h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have never met an ill-tempered Cavvy. Anyone who somehow manages to get bitten by one deserves it quite well, and should be bitten regularly.

Being bitten by a guinea pig doesn´t necessarily mean they´re vicious. Nor does it mean one has ill-treated them or stroked them too hard. My own guinea pig, for instance, is very ticklish though you never know when or where. Sometimes, she won´t mind being stroked about the sides or under her chin, while at other times she will reward you with a good bite for it. I´ve been trying to find out the "system" of her ticklishness for those two years she´s been with me, unfortunately whithout any success.
Just like most other pets, guinea pigs are individuals and like or dislike one person or the other. Although I´m convinced my guinea pig likes me, I still sometimes get a bite off her. They´re probably in a bad mood every now and then, just like us.

Obviously she likes you very much. Thinks you are quite delicious, or so it would seem. I'm an unintentional mummy to 3 lovely pigs. Katie (momma), Fraidy Cat (sis), and Dipsy (bubby). My children begged for a guinea pig and I finally gave in. We bought tiny little girl, who about 2 months later gave birth to a boy and a girl. That was nearly 2 years ago, and the children have long since lost interest.
Does anyone really keep their cavies outdoors? I live in Ohio, and I assume they would never survive an Ohio winter, but I could have my hubby build them a run for the summer.

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We had one guinea pig that had a tendency to nip - we called her a vampig - but there was no malice it in, more a sort of innocent inquiry. "This thing looks carrot shaped, is it edible? No it taste wrong and screams"

Guinea pigs are fairly hardy: I have been told that damp is the main thing to avoid. All the ones we have had love grass and they are thrilled to be put out when the lawn is faily long and they can bury their noses in long grass. I made a run for ours which has a removable lid so the children (and I) can sit and play with the pigs.

Guinea pigs mistaken for HAMSTERS? Slander! Pigs are about 3 times the size and much more sturdy than hamsters. They have better faces, too, and much more character.
Both sets of guinea pigs we've had have spawned more: the first two we were assured were both female, but this turned out to be not true of one of them. The next two were both female, but pregnant when we bought them- we ended up with seven. (All went to people we know.)
I'm quite sad today as one of our guinea pigs, Melon, was killed last night. She liked to burrow under the decking in the garden and unfortunately found a cable to chew. (We didn't know she could get that far underneath.)
We still have Stibbons, however; she will need a replacement companion soon, though, as she's never been kept alone before. (The zoo isn't selling any at the moment because of foot-and-mouth disease.)

Our Guinea Pigs have a habit of scratching with their claws*, particularly when you're putting them back into their hutch when they try to 'hit the ground running' as it were.

Then we discovered the solution - put them in backwards (rump first)! Now the pigs realise they can't start running until they've turned round and we get far fewer scratches.

*Yes, we do keep their claws clipped; thanks for asking. The white one (Laa-Laa) is easy to clip as you can see the pink of the claw and avoid it, but the black one (Po) we have to guess at. A few squeak-and-bleeding incidents have occured, unfortunately. Apparently an old-fashioned styptic (alum) pencil will stop the bleeding - anyone tried this?

I currently have 2 guinea pigs, but I used to have 7. All of mine have been nibblers, to varying degrees. I think of their nibbling as the guinea pig way of exploring the world - like how little babies put new things in their mouths to investigate them.

We do have one guinea pig whose nibbling goes too far. He's never broken skin, but he can give a nasty pinch.

My pig is called Petal.She's alone at the moment as her boyfriend died of age, so she's well spoilt at present. She recently bit my husband. I asked why? He said "Because I stuck my finger in her mouth" Why did he do that? "To see if she would bite me". I think that says more about husbands than pigs, as she has never bitten anyone else, even during nail trim or unavoidable bath.

since last posting, all previous pigs are now deceased... the present two are in the bonfire-night safety box, in the next room. One has supersensitive hearing (so I'd best not talk about her too loudly.)
They don't like going backwards, do they? One once got stuck up the ventilation pipe of the tumbledryer (it was switched off, o'course) and it took a lot of effort to pull her out backwards.

i have a homicidal guinea pig, who killed her buddy when i first got them, and now lives a quite contented life in solitary! i named her HALDOL, (dollie for short), as i am a paramedic. i would love to get dollie a friend, but am afraid she might be a serial killer--she loves to bite me, and is quite gleeful about it--it is her favorite game! i know she loves me, and is always excited to see the food i bring her. does anyone have any experience with homicidal guinea pigs??? thanks for any suggestions!

I have a homacidal-manic-demonic-crazed Pig as well. I used to have two, the demonic one, and then another, more normal one; then - one day, the demonic piggy lived alone, and the other was dead! *gasp!, bad soap opera music* So, yeah... they do have the potential to be nastly little things, who are just to small to do any true damage.

My pig also has a taste for meat. Which according to a book I read on them, they will never eat. She once just got her mouth around a peice of meat, and ever sence she gets excited at the smell of it (making me the only vegitarian in the entire household).