Possibly the nastiest piggy ever

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hann65

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I know i keep asking everyone for advice as opposed to giving it but something rather nasty has come up.
I have my two boys seperate as they fought but they can still see each other and are constantly rumbling through the bars. This its self i know is not a horrid thing just asserting dominance from a distance.. However Sidney one of them is just so horrible, he never comes out from his house only to eat when i give him some food. Whenever i pick him up he wriggles and bites and rumbles at me! I put his straight down. I generally pick him up with food in my hand (some yummy veg) so he associates me with nice things but its not working. Tonite however i picked him up and i got the amightiest bite, he drew blood! =( i didnt creep up on him i spoke to him for a little while as i usually do. Thing is nails are getting long so it wont be long before i have to cut them and he'll hate me even more. Its so odd as his bro loves a cudde with his mum. (plus Sidney managed to climb the divide in the cage this am and woke me up trying to kill his brother! What a racket and wounds to be looked after...never knew guinea were such good climbers!)
Can anybody help with tips to make him like me and be a happier boy! Id be distraught if he was unhappy where he lives!
 
Some piggies just don't want to be cuddled, some love it & others put up with it.
It may be that having his brother next to him is upsetting him, can you house them separately & see how he is?

I had a pair of brothers & one would have a go at the other if he got a whiff of other boys. They started off living next to another pair, divided by mesh then i put a solid divider in but this wasn't much better as the dominant one would sit sniffing the bottom of the divider.
In the end i had hutches built underneath & it worked, i just couldn't let them out for run time after the other boys as this would set him off again rolleyes
 
Another aspect is did anything happen to him before you got him? This could be why he is agressive. I have a boar called Twinkle who is gorgeous, I love him so much and he is very trusting of me but he doesn't like Peter.

As Niki said I would try and house seperatly until he calms down, he will gain your trust it may take time. I've a little fella here called Logan and he is taking a while to settle in but I know it will come. Keep trying with him and wear gloves when handling him.

I know it isn't ideal either but I use a bowl for Twinkle to step into then I can lift him up into a plastic washing basket for a cuddle. He is probably terrified that is why he is biting but it does get better, nobody could be more ASBO than Twinkle when we got him but he has gotten so much better.

Good luck with him! Little monkey! x
 
Minty was a fantastic biter! Garry and Minty were only 12 weeks old when I got them and I'm not sure what had happened to in the six weeks they'd been gone from the pet shop. I have my suspicions though that they were mishandled or mistreated and that is why they are as they are.

Minty was terrified when he first got here but once he'd got over that stage, he turned into a little biting machine! Despite doing all the right calming things, he'd even sink his teeth in in his cage (and believe me, I have the scars to prove it!). It became so bad that I became reluctant to pick him up. He'd bite at any given opportunity like his life depended on it...it's a good job I've got a high pain threshold!

I decided to persevere though and took some advice from the forum. I'd pick him up and sit down with him immediately so that he felt more secure. When he bit me, blood or not, I didn't put him straight back down again so that he learnt that biting didn't mean he'd get his own way. He used to hate being stroked or touched at all, but over time that got better too and he's now an affectionate piggy (especially when he knows you've got food!). He still squeals blue murder when you go to pick him up, but I think that's just the drama queen in him!rolleyes

He will still nip at my forearms but he's slowly coming out of that habit as he realises it does him no good. In fact I think he quite enjoys a cuddle now. It's taken about 12 months, but it seems to be paying off...I saw him popcorn this morning which is a rare thing!


P.S. Forgot to mention, we went through the gloves stage...not gardening gloves for us...oven mitts...they're thicker!
 
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Thank you everyone!
Based on what everyone said i have bought another cage for Sidney. I dont think the space they have at the moment is enough and i do think that away from each other they will much happier.
I will perservere with Sid and he will become a cuddly pig one day!
As i know guineas are not fans of being alone what do people think of having them neutered and getting them a couple of rescued girlfriends? I know Austin would love it but I'm unsure, is it still a little too early for my grumpy Sid to have friends?
 
My Timmy was a lot like Minty and I basically did exactly the same thing and he is so much better now! It takes time, paienc and a bit of pain but it is worth it. Timmy isnt a cuddly pig, he still doesnt like lap time but he always comes to me for a head scratch or a chin rub!
 
My lilly used to hate come in for cuddles she is a very unsociable guinea pig she just likes to be on her own most of the time she is happy with that and her dourghter poppy is happy with that to she just leaves her to do her own thing

she dose like her cuddles a bit more now tho
 
My Connie will sit and be cuddled for hours. If she was allowed, she would live on my lap. Eliza however, is a figiter and will only sit still for about 5 minutes before she gets restless and wants to run off and play. Pigs have different personalities. Eliza will also prefer to sit on my shoulder than she does my lap. I have never been bitten by a pig but by the looks of their teeth, I do not wish too. All the best with your boys xx
 
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