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Biting Abyssinian

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Nutty_Noo

Nutty_Noo

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Hi all

Our Abyssinian is a bit of a biter. She's our first Guinea Pig and I never read anything about them biting before I got her, however since having this problem with her I bought a copy of Guinea Pig Magazine and in their article on Abyssinians they say it's a trait of the breed.

If you're holding her against your arm or chest or any open skin she'll try to bite at it. I always have to be careful and aware when I'm holding her, lest I get a painful nip. If I have a long sleeve or high necked jumper on she'll chew and pull at it. In addition sometimes when I go to stroke her she goes for my fingers. My partner has had the same problems.

She doesn't scratch so I don't think she has mites, she loves being tickled at the back of her head and purrs happily when we do that. She's a very well fed and well groomed piggy. She seems normal in all other behaviour and we haven't seen anything that has given us cause for concern, she seems happy and healthy.

Is there a way to teach her not to do this, does anyone have any tips? She's only about 4 months old and my partner seems to think she'll grow out of it, but it worries me.

thank you! xx
 
not sure whether she'll grow out of it as didn't know it was a trait, ours hasn't been biting at all and shes 7 months old, fingers crossed she never will!
 
Yeah I didn't know it was either until I read the article, hoping she grows out of it! I'm sure yours will be fine, in fact after they mentioned it in the article they also asked a breeder they were interviewing, and she says that she has never seen her Abyssinians bite so I don't know who is correct and who isn't.

actually though if you have an Abyssinian it's a good one to read as it's quite informative and the magazine is lovely too for cavy fans: www.guineapigmagazine.com
 
yea I've heard about the magazine and might order it today actually seeing as its payday and I'm no longer brassic
 
I'm not sure about how to stop biting, sorry. But I do want to say.
My two boys are Abyssinian and neither of them bite, though one of them does like to try and eat everything he can -except people unless their fingers are really covered in cucumber juice- so I don't think its a breed thing. I think it's probably just what some guinea pigs do and some dont.

Both of my sisters guinea pigs are little biters and neither are Abyssinian.
 
I have never seen a relation between biting and a breed, frankly, and I have had quite a few abys and aby crosses over the years. Only one aby cross of them was a biter, but she was very much a larger than life character and very traumatised when she came here, so I think it was more a character trait than a breed thing, frankly!

Some guinea pigs bite to express extreme displeasure at being handled. It is a either aggression based on fear, when they are not used to humans, and sometimes dominance behaviour when they want to try it on with their "slave". Then you have the greedy guts who go for good smelling fingers or those that bite you because they do not like a certain scent.

Shouting and slapping won't help. If it is dominance based, you can pick up the piggy GENTLY breathe into his face, saying no in firm, but quiet voice and put him back.

If it is fear based, I would recommend minimising the factors that cause the behaviour. Try to pick him up by training him to go into a padded shoe box with one short side cut off and a little treat placed in the back. You can cuddle him in there on your lap. Try gently to find out how and where he likes to be touched. He will hopefully get better once he knows the routine (which can take some time to establish) and has relaxed in his new home.
 
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I only have one piggie who is a serial biter and she's a smooth haired himalayan, then I have another identical himilayan who wouldn't hurt a fly! So I definately think it's a character rather than breed thing, hope you sort something out soon! Xx
 
I have an aby x, she doesn't bite but loves to lick ( piggy kisses) although my daughter has a smooth coated girl of 3yrs and her behaviour is exactly the same as how you describe your piggy's behaviour. She was like this when we got her at 12 weeks and she hasn't changed at all. She especially likes chewing on zips.
 
I too have an Aby and an Aby cross and of my five, these two are probably the easiest to handle and the happiest at being picked up and fussed. Marmite has never attempted to bite, even though i had to give her yucky medicine for the first four or five weeks she was with us.

