Guinea Pig biting- breaking skin- mean?Help!

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Hi....so a bit of background that may or may not be important....
I got Kirby from a pet store, which i know now is a bad idea, around the middle to end of February. He was really sweet at first, but he had an upper respiratory infection. I took him to the vet got meds and he recovered within a couple of weeks. Kirby would gently bite a little when i first would hold him but I thought it was bc he needed to use the bathroom. Once he got better I made him a 4 by 3 cage, and he runs around my room for 20 min every day...usually longer. It has been months and he still bites me, but he bites hard, whenever he is being held. he has broken my skin at least six times, and he really got my fiancee good one time.....my fiancee won't even touch him anymore. Kirby also bites his cage all the time...he is very mischievous....always finding a way under his fleece or under the bed. But he seems happy- he popcorns A TON especially when he goes back into his cage from floor time. I just don't understand why he bites so much. i hand feed him and everything- why does he persist to bite me? He is such a spoiled piggie, why would he bite me so much? any advice would be appreciated. thanks!
 
he may think this is a game and that you are enjoying it to. One of my piggies bites me sometimes, but it is ususally just a nip and a little blood is drawn. Now if you receive a full blown guinea pig bite you wiill know Both sets of teeth lock onto whatever unfortunate part of your body was nearest at the time. I have been bitten badly on the leg and hands. Both bites were when there were two males in the room and one jumped on the other. I tried to seperate them which i have now learned the hard way not to do. I'm sure you piggy is just playing with you, but if you could maybe b low hard on him the next time he does it, or put him back in the cage. This may be enough to associate the guiea pig and the biting.
 
i don't know much that can help but always make sure your hands dont smell like fruit or veg,have a through vet check over just to see that that there are no underlying health problems i hope this helps xxxxx
 
I'm no expert, but perhaps when he bites you, you could put him in a box on his own for a few minutes. I guess that sounds mean but perhaps he will start associating biting with a negative outcome for him? I don't know if that's cruel though. Good luck anyway!
 
He obviously doesn't like being handled, as he is otherwise such a happy piggie!

I told my biter CALMLY "uh.uh." whenever she was tweaking Eventually, she only did it carefully when she had good reason...

Give him lots praise and a little treat afterward when he DOESN'T bite you. Unfortunately, "NO" doesn't work with piggies - but luckily, "YES" does, so by reinforcing positive behaviour you might have more success.
 
Hello. Just a suggestion or two - if he is happy to go home where he can hide, can he hide while he is out? Try giving him a hidey hole or two so that he can feel safer when out of the cage.

Also, use protection. Get some thick but flexible gloves and make sure they smell of you - wipe your hands over the outsides of them. Use them to pick him up. (And wear long sleeves) That way you can start to train him not to bite - because when he does bite you you shan't be cursing and screeching and reacting to the pain of it! Instead you can make sure that something happens he doesn't like, and be consistent. He will learn, piggies do.

When you cuddle him, again, give him a place to hide in and approach with fingers with great care. Some piggies just don't like to be stroked, but they do like to be swaddled and cuddled like that.

Best of luck, Sarah x
 
Minty used to bite because he doesn't particularly like being picked up or held (for reasons I'm not certain about, but I think he belonged to kids before me who maybe dropped him). For a while it put me off picking him up, but then I decided to persevere with him...and I have the scars to prove it! You need to show him that biting will get him nowhere - easier said than done I know! When Minty bit me, I just did nothing (a high pain threshold helps!) and carried on with what I was doing with him. When I got him out of the cage, I securely carried him to somewhere I could sit with him and put him on my lap where he felt fine. The biting mainly took place when he was being held. In the end we found a happy medium - I know that he feels insecure when he's 'in the air' and he knows that biting me will get him nowhere!
 
If the biting happens mainly while he is being picked up, you can train him to go into an upturned pigloo with the help of a treat, so he is only being touched with a gentle prod on the bum at most. It's worked well with my scratchy girls.

You can also use a towel on your lap and chest to sit him on and fold over him, so he feels snug with you. Once he is more relaxed about you, the biting should stop.

All the best - it will take a bit of time to sort him out; so be patient!
Vicky
 
Thanks to everyone....I have not tried to cuddle him for a couple weeks now, but he has his floor time and loves it- he never hides anywhere, he is such a weird piggy! not even in his box in his cage. I will start wearing thick gloves to pick him up and possibly try the blowing on him/timeout thing. has anyone else had any luck with either of these?
 
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