My guinea pig wont stop chewing on his cage bars..help plz!!!!!

Question

I have a 3 month old male guinea pig.

I just bought him a little over a week ago, he has chew toys and a good amount of vitamin C.

My concern is though; even though he has three or four chewing sticks in his cage..he still chews on the bars sometimes and I don't know why!

I've been tapping his nose very lightly and gently but firmly saying "No"!

I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas or tips that I could use?

I can't understand why!

Answer 1

get those bars that have electricity pulsating through them. The first time will be a surprise but he wont do it again. If he doesn't learn from it, then he'll just die. But its a risk we all have to take.

Answer 2

all the guinea pigs i have  ever had do that when they get excited, want attention or food i think its to get you to understand they want you to do something for them but idk????don;t d anything unless he's hurting himself. don't electify his cage thats cruel.

Answer 3

Ignore "former with two sets" .

It's very likely that he's bored. Have you been to guineapigcages.com ? If you have a pet store cage, it's too small. Period. Piggies need more space than any other small animal - enough space to freely run laps and popcorn without running into something. If the cage is too small, he can't do that and will get restless.

Chew toys, if they're those skinny little dyed sticks, really don't do much. You need a log, or a wooden hay container, to relieve their chewing instincts. Guinea Pigs and rabbits simply need somthing they can chew that won't move when they chew it - they don't hold things with their paws like hamsters and gerbils. A log is ideal (again, this goes back to the cage being big enough), Aspen being the best type of wood.

Just a quick check - he has unlimited, good quality hay, right? Hay is extremely important to pigs, and this will also relieve boredom.

If all of this fails, you should not tap his nose for punishment. Instead, blow lightly in his face and say "no". Like cats, piggies hate being blown at, and this teaches them very quickly. If you tap his nose, he may get frustrated and bite you, or soon learn to distrust and fear your hand.

Really, after all is said and done, is chewing the cage REALLY that big of a deal?

Answer 4

Ditto Kathryn and Justified.

Answer 5

They do this out of boredom or stress. It can get so bad that they accidentally damage or pull out their top incisors.

Please consider adopting your piggie a same-s*x friend from a local shelter or rescue.

http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm

Answer 6

There is really nothing wrong with your guinea pig "teething" on the cage.  Basically, they have to do this in order to keep their teeth from becoming to large for their mouths.  A guinea pig is among the rodent family and most rodents, including rabbits have to do this for the same reasons.

Try this link, below for some answers:  

Answer 7

my rabbit does that 2 it files down there teeth

Answer 8

Get some bitter apple spray at your local pet store. If this doesn't work then try to take him out of the cage more often and play with him more.

Hope this helps! :)

Answer 9

Put lots of lemon juice on a paper towel and rub it thoroughly on the inside of the cages bars. They will not like the bitter sour taste of lemon and will likely give your chew stick a go.

And if that doesn't work, put cardboard through the inside of the bars and weave it in.

Answer 10

Im being very serious when i say this.

how often does your guinea pig have free range time around the house?

he should have at least 1 hour to move around freely with you supervising him. I think he is bored and lonely... the poor little thing. they really do need a piggy companion. Does he have straw available to him? he really should.

apart from that, it sounds like you really love him.

good luck