Biting biting female

[paula hall]

ihave a 5 month old female when we take her old told hold her she bites is there any thing to do about this

 

[Hhbean]

Hi and welcome! Is there a specific spot that when you touch it she tries to bite or does she just bite no matter what? If it's a specific spot just avoid it because she just doesn't enjoy it or if it's on her rump she could have mites. I have one boy that if you scratch the nerve on his back he either naws on what ever is in front of him or will flip around and bite(down to the bone:yuck. I just avoid that spot as best as I can now! You should also make sure your fingers don't smell like food and keep them away from her mouth regardless. You say she is 5 months old, but how long has she been with you?

 

[Wildcavy]

Our intact female Aby was inclined to bite for the first several months we had her. I think part of it was her being young and an Aby; we got her at 10 days old when she was thrown out, so that I'm sure didn't help with trust issues.

A couple of things helped with us: one was training ourselves to learn about her behavior, and the other was simply her maturing. She is very different than our 3 American cavies. She is hyper and much smaller. She only likes about 10 minutes of lap time, at 7 months old, and she could only tolerate about 3-4 minutes when she was little. We learned that she would change her chutting to a purr to a fast DUT DHUT when she was done, and then she licks once, and then she bites. So the key was to respect her limits and put her down for floor time or back in her pen.

She also needs a lot more floor time, play things, and a bigger pen then her fellow piggies. I think like a hyper dog she just needs to be able to burn off energy or it gets pent up and she nips. Also, she is very sensitive about the hair in her rosettes -- she will nip if you try to brush against the grain or anywhere below her shoulders. She loves chin rubs and if you gently rub in between her ears (on top of head). She doesn't like to poo or pee during laptime and gets frantic if she has to (whereas the others will pee or poo anywhere). I've only been nipped a couple of times in the past month, and that was when I didn't respond fast enough to her warnings.

The other thing is just that she is older and a tiny bit calmer. Though I can tell when she is in heat because she goes nuts if you touch her at all during that time.

None of them like being picked up.

 

[bpatters]

Is she scratching a lot? She may have mites, and pigs with mites really don't like to be touched -- it's painful for them.

 

[paula hall]

shes been with us as a baby so about 4 months its when she sitting in our lab she just truns and bites sometimes she draws blood

 

[paula hall]

she does a little bit but not much how can you tell if she does have mites