My Pig Bites Everything?

Xojulialeeox

Xojulialeeox

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi!
My boar, named Boo, is a friendly pig. He comes up to me when i approach his cage, lets me pet him, lays down in my lap occasionally, etc. However, he bites everything! If i pet him for more than about 10 seconds, he will bite. When i have him out for lap time, he will take my shirt/pants in his mouth and tug on it. If he is in my arms, he will bite my arm. If he is on my bed, he will tug at my blanket or towel.
I would attribute it to being young and curious, however he is roughly 7-8 months now.
He really is a sweetheart, but he just has this constant biting habit. I have tried immediately putting him back in his cage after biting, but to no avail.
Could this just be his way of getting to know his surroundings? Or is it a behavioral problem? He has never seemed to be in any pain, he is an extremely happy/active pig.
 
Tim said:
We too have a bitey piggy, it can sometimes be an indication of pain. We took him for a checkup and everything was fine, except for the bite on the vets hand :whistle::))
Click to expand...

Thank you for replying! My piggy doesn't seem to be in any pain, he is very happy and active. Possibly just a personality quirk? :hmm:
 
If any of my piggies has bitten my clothes it's always been because they want to go back, as a way of communicating. Usually it means my lot need to wee except Iggy who was having meds and wanted to get away from me so would bite what he could find :))
 
Some pigs do seem to like to chew on fabric- some of mine will pull at the blanket they are sitting on, and Hadley casually chewed several holes in my daughter's clothing while she wasn't really paying attention. This behavior did decrease with age. My solution was generally to put them on something that was okay for them to chew on (we have piggie lap blankets for this purpose.) Some pigs do apparently use it to communicate that they need to pee, but mine just seemed to enjoy chewing on fabric!
 
Lemmy is a bitey piggy too! He's just over 5 months old now, and we had him when he was almost 3 months old. Biting just seems to be his way of exploring things tbh. For example, if he's running about during floor time and your feet are in the vicinity while you're watching TV...he'll come up to you just to nibble on your toes. He doesn't bite hard, really, it's more of a mouthing (like a dog "biting" you during play time) but there's some pressure there. It can hurt, but nothing major and it depends where he nibbles. He's a happy, contented pig - he has everything he needs, he's been checked by the vet and there's no sign of pain or issues. He's happy to be stroked, less happy about being picked up, but will have lap time. He'll chew on your fingers as a way of saying hello even when you're not touching him and he's in his cage, so it can't be anything to do with pain. I think he just explores things with this mouth. He drew blood once, but only when he caught the thin skin between my thumb and forefinger. I don't think it was intentional at all, just an awkward spot to bite. His cagemate, on the other hand, does exactly the same thing but licks rather than bites. Fingers, toes...he'll come up to them just to lick them. I've noticed that Lemmy just enjoys chewing more than Django in general - his bedding, the wooden chews, the hideys, the stuffed toys. I think some pigs are just natural chewers!
 
My old boar used to bite to go back to his cage. Usually fabric but once my nose! He would also bite if he got scared, so in the early years that was quite often by the time he died he was very laid back and only bit fabric when he needed a wee.

My other boar nibbles, lick,lick bite, lick lick bite......bite bite bite, 'ouch' oops mummy, lick lick lick bite.

My elderly girlie who we just got is chew chew bite mmmmmm jeans yummy, mmmmm feet yummy, what do you mean ouch, sit still will you I can see threads poking out that I really must eat...... and she bites clothe she to go back.

I suspect that if the bite means I want to go back by putting them back they get what the want so will continue. I taught Dozy to bite clothes instead of me to go back.
 
Comet's a very "nice" biter...I think he panics when he realises he's bitten my fingers, even accidentally because accidents happen. But he's also so curious and he tests everything by nibbling on it. Blitzen, on the other hand...he's come a long way from where he used to be. He'd eat at my clothes (I don't mean pulling at them, he'd attempt to bite them apart), my skin, anything to get me to put him down. Even now, whereas Comet gets apologetic if he bites you by accident, woe betide your fingers if you're feeding Blitzen - he doesn't care if they get in the way. He'd eat your fingers first if they contained blueberries :)) and he still goes for the fingers of whoever is clipping his nails.

I doubt he'll ever stop biting properly, but age (he's over a year old now) has mellowed him considerably, for which my clothes and fingers are inherently thankful.
 
I've never really thought about it before, but my Little Dude is a big nibbler. I've never described it as biting because it's not sore, and I reckon, with those teeth, a bite would be a different story altogether. I see it more as exploration and communication. Sometimes it's about 'what does THAT taste like' and sometimes it's 'I really don't like getting my nails done/cuddles, would you put me down now please?'
 
Here's a really useful thread all about biting. " Biting" And What You Can Do

We used to have one who was pretty nifty with her teeth. Her nickname for a while was "shark" but after following the piggy whispering guide she stopped biting unless VERY annoyed with us when she would reward us with a good nip.
 
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