Abi_nurse
Adult Guinea Pig
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2010
- Messages
- 4,544
- Reaction score
- 1,420
- Points
- 845
- Location
- Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
Bar biting.
This behaviour can be a challenge or piggie owners. Most of the time it can simply mean 'HURRY UP' As piggies will often do this behaviour whilst veggies or pellets are being readied for feeding time. Many owners will put up with it, and may consider it cute, but it can be disruptive and in some cases it can result in broken front teeth.
If the behaviour is around feeding time and you want to try to reduce them bar biting then it is best to prepare the food firstly. Then you need to wait for your piggie to stop bar chewing and step away from the edge and then feed them a piece of food. By waiting until they have stopped you are rewarding them for not chewing. If you have several piggies who do it it may be that you have to wait patiently for all of them to stop before actually feeding. Don't leave the food too close by as pigs will smell it and it will only exacerbate the behaviour. Continue the above every single time it's feeding time and you should see results.
If a piggie is chewing to get to another it may mean they want to be in the pen with them, want their food, or want to fight. Males (particularly unneutered) will often desperately try to chew the bars to get nearer females. If this is the case move them much much further away as it will be causing distress to the boar having sows housed next door. Boars must wait 6 weeks after neutering surgery to be allowed in with sows.
If bar biting is happening at random times of day or you are seeing the hutch being chewed excessively and it is not associated with other piggies or food times it may be that they are bored. It may be even as simple as they have too smaller space, a common problem with pet shop bought cages and hutches. If boredom is the case, try to provide your piggies with more enrichment into their enclosure. This could include adding more hay for natural foraging behaviours, giving plenty of hides, toilet rolls to chew and hide food into, tunnels, beds, wooden chews, platforms and archways, hanging parrot toys, fleece forests, cosies, living herbs/edible plants, more vegetable/herb/wild weed variety in their diet, ensuring they have a companion, giving them floor and/or grass time outside (when weather permits) spending more time with them and/or giving more space/a bigger enclosure.
This behaviour can be a challenge or piggie owners. Most of the time it can simply mean 'HURRY UP' As piggies will often do this behaviour whilst veggies or pellets are being readied for feeding time. Many owners will put up with it, and may consider it cute, but it can be disruptive and in some cases it can result in broken front teeth.
If the behaviour is around feeding time and you want to try to reduce them bar biting then it is best to prepare the food firstly. Then you need to wait for your piggie to stop bar chewing and step away from the edge and then feed them a piece of food. By waiting until they have stopped you are rewarding them for not chewing. If you have several piggies who do it it may be that you have to wait patiently for all of them to stop before actually feeding. Don't leave the food too close by as pigs will smell it and it will only exacerbate the behaviour. Continue the above every single time it's feeding time and you should see results.
If a piggie is chewing to get to another it may mean they want to be in the pen with them, want their food, or want to fight. Males (particularly unneutered) will often desperately try to chew the bars to get nearer females. If this is the case move them much much further away as it will be causing distress to the boar having sows housed next door. Boars must wait 6 weeks after neutering surgery to be allowed in with sows.
If bar biting is happening at random times of day or you are seeing the hutch being chewed excessively and it is not associated with other piggies or food times it may be that they are bored. It may be even as simple as they have too smaller space, a common problem with pet shop bought cages and hutches. If boredom is the case, try to provide your piggies with more enrichment into their enclosure. This could include adding more hay for natural foraging behaviours, giving plenty of hides, toilet rolls to chew and hide food into, tunnels, beds, wooden chews, platforms and archways, hanging parrot toys, fleece forests, cosies, living herbs/edible plants, more vegetable/herb/wild weed variety in their diet, ensuring they have a companion, giving them floor and/or grass time outside (when weather permits) spending more time with them and/or giving more space/a bigger enclosure.