browngold2
12-05-11, 10:04 PM
Hi,
I'm hoping that I can get some help with my guinea pig. This is the second one that I have ever owned, both of them abyssinian.
My current situation is with my 1 year old (13 mos to be exact) female abyssinian. She lives alone in her cage but is in the main area of the house and gets a lot of social interaction. Because of this I did not get her a cage mate. My former guinea pig was in the same situation and he did very well and was incredibly happy.
I got her when she was 4 months old and we have built a very strong bond together. She is the friendliest guinea pig I have ever met. She'll climb all over everyone and loves to come and talk to whomever is near the cage. The two of us are especially close (since I am her caretaker) and she wheets for me the hardest.
She has always been kind of a nibbler, a habit that I would like to break. It started with her tasting fingertips and the occasional clothing taste while you held her. She has been getting progressively worse and chews everything within sight, and chomps much harder. I have tried training her to no avail.
Lately she has gotten bad. When I hold her she will whip her head around and bite my nose. What's strange is that it doesn't seem aggressive as she is happily wheeting the whole time. I am wondering if she is confused, as I kiss her a lot (on the face). Is she mimicking? Recently she has started doing this to other people as well. I did not have this problem with my last guinea pig and at a loss for what to do.
Personality-wise, she is a very active guinea pig. She has a lot of energy and loves to run around and play. When I hold her she likes to climb up on my shoulders and is constantly trying to chew on my earrings, hair and ears (which hurts!). It's very confusing because she is not a mean guinea pig. She is treated very well and has all of her needs beyond met. I would prefer to not bring home a second guinea pig because she is already a handful and may not do well with competition.
What can I do to help her out? Is there something that I'm doing wrong? Feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
I'm hoping that I can get some help with my guinea pig. This is the second one that I have ever owned, both of them abyssinian.
My current situation is with my 1 year old (13 mos to be exact) female abyssinian. She lives alone in her cage but is in the main area of the house and gets a lot of social interaction. Because of this I did not get her a cage mate. My former guinea pig was in the same situation and he did very well and was incredibly happy.
I got her when she was 4 months old and we have built a very strong bond together. She is the friendliest guinea pig I have ever met. She'll climb all over everyone and loves to come and talk to whomever is near the cage. The two of us are especially close (since I am her caretaker) and she wheets for me the hardest.
She has always been kind of a nibbler, a habit that I would like to break. It started with her tasting fingertips and the occasional clothing taste while you held her. She has been getting progressively worse and chews everything within sight, and chomps much harder. I have tried training her to no avail.
Lately she has gotten bad. When I hold her she will whip her head around and bite my nose. What's strange is that it doesn't seem aggressive as she is happily wheeting the whole time. I am wondering if she is confused, as I kiss her a lot (on the face). Is she mimicking? Recently she has started doing this to other people as well. I did not have this problem with my last guinea pig and at a loss for what to do.
Personality-wise, she is a very active guinea pig. She has a lot of energy and loves to run around and play. When I hold her she likes to climb up on my shoulders and is constantly trying to chew on my earrings, hair and ears (which hurts!). It's very confusing because she is not a mean guinea pig. She is treated very well and has all of her needs beyond met. I would prefer to not bring home a second guinea pig because she is already a handful and may not do well with competition.
What can I do to help her out? Is there something that I'm doing wrong? Feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!