bite?

[krnxliljguy]

Do guinea pigs bite? i'm trying to get a guinea pig for the first time and i had two hamsters. both of them kept biting me everytime i tried to touch one, or even put my hand in the cage. all my friends hamsters were so nice. are guinea pigs the same? plz respond quickly!

 

[CavySpirit]

No. As a rule, guinea pigs don't bite.

 

[cinn&sprinslave]

Most guinea pigs will not bite, but naturaly if you stick your fingers up to their mouth they will assume your finger is a carrot and take a nibble. Sometimes guinea pigs will bite if they have mites (a parasite) because they are in pain. But they usually don't bite, and if they do definantly not as much as hamsters. I have ten guinea pigs and not one has bit me ever. Oh and can not get 'one' guinea pig, you need to adopt (not buy from a pet store) two guinea pigs because they are social animals and need to have a same sex cage mate (or neutered).

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

Yeah, what they said! lol But to add to it, hamsters bite out of fear, not agression, just like most other animals! And the reason they are more apt to bite (in my oppinion) is because they are territorial. I have noticed that if you can scoop them up out of their cage with a hidey house or something other than you hand, and then 'pour' them into your hand they wont (9 times out of 10) won't nite you. They are just scared. And it'll take a few weeks for them to get used to you and then you can pick them up from their cage. That's all my experiance.

 

[Piglet]

Do guinea pigs bite? i'm trying to get a guinea pig for the first time and i had two hamsters. both of them kept biting me everytime i tried to touch one, or even put my hand in the cage. all my friends hamsters were so nice. are guinea pigs the same? plz respond quickly!

Don't get one piggy, you need to get more than one

 

[Loveheart]

i had 10guinea pigs they never bit me, also i just want to say hamsters shouldnt bite you if you keep interacting with them everyday my hamster bit me once as it was very old and just wanted to sleep.

 

[AngelsCavies]

I have 14 piggers and they dont bite unless they are really scared or hurt. They all like to nibble my fingers because where I work at they smell food and think that they are getting some. I work at Subway and I get veggies for free at work except for carrots I buy them.

 

[alhadie]

Guinea pigs rarely bite unless they are hurt or severely scared. Their instinct is more to flee than fight. Fighting is a last chance I'm gonna get really hurt if I don't reaction from them. Mostly anyway but I have had 1 agressive abby in my life that bit me just cause he got really mad at having his toenails trimmed. Having gps all my life and dozens of them that is the only time I've been bit for any reason. They do like to lick your fingers and occasionally get too rough and pinch you but it's accidental and they learn as they get older that this hurts. It usually requires some severe mishandling to cause a gp to bite.

Hamsters though are more territorial and have more a fight reaction so bites from them are more common. They will try to flee first unless defending their territory but they are more apt to try to bite/fight to get you to back off long enough for them to get away. A well socialized and well bred hamster should not bite unless improperly handled.

 

[mncavylover]

See www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm. You need TWO pigs, and please adopt them!

 

[tashagurl]

The only time Ive been bitten is when the pig I was handleing was terrified because my house so loud and when I stuck my hand in between two fighting boys. That was the worst. Other than that all my pigs are gentel as could be.

 

[RubyPiggie2]

Tashagirl I know how you feel about sticking your hand in between two fighting boys! It really hurts!
I'm so happy guinea pigs don't usually bite.

 

[mncavylover]

I guess you learned your lesson then, huh? You should use a dustpan next time.

 

[loves2travel]

none of my friends' piggies bite. the only time they ever bit her was when they had mites.

 

[Denise]

A friend of my two daughters had a pig that bit and drew blood all the time so they got rid of him, however, in his defense, they did so many things wrong with his care and keeping that I don't blame him! My girls never bite unless you put your finger in their mouth!

 

[loves2travel]

aaaaw, Denise, i feel bad for that poor piggy. hopefully you were able to correct them for next time.

 

[Guinea pig guy]

No, guinea pigs will not normally bite.If they do bite it is usually done by a young boar around 4 to 10 months living on his own. He will do this to test his limits and because he wants to do his own thing.this is a guinea pig showing dominance.A dominent guinea pig will bite because it thinks that it is the boss and who are you to try and make it do something it does not want to do.They will usually stop biting if you blow them in the face,and if you blow them after every bite they will soon stop.another reason why you should keep a pair of guinea pigs.Other than this reason cavies will not bite,unless their trying to tell you they need to urinate and you are not listening,than they might give you a little nibble.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

My first piggy bit when I intially got her. But I say that not to scare you but to let you know that if it happens, there's a reason. For my girl it was really stubborn mites and since we've gotten those under control, the biting has pretty much faded away for the most part. She is such a darling pig now and it has so been worth it to have her!

 

[RubyPiggie2]

I guess you learned your lesson then, huh? You should use a dustpan next time.

LOL, mncavylover, I sure did! I totally forgot about the dustpan that day hehe!

 

[mncavylover]

Yep, I'm sure you won't again! They're really dangerous when they fight--you're lucky they didn't slice too deep. =)