Female Guinea Pig Licking/nibbling Private Parts

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weirdodanger

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hi, I recently purchased two females, Leia and Girl (her name is literally Girl) and I’ve noticed that Leia is licking or nibbling her privates, they both have their little spot in their cage and Leia, about every minute, just looks down and I’m not sure if she’s just licking or she’s using her teeth, but it’s quiet alarming. I’m still in the bonding stage with both of them, so I don’t want to cause them unnecessary stress. Do you guys think it’s some form of medical thing or just behavior. Thanks all.
 
How old are your girls? Guinea pigs do clean themselves down there so it's normal to see them doing that sort of action. But if it's almost constant or more frequent then you would like I would advise seeing a vet. It could be nothing or perhaps something minor like mites or fungal which a vet can give you the appropriate treatment for. Chewing/nibbling in a certain area extensively could also be an indication of pain which is why I would seek a vet to be safe. My boys clean themselves down there also but it isn't a frequent occurence during the day.
 
Hello and welcome.
I agree with @Jesse's pigs - this could just. E normal cleaning but if you are concerned that it’s more than normal cleaning see a vet.
It would be lovely to see pics and hear how things go.
 
It's likely she's eating poos, which is normal. Of my 5 pigs some do it far more than others, often taken around 3 poos in quick succession and eating them.

Whilst piggies do groom themselves I've never noticed any of mine doing that much before.
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
It's likely she's eating poos, which is normal. Of my 5 pigs some do it far more than others, often taken around 3 poos in quick succession and eating them.

Whilst piggies do groom themselves I've never noticed any of mine doing that much before.
Click to expand...

WOW that idea didn't even come into my head! Lol. That could be indeed the case :)
 
Like others have said, if that's all she's doing then it sound like normal guinea pig behavior. Guinea pigs have two different poos. One is the fairly solid brown to black pills you see constantly. The other is a bit softer and green, which the piggie usually immediately snatches from its anus and reingests. They do this to gain additional nutrients from their food they can't get in the initial pass through their digestive system. It's rare to actually see this poo, but if your piggie looks like its biting its rear end that's likely what it's doing. It's healthy behavior.

It should be noted that if a piggie is eating non-cecotropic poop (the brown to black pills you usually see) or if it is following another pig around trying to eat out of its friends' anus, that is *not* normal behavior and an indication of very serious digestive issues. A guinea pig acting like that should be taken to the vet immediately. My Milo did that, and within a month he had died in spite of the best efforts of my vet and me.
 
Jesse's pigs said:
How old are your girls? Guinea pigs do clean themselves down there so it's normal to see them doing that sort of action. But if it's almost constant or more frequent then you would like I would advise seeing a vet. It could be nothing or perhaps something minor like mites or fungal which a vet can give you the appropriate treatment for. Chewing/nibbling in a certain area extensively could also be an indication of pain which is why I would seek a vet to be safe. My boys clean themselves down there also but it isn't a frequent occurence during the day.
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I took them today, and the vet said she was just eating her poo and it was frequent because she’s digesting a bit weird, because they’re still getting used to their new environment. They’re both about one and a half years old by the way.

Merab's Slave said:
Hello and welcome.
I agree with @Jesse's pigs - this could just. E normal cleaning but if you are concerned that it’s more than normal cleaning see a vet.
It would be lovely to see pics and hear how things go.
Click to expand...

Just eating her poo and it’s frequent because she’s pooping a lot.



Cavy Kung-Fu said:
It's likely she's eating poos, which is normal. Of my 5 pigs some do it far more than others, often taken around 3 poos in quick succession and eating them.

Whilst piggies do groom themselves I've never noticed any of mine doing that much before.
Click to expand...

Took both to the vet, you were right. She’s just doing it more frequently at the moment.

PerceptorII said:
Like others have said, if that's all she's doing then it sound like normal guinea pig behavior. Guinea pigs have two different poos. One is the fairly solid brown to black pills you see constantly. The other is a bit softer and green, which the piggie usually immediately snatches from its anus and reingests. They do this to gain additional nutrients from their food they can't get in the initial pass through their digestive system. It's rare to actually see this poo, but if your piggie looks like its biting its rear end that's likely what it's doing. It's healthy behavior.

It should be noted that if a piggie is eating non-cecotropic poop (the brown to black pills you usually see) or if it is following another pig around trying to eat out of its friends' anus, that is *not* normal behavior and an indication of very serious digestive issues. A guinea pig acting like that should be taken to the vet immediately. My Milo did that, and within a month he had died in spite of the best efforts of my vet and me.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info about this. :)
 
Good to hear a vet confirm that it really is normal "eatey-poo" behavior. We can't actually look at your piggie so we can't be completely reliable for any diagnosis.
 
PerceptorII said:
Good to hear a vet confirm that it really is normal "eatey-poo" behavior. We can't actually look at your piggie so we can't be completely reliable for any diagnosis.
Click to expand...

I wasnt going to be relying anyway, i just wanted to know if anyone else had this behavior, if it was normal behavior. :)
 
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