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Behavior Nibbling/Licking/Sucking each other's ears

Kelly9

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Flower and Mouse are 6-ish weeks old now and getting along pretty well with Flickers. I have noticed that Flickers will nibble or lick the babies' ears and then Flower will do the same to Flicker later on. The pigs seem fine when the ear is being sucked on, but of course, it ends with a nibble. I am sure there is no real sucking, but their ears are in the other's mouth.
 

bpatters

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Umm... I'd keep an eye on that. One of the less pleasant behaviors of stressed guinea pigs is chewing another guinea pig's ears. I don't know that that's what yours are doing, but as far as I know, ear sucking isn't a common guinea pig behavior. If you notice any actual chewing, or find any traces of blood or scarring on the ears, then you should take a look at their living conditions -- space, arrangement, etc.
 

Melissa123

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Perhaps they are cleaning each other?? Never have seen my piggies do this.
 

pinky

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Bonded pairs often groom one another. I see my pairs clean each others ears a lot. Sometimes it looks like they're nibbling but I think they're just doing a thorough cleaning job. I also see them lick eyes and their fur.
 

Piggie love

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Well, I'm not quite sure if you'd call that a completely normal behavior, but it certainly is for my piggies. my piggie Sugar just had her babies last week (thank god she is all right, that was NOT on purpose and i was so worried about her) and she is always cleaning her babies, and one thing i see her do all the time is suck on the babies ears. she licks them, then sticks her nose in the ear, and starts licking again, and then sucks the tip a little bit again. then she moves on to the rest of the baby and continues cleaning. it is rather funny to watch, and she isn't doing it aggressively. and even Sugar's sister, Spice who shares the cage even cleans Sugar and the babies this way. I'm not saying what your piggies are doing isn't aggressive, all piggies are different, but in the case of my piggies, they are always kissing and licking each other, including the ears. just make sure your piggies aren't hurting each other, they might just be being lovey and sweet to each other :)
 

Kelly9

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I would love it if it was lovey and sweet cleaning behavior. They have a 2 x 7 with L-shaped loft 1 x 3. The food is upstairs. I need to make the top larger, but the bottom is fine for them. They haven't found individual spots on the bottom where they can rest (or the top for that matter). A couple of hideys don't even get used. I will change those around perhaps and see what will happen.
 

Piggie love

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I hope it's sweet behavior too. I know my boys eventually got mad at each other and needed to be separated before any damage was done. the girls do fine together though, and i haven't had any problems with them recently (although sometimes they want their space to themselves) but kissing/nibbling/licking just seems to be a part of my girls normal routine. (now one thing i have noticed is that my girls get jealous if they don't get enough attention from me) I hope everything works out well with your piggies, I think they will be fine together as long as they all get plenty of love and attention :)
 
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