Guinea pigs are a favorite pick for a kid’s pet. After all, they have a reputation for being adorable little furry friends. Furthermore, they are least known for their aggressiveness. Guinea pigs are also popular because they don’t cost much. In fact, you can buy one from a pet store for only $40-$60.
However, even gentle beings like guinea pigs may snap at your kid once in a while. That’s why it’s important to know how you and your child should handle a biting furry ball. Read on and find out how to prevent those ugly bites!
Causes For Aggression
Let’s first get down to the root of your guinea pig’s unusual behavior. As said earlier, the furry bundles of joy rarely get mad. The few instances when they do so include:
- They are testing for dominance.If you are taking care of two guinea pigs, there’s a chance that they’d fight for the alpha position. This life phase occurs when your pet reaches 3 to 18 months. If they become too edgy, the animals would end up fighting each other.
- They are agitated by the weather. A sudden rise in temperature may trigger an undesirable temper and frustration on your guinea pig.
- They are becoming too territorial. A guinea pig usually directs its aggression to another of its kind. However, your pet could also get hostile with you if it feels like you’re invading its territory.
- They are ill. A guinea pig may exhibit unusual behaviors if it’s sick.
Signs Of Aggression
How do you know if your guinea pig is already picking a fight with you or its cage mate? Since your pet could not talk, you’d have to pay attention to its behaviors. Some of the signs that your guinea pig is on to something are the following:
- Butt sniffing
- Butt dragging
- Butt nudging
- Chasing
- Mounting
- Nips or light bites
- Nose face-offs
- Posturing for an attack
- Raised hair on the back of the neck and along the spine (called hackles)
- Rumblestrutting
- Snorting
Teeth chattering (a little chatter indicates signal of dominance while a sustained one means anger, aggression or warning)
Wide yawning
Most of these behaviors mean that one or both of your guinea pigs are testing who’s more superior than the other. The movements and sounds would take a while, but in most cases, would eventually subside. If it escalates into a brawl, perform necessary measures.
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