Aggression Food - begging/aggressive

elf222 · Jun 5, 2014

Elvis has been with us for 4 months now and lately he has gotten really aggressive about food. In the beginning, my husband or son fed him some veggies around 6am and I would give him some more at around 5pm. The begging (wheeking) in the afternoon began to get out of control earlier in the day so his "dinner" is now more like 3-4pm. The begging begins anytime after 1pm if he hears a plastic bag rustle in the kitchen. Tonight I came into the kitchen at around 4 after being outside and he saw me and started screeching so I got his plate ready. He was up against the bars, as close to the kitchen as he could get (he is in the dining room next door - there is an open doorway between so he can see me if I'm at the sink) gnawing on the metal. I opened the door of his cage and I swear he almost jumped out to get to the plate. It was kind of scary, actually. Is this normal? What can I do to calm him down about dinner. His general personality is actually pretty mellow. He loves being petted and when he does floor time he is playful and always hangs out in one general area of the room, never runs or acts aggressive in any other way. I sometimes hand feed him a piece of cherry tomato mid-day or evening and he takes it very gently from my hand, not scary in any way.

I will add that he lives in a 2x3 C&C (by "door" I mean I have one grid that I can swing open and shut.) He has plenty of unlimited Oxbow hay which he LOVES. He also has Oxbow pellets all day. (I know they aren't supposed to have unlimited pellets but he barely eats pellets so I just keep the dish full. He eats less than 1/8 cup per day for sure.) Elvis is a huge boar, age 1. I don't know his weight but for instance when I bought him a crinkle tunnel I had to buy the "chinchilla" size bc now way would he fit through the guinea pig size. I don't think he's overweight though -- just big boned

Any advice is appreciated.

Princess_Piggie · Jun 5, 2014

Honestly, it sounds like he's starting to open up and become a true guinea pig. Mine were much more 'polite' and quiet for the first few months, now, pretty much any number of things can set off the wheeking. It won't stop unless I make a loud noise, because I refuse to give in and just feed them whenever they see fit. They're pigs, so they'll make you feel like they're starving, even if they've just eaten.

I'd stick to the times that work for you, and ignore his wheeks (not easy, I know!).

Also bear in mind that wheeking can sometimes be to get attention, he may just want a snuggle. Try giving him cuddles whenever he wheeks so he might learn that wheek = cuddle, not wheek = food.

bpatters · Jun 5, 2014

This is aggressive? Sounds like totally normal guinea pig behavior to me.

Rywen · Jun 5, 2014

Ferb is that aggressive, mine wheek any time of day and night when they hear any of their trigger sounds. Lately it's me flushing the downstairs toilet (b/c they know I'm going to walk right through the kitchen, I guess?). I'll stop and give him a head rub if it's not veggie time.

elf222 · Jun 5, 2014

Princess_Piggie said:
Also bear in mind that wheeking can sometimes be to get attention, he may just want a snuggle. Try giving him cuddles whenever he wheeks so he might learn that wheek = cuddle, not wheek = food.

That is a good point. He is definitely wheeking for food bc he does it whenever he hears the plastic bags. But actually the other day when he did it I went in and sat with him for a while and sang to him and he seemed to really like that so I will definitely try some attention instead. Going to get him now for some lap time.

prettynyguen · Jun 5, 2014

my guineas wheek whenever i open the crisper, use a plastic bag, or even pour water in the sink (i rinse their veggies before meal times). i don't give in otherwise they'll have trained me to serve them whenever they squeal. i feed them their pellets and refresh their hay in the morning, later in the afternoon i give them half their veggies, and then the other half in the evening. they are well fed, but they would try to convince anyone they were starving because they are little piggies

elf222 · Jun 5, 2014

bpatters said:
This is aggressive? Sounds like totally normal guinea pig behavior to me.

Well I guess my only gp experience is Elvis and he hasn't been like this until recently. My daughter (4) wanted to feed him tonight so we opened the door and she got really scared bc he practically stormed the exit.

On a related note - I am concerned about his cage. It's a C&C that I made and it has no cover. I read that they don't climb and I know that lots of others here on this forum have open tops too -- but then I also read someone saying their male got out of his C&C to climb into a female's cage -- so sometimes they do climb? We have no other animals at home but could Elviss try to climb to get to our kitchen/veggies? I'm a bit worried. His cage is on our dining room table so it would be a big drop if he ever did scale the grid.

PiggleLove2013 · Jun 5, 2014

@elf222 that happens when there is a female in heat, but I doubt he would do it for veggies. Ask the experts though, like @bpatters.

pigger123 · Jun 5, 2014

Wheeking is definitely normal piggy behavior. Mine wheeks pretty much anytime I walk into the room she's in, and when she hears the fridge being opened and rustling from the kitchen. I just pet her and refuse to feed her until her set dinner time. Even though they can get quite excited, I doubt he would be desperate enough to climb over the side of the cage.

melynda · Jun 5, 2014

Rywen said:
Ferb is that aggressive, mine wheek any time of day and night when they hear any of their trigger sounds. Lately it's me flushing the downstairs toilet (b/c they know I'm going to walk right through the kitchen, I guess?). I'll stop and give him a head rub if it's not veggie time.

Omg that is Elliott and Poe's latest trigger too!! I don't know if it's because in the morning when I wake up I pee first and then feed them right after or what.

melynda · Jun 5, 2014

elf222 said:
Well I guess my only gp experience is Elvis and he hasn't been like this until recently. My daughter (4) wanted to feed him tonight so we opened the door and she got really scared bc he practically stormed the exit.

On a related note - I am concerned about his cage. It's a C&C that I made and it has no cover. I read that they don't climb and I know that lots of others here on this forum have open tops too -- but then I also read someone saying their male got out of his C&C to climb into a female's cage -- so sometimes they do climb? We have no other animals at home but could Elviss try to climb to get to our kitchen/veggies? I'm a bit worried. His cage is on our dining room table so it would be a big drop if he ever did scale the grid.

The wheeking is a happy pig who is comfortable enough around his humans to start bossing you around.

Boars have been known to climb out of their cages to get to females but if you don't have any sows it's unlikely he'll try it.
I saw you mention you don't know his weight. You should consider investing in a small kitchen scale (you can get them at Target or Bed Bath & Beyond for under $20 usually). Weighing Elvis weekly is an important way to keep an eye on his health - one of the first signs of illness can be weight loss and catching things early is important for guinea pigs.

PiggieWigglies · Jun 5, 2014

My pigs try to climb up the C&C cage bars whenever I walk into the room because of veggies. Its normal. Maybe splitting his veggie time into thirds, like 1/3 at breakfast, 1/3 at lunch, and 1/3 at dinner so he's not squeaking throughout the day because he finished his morning veg and now has to wait for dinner.

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