I do have one nibbler, Pixel, who strangely seems to have developed this habit as she has got older (she's now about 15 months old). She is one of my smooth coated girls.
 
one of my girls is an abby and when I read this about them being biters I got a bit worried as the abby I had years before never bit me, none of my pigs did, even those who were not keen on being handled. I thought that maybe I got lucky and was concerened that my new girl will bite me, I am hoping now with the positive feedback that its not the norm for the breed.

Well I wont know till I have her here - although she didnt bite me when I held her last month
 
Behavior and breed really don't seem to be connected. I've had gentle piggies and biting piggies of many different breeds.
 
I have read not so much that abys are prone to biting, but that abys are 'high strung.' The aby that we owned (Frenzy) was a very sweet girl and never bit, but she was definitely a very wired individual- she always looked on edge. I seldom saw her lay down, and quite honestly NEVER saw her sleep! However, I do think it's probably more of an individual thing than a breed specific thing... especially when you bear in mind that a lot of abys aren't 'pure' abys and a lot of non-aby pigs probably have some aby genes somewhere in their background!

One thing with abys is that they don't like their fur patted against the direction of growth. This is sometimes hard because their fur grows in different directions! My kids use to try to pat Frenzy down the length of her back and although she never bit she would 'purr' at them and was obviously irritated by it. I used to have to remind them to only pat her up by her neck and shoulders, where they weren't ruffling her fur the wrong way. She was much happier that way!
 
My aby cross Spike is the most laid back piggy! lol
He loves his fuss and cuddles but he will nip you if you don't put him down quick enough when he needs a wee. I think it's very much about their character rather than their breed. He just knows it's going to get him what he wants! lol
 
Freela said:
I have read not so much that abys are prone to biting, but that abys are 'high strung.' The aby that we owned (Frenzy) was a very sweet girl and never bit, but she was definitely a very wired individual- she always looked on edge. I seldom saw her lay down, and quite honestly NEVER saw her sleep! However, I do think it's probably more of an individual thing than a breed specific thing... especially when you bear in mind that a lot of abys aren't 'pure' abys and a lot of non-aby pigs probably have some aby genes somewhere in their background!

One thing with abys is that they don't like their fur patted against the direction of growth. This is sometimes hard because their fur grows in different directions! My kids use to try to pat Frenzy down the length of her back and although she never bit she would 'purr' at them and was obviously irritated by it. I used to have to remind them to only pat her up by her neck and shoulders, where they weren't ruffling her fur the wrong way. She was much happier that way!
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The behaviour you have described above is pretty much exactly the way our Aby, Peanut, is. She's always been a bit of a mad thing and I was wondering why I never saw her sleep, even when she's with me on the couch and is comfortable she never lets her guard down. She does seem a bit wired, though I was just putting it down to her being a little cocky!

It seems to have got a bit worse since we got our new short-haired/English, Nibbler. I think it might be that Peanut is now asserting her dominance, because when you go to stroke or pick up Nibbler, Peanut will dash over to "supervise" and will try to nip you. I thought maybe it was a jealousy thing, having had Peanut on her own for 2 months before getting Nibbler, however when you move towards Peanut to stroke her she'll still try to nip you. I can't win! lol

Pepperdog: One thing I have realised from this thread is that the biting is probably not an Aby trait, but more dependent on certain characters. Freela described above highly strung behaviour but doesn't mention any biting. Some other users have said they've had other breeds that have been biters, in fact most people describe their Aby's as well-behaved. So I wouldn't worry. I've had another look at the Guinea Pig Magazine and in their article "A is for Abyssinians" they ask a breeder about it and she says "Their characters are like no other breed of Guinea Pig. A lot of people class them as biters, but I've yet to be bitten, and I've been keeping them for four years. Other breeders I know who've been keeping Aby's for decades still don't know why they have been given the reputation as biters, but it's all a myth." I think I was just worried because my Aby is a biter so to me in seemed like their reputation could be correct, but having spoken to others on this forum I now think it're more likely to be a character thing.
 
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