Biting when being held or outside of the pen usually means the pig wants back in right now - the first light bite is a warning and it can escalate from there. Basically the first bite means back in the pen! Usually they want back in because they need to pee or poo and they really don't want to do it on you - holding it in is terribly uncomfortable.
Is he comfortable being touched normally? If so then mites isn't likely but still possible.
Does he have a friend? If not an adopted friend might help mellow him out. Often pigs are a lot more calm in themself if they know they have a pig to talk to. Companionship is the most important thing for a herd animal.
He's happy to be petted, ruffled, cuddle and what-not - he's been checked for mites and is clear. He has a companion, Mim is sort of the opposite to him, she never bites but does lick.
I initially thought that he was telling me he wanted to go back in the cage but that type of bite seems to be more of a nip, the ones where he suddenly chomps down on my ear/finger/knuckle/arm don't seem to mean anything.
It's been suggested to me that he's going through puberty and that the biting me is a dominance thing. It sort of makes sense, he goes through phases of what I like to call "Pig-zilla" where he stomps around the cage, destroying things.
It could well be his puberty talking, I only have girls, but I'm told that boys can turn into monsters! Puberty lasts until around 18-24 months, after that he should become a cuddle monster again.
Hopefully a boar expert will know more than me, you could try asking on guinea_pigs too :)
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Is he comfortable being touched normally? If so then mites isn't likely but still possible.
Does he have a friend? If not an adopted friend might help mellow him out. Often pigs are a lot more calm in themself if they know they have a pig to talk to. Companionship is the most important thing for a herd animal.
Check out these sites if you haven't already:
http://www.guinealynx.info/
http://www.cavyspirit.com/
http://www.guineapigcages.com/
:)
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I initially thought that he was telling me he wanted to go back in the cage but that type of bite seems to be more of a nip, the ones where he suddenly chomps down on my ear/finger/knuckle/arm don't seem to mean anything.
It's been suggested to me that he's going through puberty and that the biting me is a dominance thing. It sort of makes sense, he goes through phases of what I like to call "Pig-zilla" where he stomps around the cage, destroying things.
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Hopefully a boar expert will know more than me, you could try asking on guinea_pigs too :)
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