Afraid of being Bitten

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PatchesMom

Hey guys, as I am sure yall know I am new to owning G.P's and was wondering if any of you guys in your experiance have been bitten at all.. I'm like deathly afraid of this and was wondering if any one had any advice to help calm my nerves... And maybe tell me the behavior to look for to avoid being bit :-\
 
Ive got 4 guinea pigs and although they have bitten me once or twice each they never bite hard and def not hard enough to break the skin or hurt a lot. Normally they are licking (dont know why they all do it but they seem to love to lick everyones hands who picks them up!) and just get a bit overexcited and have a nibble. They normally get more of a shock than you do when they accidently bite!

Obviously i cant speak for every guinea pig but i bet most people who reply will tell you guinea piggies have rarely bitten them and you shouldnt be afraid to handle them.

Hope this helps!
 
Just be careful picking them up O0
I scoop up with hand under belly and one under the backside of the piggie O0
Sometimes they can accidentally nip you when eating out of your fingers but it's totally an accident and they do get a surprise like Si-o-mon said :o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D
The only time i've been bitten on the arm was by our Sully 0:) and that's cause i touched his butt ::) he hated that, so we learnt not to touch him in that area and he was happy :) :)
 
The only time I have been badly bitten where it broke the skin was when I was trying to cut Blossom's nails for the first time - I musta done something wrong or hurt her in some way because that just isn't in her nature. Other than that I have never been bitten - just nibbled on, which doesn't hurt and is very cute.
 
Mine have never bitten me. But when I had Boomer (Choccy) I was getting him some pellets and kept my hand on the cage as its a funny lid and he thought it was a carrot and had a munch but it didn't hurt! Ant McPumpkin done it the other day as well but that hurt a bit more! I'm not frightened of getting bitten if I do I do it's very rare for them to bite in a nasty way.

Even Twinkle who is a little unpredictable has never bitten me, he just wants you to stroke him. :)
 
The only time I've ever been bitten is when my finger was between Bonnie and a slice of cucumber.

Generally piggies don't bite unless they're in pain or distressed. Some pigs don't like to be touched in certain places (such as under the chin) and will snap at you if you do that (but not actually bite).
 
Neither of mine have bitten me, but when I first got them, Piggle (who is the more lively and explorative of the two) did nip my leg when I had her on my knee for our first 'lap time', I don't know whether she was just saying "watch it, i'm a bit nervous, don't try anything silly", or simply "where is my cucumber, is this it?" either way it didn't hurt, she didn't break the skin (I was wearing jeans though!) And I don't think it meant anything. It made me jump though! :o But I just carried on as if nothing had happened because I didn't want her to think that that was what she had to do to get what she wanted! :tickedoff: No biting since then! Just lovelyness all round! :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
 
I've been bitten (well nipped) when they thought I was food (smelt of it) and when I stupidly put my finger in between 2 fighting boars. I have found they they don't really tend to bite to be honest O0
 
Ok here is another question, why do they nudge your fingers off the top of their heads? I notice that my two do this alot.. I dont know what they mean by it but hopefully one of yall can tell me
 
my boss pig bob does it for attention ;D as if to say " oy mum, I'm here, give me a tickle now!" ::)
 
If mine nudge my hand or make a kind of chattering sound, I tend to leave them alone for a while as this generally means they want to be left alone. However, I have never been bitten (from guinea pigs anyway) O0
 
I've never been bitten by any piggy - Toddie will nibble if you put a finger near his mouth but that's about it :)
 
Garry and Benjamin will nibble if they want to go back to their cage or Benjamin will sometimes nibble my finger if I'm feeding him, but they don't bite hard.

Minty, on the other hand, is very different. I've always treated him the same way as the others, but he just doesn't like being touched. And I've got the scars to prove it! He will run over my arms if I lean in the cage when I've cleaned them out and he will lick my hands and arms. But try and pick him up and it's a different story! He's been to the vets and he doesn't have any health problems at all, I think he is simply a very sensitive piggy. The only way I can get him out of the cage is to get him into the tube and cover both ends with my hands. He'll quite happily spend floor time or time on the sofa with you, but you just can't get near him under your own terms - no way!

You shouldn't be afraid of handling a piggy - most of them aren't biters. But, if you do, then it's a case of respecting their personality!
 
Well tonight was the first time I have ever been nibbled on and I think it was because Patches smelt hay and was really hungry.. The minute she nibbled and felt me she looked up as if to say I'm sorry mom! I try to handle them a lot but I know animals can sense fear, and I'm afraid that if they sense it they will act on it... Patches has been with me the longest and she is very very skiddish, she wont l;et me stroke her and she runs around the cage when I try to pick her up.. Chewy, who I got yesterday just sits there and looks at me like " Oooo I love getting pets and has no problem getting picked up... Weird..
 
Absolutely! They're all different! I still need to chase Garry and Ben round the cage, but they love cuddles once I've got hold of them. Minty is fine, although for a while I felt guilty he wasn't getting as much contact as the others, but he seems happy with his rules!

It has been said that the fear thing is all myth. As long as you handle them securely and they feel safe when you pick them up, I'm sure you'll be fine! :)
 
Wendy bites but she has only ever broken the skin when we try to cut her nails, we are always very careful not to cut to short or hold her too tight but she just doesnt like the whole experience! When she bites normally it's just a nip and doent hurt at all. :)
 
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