my piggies bite

`i have two guinea pigs and i have read that they RARELY bite,.. and
both my piggies have bitten my fingers . i thought my baby male was pretty cute
till he bit my finger really hard and made it bleed, ... am i making them angry or do they
just think my fingers are food.
??????

We have 7 guinea pigs and only one of ours doesn't bite , I can't tell you why they bite , but I think they all do !!

they all bite

Remember that guinea pigs are naturally prey animals, that is, other bigger animals hunt, catch and eat them in the wild. It is instinctive for guinea pigs to or find a corner when you try and pick them up, and if they bite, they might be defending themselves. Babies and guinea pigs that have been abused take a lot of time a patience to get them used to you picking them up. My guinea pigs do not bite, although one of them tries to nibble sometimes because she thinks I am food. However, when one of them was sick, she did bite and it was an indication to me that something was wong and I should take her to the vet. Maybe try a treat while they are on your lap so they associate you taking them out and holding them as something good.

Hi! I have two guinea pigs (that I unfortunately must give away), but neither of them has ever bitten anyone. They are several months old and I believe the reason they don't bite is that they have been handled so much since they were babies. Having been constantly picked up and handled, they are so used to humans, they don't mind being played with and never bite. Maybe I'm just lucky! Anyway, they actually belong to my college daughter and, her new school schedule is so rigorous, she no longer has time to take proper care of them. I already have a guinea pig, a ferret and three dogs, so I can't adopt them. If anyone is interested, please let me know. They MUST stay together as they really love each other. They come with a large cage and supplies. Thanks! Jennifer

I know have two guinea pigs. Rosie, the oldest I have had for about three years. She nibbles to let me know she loves me, or that I smell like food. (I like to think she loves me) But she has never drawn blood. However, I have had hamsters to draw blood. The first thing is to make sure that every movement is slow and steady. You could try gloves. Then make sure you warsh your hands before and after with nonperfumed soap. That way you don't smell like anything but you. Let them sniff you, just hold your hand up to their face, and hold it there. Make sure you pick them up by placing one hand under their belly and one on their back. Take them to the coach, chair, floor, ect, and sit down with them. Try to walk as little as possible. And relax. If these don't work, then I donno what to tell you. That is ever technice I have used on hamster gerbile guinea pig and even dog lol. I think if you just give it time, they will come to love you. Are both guinea pigs in the same cage. Could be a case of lonely piggys

I just adopted a female Baby Piggie Myself. She also was nipping . I thought it was normal being that she is a baby & puppies & kittens also nip.
Then the other day she but me really hard.. NOT CUTE. lol
I later found out that she had mites & she was frustrated with the itch & my hand was in the way Of where she wanted to bite. She's a good grl.. My 4 yr old plays with her all the time ( supervised) & she only nips him But mostly licks him Or trys to eat his hair

yeah i got my little american shorthair/calico when he was a baby, and i got him this little guinea pig cage but it was so small and since he is my girst gp, i didnt know it wasn't really appropriate, and i guess i he got really depressed. He holed up in his litle hideaway thing and when i tried to pet him and stuff he really bit me hard. i figured he must be bored and cramped, so i got him a realy simple expansion from wal-mart and he's ben happy and NOT biting anyone ever since! maybe that's it. and that is my guinea pig story! lol ~K~<3

Wow, I'm surprised to hear about all these bitey guinea pigs! My two are rescues from not-great situations, and they never bite. Maybe I just got lucky. But one thing that my husband and I did right away was build a three-story, 32-square foot cage. We got the idea from www.cavycages.com. They have plans and instructions on their site. It was pretty easy and cheap. They seem so happy, running up and down the ramps and playing all the time that maybe they don't feel like biting. Hope that helps.