Why Does Your Guinea Pig Bite And What You Can Do About It

Guinea pigs have really bad eyesight therefore their main source of identification is their mouth.Guinea pigs make great pets because of their calm and docile nature, guinea pigs rarely ever bite without any particular cause. If you see your adorable guinea pig nibbling at your fingers all of a sudden, there is no cause to start worrying as guinea pigs are safe enough to be left alone with small children and do not cause harm and there is relatively no risk.Guinea pigs are also known as cavy or domestic cavy and are the most intelligent and playful rodents. These animals also live relatively long and therefore are popular pets all over the world amongst people who are looking for a small pet that does not take up much space. A small nibble here and there is common with rodents but if your guinea pig starts biting aggressively then it could be a sign that something is not right and you should take some necessary actions. Here are some of the things that you need to know about guinea pigs and their bites.Afterward, do read about why do guinea pigs squeak and how big do guinea pigs get?Are guinea pig bites dangerous?Guinea pigs are small rodents who are sweet and gentle in nature, these favored pets are rarely known to bite, and even if these animals do, their bites are more playful than harmful and shouldn’t cause you any injury.Guinea pigs are small creatures and have little strength therefore unless your guinea pig is extremely angry or scared it won’t bite hard enough to cause you any harm or inflict pain. A guinea pig does not have a bite strong enough to break the skin and draw any blood, although under some circumstances when the guinea pig feels threatened and scared it can show signs of aggression in self-defense. If the bite is strong and you see blood, you should visit your doctor to get a tetanus shot if you haven’t had a tetanus vaccination in the last ten years.Tiny pets like guinea pigs and hamsters do not have rabies and therefore you will not get infected from them. There is no need to be afraid of getting a major disease from a guinea pig bite. You may however need to consult a doctor if the bite is close to any major artery in your body. You must also clean the wound with an antiseptic wipe to make sure that the germs that have been transferred in the bite, do not get into your bloodstream.When a guinea pig bites, what does it mean?Like any other pet, guinea pigs have their reasons to bite, since guinea pig species cannot talk and verbally explain themselves, they nibble at your finger to let you know about their needs and feelings.Guinea pigs are tiny creatures and their mouth is their main source of communication and gesturing. If you see your guinea pig nibbling or biting at your finger then there might be something wrong with it or your guinea pig is trying to convey a message to you. Some of the common reasons behind the nibbling are:It could be scaredA guinea pig-like most animals would use its teeth when faced with a threat of any kind, if the guinea pig feels threatened, deprived, or held in a tight space it may start biting due to extreme panic and self-defense to inflict injury. This could happen in the early days of adoption before the guinea pig starts gradually adjusting to its new home.It could be under stressYes, you read that right, guinea pigs too can feel a lot of stress, and just like humans, guinea pigs have a tendency to snap under pressure. A guinea pig can get stressed very easily when faced with unwanted changes in its cage, environment, food or when it is feeling lonely. Guinea pigs are also not a huge fan of loud noises and resort to biting in a noisy environment in order to show their discontentment.TerritorialityMale guinea pigs like to mark their territory to assert dominance and as a move to lure their female partner in for mating. This is especially true for the guinea pigs that are unneutered, if they see you as invading their territory they might get threatened and perceive you as a nemesis who wants to steal their mating partner. The guinea pig would bite you as a warning telling you to stay away to assert dominance.Mistaking you for foodGuinea pigs are greedy eaters and they also have bad vision, therefore their only way to explore food and check if something is edible or not is through their mouth, if your hands’ smell of food that you just had, chances are that your pet guinea pig would also like a taste.Pain and IllnessA guinea pig might start biting to indicate that it is hurt and is in agony and needs care. Some illnesses can also make them easily irritable and they may bite you as an indication to leave them alone.Is it good if your guinea pig bites you?Your guinea pig might catch a bad habit of biting without any cause, this may be because of several reasons, but it isn’t necessarily a good thing. Guinea pig owners have to teach their pets to stop biting.Guinea pigs might start biting after they’ve observed that by biting they can get their own way, for example, if you pick your guinea pig up when it wants to play it might bite you, and if you let it go it will do it again the next time it wants to be alone. To understand your guinea pig you have to follow some steps.Always handle your cavy with intense care, in order to create a healthy relationship with your pet, you must understand that guinea pigs are sensitive creatures and they too have their likes and dislikes, you must try to understand your pet personally and try to act accordingly.Make sure that you are very gentle while picking your cavy up, rough handling can scare your pet and make it see you as a threat, this will not only affect bonding but could also make your guinea pig bite as a way of self-defense.Always ensure that you wash your hands before coming close to your cavy, this is because guinea pigs have an incredible sense of smell and they can smell food or danger from far away. If your cavy smells any food on your hands that you might have just eaten, it could mistake your finger to be food due to its terrible eyesight, or if you have another big pet like a cat or a dog, the smell of those animals on you can also threaten a cavy, and it might start biting in self-defense.Never physically hurt your pet if it bites, this can create a negative feeling in them towards you and as a result, they may become stressed which will lead to more biting.Make sure that your tiny pet has a lot of space to run about, these tiny rodents look small and can fit in tiny cages, but