My Guinea Pig is biting the bars on his cage and has broken some of his teeth from it. How do I stop him?

Question

My guinea pig has recently began chewing on the bars of his cage and has broken a few of his teeth due to it. I have put in numerous wooden chew toys, thinking that it was due to his natural instinct to chew, but he hasn't touched them.

What should I do to make him stop?

Answer 1

try some hard nuts (with shell on) .i think that will keep him from chewing the bars  

Answer 2

I would try giving him some sort of a hard treat or flavored wood bites to help keep his teeth filed down... the reason they nibble on bars is to file their teeth down to keep them at an appropriate level. If their teeth grow too much and they're unable to keep them filed properly it actually becomes very painful for the animal and can hinder their eating.

If all else fails, you can try rubbing lemon juice onto the bars. Citrus is bad for guinea pigs and hamsters, but in small doses (such as rubbing it onto the bars) it won't harm them. They instinctively know that the citrus is bad for them and generally won't get near it.

Good luck with him!

Answer 3

Guinea Pigs like to chew stuff because their teeth never stop growing. It keeps the growth down, but at pet stores the sell calcium bars for hamsters a guinea pigs, that should stop it, he should start chewing that instead of the bars.

Answer 4

Guinea Pigs chew on the bars because a. they want to wear their teeth down, b. they are bored, c. they want to get out of the cage.

I'd suggest making sure they have plenty of toys in their cage so that they don't resort to biting on the bars. Make sure they have lots of safe chew toys in there as well. Don't get any sort of wood chew, because most small animals don't really like chewing on those.

Also be sure to let him/her get out of his cage frequently to run around or just holding him. That way he won't be as bored with the cage.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Hey

my pig does that ,

but he has never broken a tooth :|

maybe you should put more food in the cadge so he can focuss on eating that other than the bars on his cadge.

but all guinea pigs have to do that to sharpen there teeth.

hope this helps.

peanuteandmeatballs x

Answer 6

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Answer 7

There are 2 common causes for cage biting in guinea pigs (and other rodents).

1) They need to gnaw. As their teeth constantly grow they need to do a lot of chewing to keep them worn down.

Many people think that guinea pigs need to chew on hard things like wood in order to keep teeth trimmed. This is false.

Guinea pigs are a grazing species - their teeth should be worn down by almost constant eating!

This is usually where the problem is - many people feed an inappropriate diet.

Guinea pigs should have grass hay (e.g. timothy hay) available in unlimited amounts, at all times. Quality pellets should be given in limietd amounts daily. If the pigs are eating too many pellets they will not eat enough hay. Piggies should also get a variety of fresh veggies daily.

Of course, as well as providing adequate hay, you can also provide your pigs with other things to chew as well, such as wood and cardboard. Many pigs completely ignore commercial chew toys though (mine lprefer to nibble on empty cardboard boxes and tubes).

Do not give nuts, seed sticks or mineral blocks - these are very unhealthy!

2) Boredom. If the guinea pig is bored and has nothing else to do, it may develop abnormal behaviours (which can include normal behaviours carried out in an abnormal way) such as chewing the bars.

Many guinea pis are kept in cages that are far too small (and boring!) so they can't actually do anything. The first thing to consider is whether your cage is actually big enough. The minimum size for a guinea pig cage is 7.5 - 8 sq feet of floor space (on one level). If you find you need a new cage get a c+c. They are cheaper than store bought cages and much better - you will be able to provide your pet with plenty of space!

Once you have a big enough cage you need to give your guinea pig the opportunity to express natural behaviours.

The first of these is another guinea pig. It sounds from your post like your piggie lives alone. As a social species guinea pigs need the company of their own kind. You could either adopt another male, or have him neutered then adopt him a female companion.

Every guinea pig should have a hidey where they can go to feel safe. A plastic igloo or other comercial "house" is fine, or you could use a large enough cardboard box.

Other good toys can include cozies, cuddle cups and hammocks, cardboard boxes and tubes, tunnels to run through, safe jingly cat toys, balls of screwed up newspaper, paper bags stuffed with hay or veggies.

Some toys get boring very quickly. You can help to maintain their novelty value by changing them regularly. So get a few more than you need and swap them around every time you clean out the cage.

You can also help to prevent boredom by giving your piggie more time out of his cage - both having cuddles, and "floor time" where he can explore in a safe room, or in a secure run on some untreated grass (supervised when outside!).

For more piggie info check out:

http://www.guinealynx.info/index.html

http://www.guineapigcages.com/

http://www.cavyspirit.com/