strange behavior

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angel3115

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We just got a guinea pig a little over 2 weeks ago, and I'm starting to become concerned. He'll make high pitched squeals when no one is around him. I'll talk to him soothingly, and stick a finger in his cage so he can sniff and nibble on it.

His nibbling is becoming a problem now too. We considered it affection and let it go even though it pinched. But now he's breaking skin! I had him on my lap a minute ago and was typing. He reached up and grabbed a little skin and I had to pry him off! No blood yet, but his nipping harder is concerning me too. What do I do?
 
Your guinea pig is lonely and needs a friend. The best thing you can do for him is to take him to a rescue were he can choose his own friend. He sounds like he is grooming you. You should not stick your finger in his cage as he will think it is okay to chew on!
 
Your piggy is very lonely and unhappy. If possible, get him a same sex friend, ideally from a rescue that allows you to bring him, so he can choose who he wants to get on with. guinea pigs are herd animals and not wired to be on their own. If in doubt about the sex, you are welcome to post a picture of the privates in our pregnancy section which is monitored by some very experienced rescue people.
http://www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html

Where are you located, so we may be able to give you recommendations?
 
Alternatively, you could neuter him and get him a female companion to avoid male domination issues (a long an complicated story that you can read about in a lot of posts here). There are great and stable male/male pairs but it's not always possible/easy.

The squeeking you're hearing is called "wheeking". It's most often a cry for something (attention, food, affection).

Also, two weeks is very early for you to be picking him up and putting him on your lap while you work. Guinea pigs must be given time to settle at their own pace. Things must be taken slowly and patiently with them.

There are stages to go through before you can pick them up. Feeding them by hand, followed by feeding them by hand and gently petting them, followed by just gently petting them, followed by trying to pick them up and giving them a treat. If you're picking him up, you should give him a treat when you do so this is positive association (try a piece of cucumber, romain lettuce or grass).

Finally, as above, your guinea pig will never be happy on his own. No matter how strong a bond between owner and piggy (and there are some very affectionate and close bonds formed) this can never be enough for a guinea pig. They are social and (most importantly) vocally communicative animals. They have at least 12 distinguishable calls which only another guinea pig can answer.

The very best thing you can do for your guinea pig is to get him a friend, be it another male (boar) or a female (sow) - after neutering of course. There are also things like cage size, feeders, water etc. that you will need to think about if you get another piggy but there's loads of help and advice here for that too.

We are all here to try to help you with any concerns or questions and a lot of members know pretty much everything there is to know and are really nice. Don't be shy in asking any question no matter what it is :)
 
I agree with what the others have said.
You have more or less 'taught' your piggy to nibble your finger by putting it in the cage and allowing him to do it.

You could consider getting him a snuggle sack if he hasn't already got one and holding him while he's in it, that way he will feel safer.

Please get him a friend-guinea pigs need each other. I had a lone piggy years ago and now i have piggys living together I have seen the difference it makes.They are much happier and you will get more fun out of seeing the interaction between them than if there is one on their own.
 
I agree that he's calling out because he's lonely. The biting may also be him trying to tell you that he wants to get down and/or go to the toilet.

If you let us know where you are we can recommend a local rescue that should allow you to take your piggy along to find a friend. Bonding will more likely be successful if done this way.
 
Shellza said:
I agree that he's calling out because he's lonely. The biting may also be him trying to tell you that he wants to get down and/or go to the toilet.

If you let us know where you are we can recommend a local rescue that should allow you to take your piggy along to find a friend. Bonding will more likely be successful if done this way.
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I would definitely recommend going to a rescue that offers a "dating" service. Especially if you are going to get another male. It will help you match up your piggy to a compatible friend more easily.
 
We had a feeling he might be lonely. We've been talking about getting another, but yeah, the whole male/male thing is intimidating. We had issues with male rats tearing each other a new one.

I live on Somerset, PA and I don't know of any rescues around here.
 
angel3115 said:
We had a feeling he might be lonely. We've been talking about getting another, but yeah, the whole male/male thing is intimidating. We had issues with male rats tearing each other a new one.

I live on Somerset, PA and I don't know of any rescues around here.
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I don't know about that. Have a look at the rescue and rehoming section and maybe post there if you're looking.

We started with two boars aged about 10 weeks. They were fine until they hit adolescence and then it became a real nightmare. That's our experience. There are plenty of people who have really stable and well-bonded male pairs but, really, it's entirely down to the boars in question and there's pretty much nothing you can do to affect the outcome of their relationship.