they are runners and require a lot of space to play and run, the absence of which can lead to increased stress.Do guinea pigs bite hurt?Now that we have learned about the reasons guinea pigs bite and what can we do to help make a better environment for them, you may be wondering if guinea pig bites induce a lot of pain and if they are safe to be left alone with small children?Guinea pigs are small rodents with teeth made to nibble on grass and hay, their bites are usually playful and are more tickling than painful. After a while, you may start to enjoy the little nibbles which sometimes can be a way for your cavy to express love and playfulness, but under stress or fright your guinea pig might bite hard enough to draw blood, these bites are meant to cause harm and they can be quite painful. The extent of pain differs from person to person depending upon their tolerance of pain since some people are more sensitive to pain than others. Most people feel a sharp pain when bitten by an angry guinea pig but such cases are rare. Be sure to wash the wound on the skin and refer to a doctor for further treatment.Can you get a disease from a guinea pig bite?Animal bites can be a cause of concern especially for children because animal bites often transfer germs, bacteria, infection, and diseases into the human bloodstream. Guinea pigs are the most common pet animal preferred for kids therefore it is very important to make sure that any diseases cannot be spread to humans through their bite.Unlike any wild animal, guinea pigs bites do not spread rabies-like other large pets such as dogs and cats therefore, if your guinea pig bites you, there is no need to worry about the possibility of getting rabies. However, if you see any bleeding from the bite then it would be wise to get a tetanus shot if you have not been vaccinated in the last ten years. You may also want to take some antibiotics to make sure that no bacteria is introduced into the bloodstream.What to do if your guinea pig bites you and it bleeds?Guinea pigs can inflict some damage if they are angry or extremely scared. Sometimes their bites can draw blood, therefore you must know how to deal with this behavior and how to act in such a situation.If you see that the bite has started bleeding, do not panic and apply gentle pressure to the skin to stop the blood. If the area of the bite is near any major artery of your body, then you must visit the doctor as soon as possible to make sure that no big damage is caused. If the pain is unbearable then you might want to take a painkiller to ease the pain. Usually, the bite is not serious and there is little risk of you having to rush to the doctor. Here is how you can treat a cavy bite at home:Put direct pressure over the affected area by pressing cloth or gauge directly over the wound, this will help to stop the bleeding to some extent.Carefully clean the wound with an antiseptic liquid or wash the wound completely under running water to remove any germs on the skin. Doing this straight the way will prevent germs from getting into the wound and will prevent infection.Use an antibiotic ointment on the wound every day until it heals to avoid infection.If you see that the wound is getting worse in terms of redness and swelling, visit your nearest doctor as soon as possible.How to treat a guinea pig bite?A guinea pig bite is fairly easy to treat as there is not much damage that the tiny creature can inflict, most bites are just a means to communicate and do not need any medical attention if there is no blood.To understand your cavy, it is important to differentiate between a nibble and a strong bite. Guinea pigs like to nibble at the fingers of their owners and they can sometimes do this to show their affection. However, if your pet bites you forcefully then it might be due to fear. Small baby guinea pigs have less force in them and therefore cannot inflict a lot of pain but an adult guinea pig can bite hard enough to draw blood, in which case you should see a doctor.How to teach a guinea pig not to bite?Guinea pigs are intelligent and sensible pets just like cats and dogs and therefore can be trained quite easily. If your cavy starts biting all of a sudden and makes this a habit, then you will have to train your cavy to stop biting. Here are some of the things that you can do to teach your guinea not to bite.Do not try to poke your guinea pig when it is angry by sticking your finger in its cage.Properly clean your hands before picking your cavy up in order to prevent your cavy from mistaking your finger for food.Do not try to hurt your cavy in order to teach it to not bite, this will make it bite even more and affect your relationship negatively. Instead, you should try to put it in its cage without any food for some time as a sort of timeout in order to improve its behavior through negative reinforcement.Do not try to feed your guinea pig any treats or food right after it has tried to bite you as this would only encourage this unwanted behavior in the future.Make sure that your cavy has enough toys to chew on so that it does not bite its cage or your fingers. Guinea pigs love nibbling on grass and other plants and their teeth have been built that way, if they don’t have anything to bite on they will resort to biting other things like their cage or their owner’s hands.You must ensure that your guinea pig is not locked up in its tiny cage and gets enough space to run around and exercise. Guinea pigs might look like small creatures that do not require much space to live but they love to run around and can get depressed in small and compact places, which might lead to the guinea pig biting its owner.Try to avoid putting your guinea pig in a situation that scares it, for example, if your cavy is scared of loud noises then you should avoid loud noises or playing loud music around it.If your guinea pig is suffering from a skin condition like mites or fleas it is better to not pick it up as chances are that it might be uncomfortable due to the itching caused by the mites.  Take your guinea pig to the vet to get it treated and make sure that it is not uncomfortable.Reward their good behavior as a method of positive reinforcement. You can give your cavy its favorite food or treats as a reward for his good behavior.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for guinea pig bite then why not take a look at how long do guinea pigs live, or guinea pig facts.

Guinea pigs have really bad eyesight therefore their main source of identification is their mouth.