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AmysAnimals · 10-05-2008, 11:42 AM

When Oscar went to the vet he got a completely clean bill of health. Hes mite-free, lice-free etc. He doesnt mine being touched (his body), even when we are walking around, just as long as I am sure to keep my fingers out from infront of his face. The vet accredits his behaviors to lack of socialization when he was a baby. Our vet is one of the best exotic vets in the area and owns many guinea pigs himself so hopefully hes right when he says Oscar will grow out of this phase. Oscar lived in bad situations during the first 4 months of his life until he came to the rescue where he stayed for 8 months. I had taken some time to talk to the rescue and find out about his background. As I suspected, he was owned both times by women which could be why he was initially squrimy for the three women in the household but not the men.

Since Oscar enjoys laptime as long as I am sitting down, I theorized that sometime during his youth, he was dropped which caused him to be scared of heights. This would obviously increase his biting whenever I am holding him and not sitting since I am 5'11".

As far as the teeth grinding, since we can rule out any health problems since he was just to the vet, sometimes I think its more of an attitude problem. The reason I think this is because he grinds his teeth whenever I let other people hold him. He is always in his cuddle cup and held closely so proper handling isnt really the issue as far as I can tell. I'd like to think he is just a mama's boy and it ticks him off that I would dare let other people hold him.

I intend to start trying all the different tips that everyone gave me (thanks by the way!) as well as watch his behavior to see if certain situations increase his biting. Hopefully I can come to some conclusion. I suppose its possible that he just bites because my fingers get in his way when we are walking around (he likes to look all over the place to see where we are going) but you would think a pig afraid of heights wouldnt want to see how high up he really is. So far, Oscar is a big mystery to me but one that Im more than willing to figure out.

Thanks again everyone for all your advice! Hopefully I can get to the bottom if this.

10-05-2008, 11:42 AM	#13 (permalink)
AmysAnimals Member AmysAnimals is offline Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 389	Re: Biting Pig When Oscar went to the vet he got a completely clean bill of health. Hes mite-free, lice-free etc. He doesnt mine being touched (his body), even when we are walking around, just as long as I am sure to keep my fingers out from infront of his face. The vet accredits his behaviors to lack of socialization when he was a baby. Our vet is one of the best exotic vets in the area and owns many guinea pigs himself so hopefully hes right when he says Oscar will grow out of this phase. Oscar lived in bad situations during the first 4 months of his life until he came to the rescue where he stayed for 8 months. I had taken some time to talk to the rescue and find out about his background. As I suspected, he was owned both times by women which could be why he was initially squrimy for the three women in the household but not the men. Since Oscar enjoys laptime as long as I am sitting down, I theorized that sometime during his youth, he was dropped which caused him to be scared of heights. This would obviously increase his biting whenever I am holding him and not sitting since I am 5'11". As far as the teeth grinding, since we can rule out any health problems since he was just to the vet, sometimes I think its more of an attitude problem. The reason I think this is because he grinds his teeth whenever I let other people hold him. He is always in his cuddle cup and held closely so proper handling isnt really the issue as far as I can tell. I'd like to think he is just a mama's boy and it ticks him off that I would dare let other people hold him. I intend to start trying all the different tips that everyone gave me (thanks by the way!) as well as watch his behavior to see if certain situations increase his biting. Hopefully I can come to some conclusion. I suppose its possible that he just bites because my fingers get in his way when we are walking around (he likes to look all over the place to see where we are going) but you would think a pig afraid of heights wouldnt want to see how high up he really is. So far, Oscar is a big mystery to me but one that Im more than willing to figure out. Thanks again everyone for all your advice! Hopefully I can get to the bottom if this.