Essentially, there must be one dominant pig and the other has to submit. If neither is willing to be submissive, then you get a problem and will end up with two lonely boars instead of one. We had our boars in separate cage for over a year. Their behaviour slowly worsened, they demanded attention and affection and, although they have strong bonds with us and were fairly happy, they were clearly lonely. We've only had our two sows for three weeks now but already the difference is huge. They changed dramatically almost overnight and they're really happy right now.

I'm not going to deter you from a male/male pair because they can work and work really well. It will of course spare you having to neuter your boar too (that was a pretty horendous experience for me, not really for them tbh).

The thing to do would definitely be to try to find a shelter/rescue near you and then ask them if they do a dating/introductory service.

I'm sure if you post in the rescue/rehoming section here, someone will know a rescue fairly close to you
 
It does depend on the personality of your pig regarding putting another boar with him.
We have been very lucky with out boars. First we had snowball who was a very laid back Alpacca. We got him a friend (a boar) called Cookie and from the start they had a lovely relationship. Unfortunately Snowball passed away and Cookie became lonely so we got Dougie a very laid back Peruvian. We were nervous but again as with Snowball they got on from the start. I think it's because Cookie s also very laid back-he lets Dougie take food out of his mouth!
I have heard that Peruvians are laid back so perhaps you could see if any rescues have any.

It was totally different with our girls. We had two sisters and for weeks they squabbled all the time-pecking at each other until they squealed. Things did improve but they improved even more when we got a 3rd girl. They both loved her and their squabbling stopped. It could be because they were 7mths old and having a baby brought their mothering instincts out.
 
Amysmom said:
It does depend on the personality of your pig regarding putting another boar with him.
We have been very lucky with out boars. First we had snowball who was a very laid back Alpacca. We got him a friend (a boar) called Cookie and from the start they had a lovely relationship. Unfortunately Snowball passed away and Cookie became lonely so we got Dougie a very laid back Peruvian. We were nervous but again as with Snowball they got on from the start. I think it's because Cookie s also very laid back-he lets Dougie take food out of his mouth!
I have heard that Peruvians are laid back so perhaps you could see if any rescues have any.

It was totally different with our girls. We had two sisters and for weeks they squabbled all the time-pecking at each other until they squealed. Things did improve but they improved even more when we got a 3rd girl. They both loved her and their squabbling stopped. It could be because they were 7mths old and having a baby brought their mothering instincts out.
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Wow - sow dynamics are sooo complex. But it's absolutely true. Boars will get on or not depending on their personalities and not much else. I'm jealous that your boars were able to get on so well. Our two basically hate each other :( Caramel is a completely differnet piggy now that he's got a lady frined though. Biscuit and his lady friend are taking a little longer to bond.
 
I think we are just really lucky that Cookie is a lovely easy going boy :)

I wonder though if it's to do with the age of the piggy?
Snowball was older, Cookie was a baby when we introduced him.
When we introduced a new mate to Cookie after Snowball died he was 9mths old and we introduced a baby. Could age be a factor on whether it will work out?
 
Amysmom said:
I think we are just really lucky that Cookie is a lovely easy going boy :)

I wonder though if it's to do with the age of the piggy?
Snowball was older, Cookie was a baby when we introduced him.
When we introduced a new mate to Cookie after Snowball died he was 9mths old and we introduced a baby. Could age be a factor on whether it will work out?
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It's possible. I'm sure it's easier if only one of the boars is going to through adolescence rather than both at the same time. In addition, I have read extensively that older boars tend to be more accepting of young boars and can become quite paternal. I also read that it helps to rub the older boar's poops on the younger boar...

I suppose it's like with us - two stroppy teenagers will just go at it but an adult will just shrug off the hormonal stroppiness of a teenager :)
 
I did manage to find one. I haven't been able to get a hold of them yet, but we'll see *crosses fingers* The one we have now is younger I think. I don't think he's full grown. We didn't think to ask. He's only like 7" long.
 
angel3115 said:
I did manage to find one. I haven't been able to get a hold of them yet, but we'll see *crosses fingers* The one we have now is younger I think. I don't think he's full grown. We didn't think to ask. He's only like 7" long.
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It's very difficult to age a guinea pig. They vary so massively in shape and size that, if you don't know from the owner or seller, then there's no real way of knowing.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can find a suitable companion for your little guy :)
 
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