Why do my guinea pigs keep biting me?

FiaFlora

FiaFlora

Junior Guinea Pig
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Whenever it’s floor time I usually sit down with them and they just come up to me and start biting my hand. If my brother (who doesn’t take care of them) comes and sits with him they will never bite him. I take good care of them and I don’t think they have mites or anything like that. Do they just need more stuff to do during floor time? Why do they only bite me?
 
How bad are they biting you? Is it like a little nibble? My guess would be they're looking for food if you're the one who feeds them. Otherwise, I'm not so sure. Hopefully a more experienced user can answer your question :)
 
There is a guide to biting piggies under the title
Bonding Behaviour and Bereavement guides under the heading Guinea pig Guides at the top of the page.
 
I was going to say are they asking for food. If they are coming up to you it doesn't sound like fear or aggression. Nips can be quite hard but are their way of communicating that they want something, and they wouldn't try with your brother because he's not the provider. So it's a compliment really :-)
 
Are they biting or nibbling? My dominant will always come running over for a nibble because she is that assertive that she has to be first to any potential food in case she misses out :)) like others have said it's likely that it's because you are seen as the source of food
 
My dominant is very similar, he hasn’t nibbled/bitten me but he will always come for a sniff of my hands when I go to feed them, he won’t actually let me do anything else in their hutch until he has investigated me first but if anybody else goes to them, he doesn’t even really come out of his hidey.
 
FiaFlora said:
Whenever it’s floor time I usually sit down with them and they just come up to me and start biting my hand. If my brother (who doesn’t take care of them) comes and sits with him they will never bite him. I take good care of them and I don’t think they have mites or anything like that. Do they just need more stuff to do during floor time? Why do they only bite me?
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Hi!

Please take the time to read these two guides here. You may find them helpful. Use friendly contact, love, mild dominance (ear stroking) and more love to make friends with your piggies by piggy whispering (using guinea pig social behaviours and framing the issue in a way that it makes sense to them. You will find that creating a piggy group hierarchy with you at the top will take care of the problem. ;)
A number of forum members have done this and have been amazed just how simple and yet how effective piggy whispering is!

" Biting" And What You Can Do
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
 
Wiebke said:
A number of forum members have done this and have been amazed just how simple and yet how effective piggy whispering is!
Click to expand...
Piggy whispering is amazing. You feel a fool doing it but if nobody's around to see you does it matter? It's not silly if you're a piggy!
 
The piggy whispering works really well, especially the ear nibbling, stroking round the eyes, and chucking them under the chin when they get a bit uppity! Piggy daddy used to be terrified of mad Piggle after she bit his neck like a mad vampire pig but they are good friends now :)
 
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