionally have little teeth marks on my skin as well. 8... However, this does seem to be getting a bit better. I also go for saying 'no' firmly and she seems respond to this for a short while. I also realised it was worse when I picked her up from the cage/ run which she really doesn't like so I now tend to get her to hop into her cozy to be picked up. Once she's on my lap I can pick her up more easily if I need to examine her. She also has a definite tolerance limit for being petted/ on my lap- when she's had enough she'll either bite me or throw a temper tantrum by throwing herself about in the cozy and biting the fabric- it's just like a toddler. I've learned the signs of when she's ready to go back in the run and live with the fact she's not much of a 'lap' pig. I don't want to impose myself on her. So I go for more frequent but shorter sessions so she's still used to being handled.
Hopefully your new girl will settle soon. :)
In regards to pregnancy my friend's guinea pig who was previously very placid started to lunge at him when she got to the later stage of pregnancy. I think she's been fine since she's had the babies. So if your girl is pregnant I guess it could be a factor.
 
Thanks Flips. That makes interesting reading. My husband actually ended up in A & E due to the severity of the previous bite. I've been waiting for my cosies from Hammocky Hammocks for quite a few weeks now, but am now going to order from one of the people off here. I must admit she was quite gentle for the first few days but has got significantly grumpier over the last few days. I will just have to work on her slowly. It was more that we wanted to be able to give her the once over
 
azura_maemi said:
Oh no! Mango what are you playing at!?
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I know hon! Its a real worry :(. Am hoping she is just taking after me and has bad PMT LOL! Seriously though, she seems intent on causing an injury. Hopefully she'll get used to us. She has been through a lot in her short life
 
My cozies came from Pollie (threelittlepigs). I have the XL size which give Flumpet plenty of room to move about it/ hide during lap time. I recommend the quality of these and she profit goes to a rescue.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=44634

It could be that your sow is in season? Flumpet suffers badly with pre/ during/ post season tension, lol. She's a terrible grump for 2-3 days every couple of weeks and is lucky that Delilah puts up with her mardy ways. She's definitley more difficult to handle during this time.
You probably already know this as you've had pigs before/ a while but I've only recently learned (from a 9 year old) the best way to pick up my pigs to give them the once over. Put your thumb under the pig's left armpit cup your hand around their back, placing your middle finger under the other armpit, this leaves your first finger free to support the back of the head. You can then turn her over whilst supporting her bottom with your other hand. Your fingers should be tucked out of teeth's way. Delilah will stay calm like this for quite some time whilst I check her out. If Flumpet's in an ameniable mood she'll lay still in my hands for up to a minute whilst I do the necessary.
 
Wiebke said:
Biting can be due to fright or for reasons of dominance as well.

Tell her in a firm voice ( but not shouting) "No!". If that doesn't help, you can also blow your breath into her face.
Click to expand...

I found saying no whilst gently placing my finger on his nose and holding it there for a second did the trick with a serious biter. I think he thought it was a game but it worked, it got to the point I only had to point at him and say no and he realised.
 
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