My guinea pigs always knaw on the wood in my hutch and bite on the bars. Should i be worried?
Don't worry!
If you are sick of them doing that, you can't stop them always.
So just try to get them some chew toys, or those other food that they can chew on.
If you get them those it does not mean that they will stop chewing the bars and wood, but it will decrease their chewing.
Another reason of them doing this is probably that they are bored or they want to get out, so just give them some time to roam around a safe room where they won't escape a small bathroom is a good place to start with, what you can also do while they are doing that you can get them a treat and train them.
REMEMBER!: Don't give me to much sweet treat! But you can give them healthy one if you enjoy training them.
Training example:
I you want them to stand you can say:
''Up''or''stand''while you are doing that hold up the treat and make sure while you are holding it up don't try to swirl it around or your piggy will refuse to be trained.
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As long as the wood doesn't have artificial colors or anything, it should be fine.
Guinea pigs chew on pretty much everything, especially when they have nothing else to chew on. My piggies eat their bedding all the time, it's made of wood, and it doesn't hurt them or anything.
You should get them something to chew on. It's fun and keeps their teeth trimmed down (which means no unnecessary vet visits). You can get natural wood toys at all kinds of stores. Just make sure they don't have artificial/unnatural colors or anything, because it can hurt them.
If the bars are metal, it COULD hurt their teeth. Plus, pretty much all of those metal bar things have some type of fake coloring in them or have been painted. If there was paint on it, it might chip off and they'll eat it and it can make them sick. So that's another reason to get them something to chew on.
they need something to chew on in order to keep their teeth short and healthy
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com you should only be worried if they suddenly stop chewing because then you might have to take them to the vet for an expensive tooth-clipping procedure
I'd suggest buying them some non-treated wood, such as the wooden rodent toys at the pet shop, of if you're on a budget any non-treated wood from the lumber shop will do.
If you don't give them a proper bit of wood to chew on then they might chew a hole straight out of their hutch and run away.
As for the bar chewing, its a sign of boredom. They either need more out of the cage time everyday or they need more toys and entertainment inside the cage.
Excessive bar chewing can damage the teeth though this is a rare concern.
If they get too bored they might start forming even worse habits such as fighting one another or biting you when they get out of the cage.
Gnawing on wood is normal, since guinea pigs love to chew and need to chew, but biting on the bars signals boredom.
To stop the hutch chewing, all you need to buy is a chew log and some apple wood sticks. Are you feeding unlimited timothy hay 24/7? If not, then you need to.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com To stop the bar biting, let your guinea pigs out for floor time (not in a ball). Exercise will make them happy and not bored. Toys in the cage can help them too.
Dont worry! This is normal piggy behavior . their teeth continualy grow their whole life and it is vital to provide things they can chew on. buying some chew toys at the petstore can help ... but i went the cheaper and better rout and gave them toilet paper tubes (or paper towel ) wadded up sheets of paper, carrots, and all sorts of stuff. just remember if it is not safe for you to eat, THEY CANT EITHER. u can come up with your own toys that keep them from bordom (often a cause of biting the bars) simply lettting them out on the floor in a proofed area can help, providing hideouts (they will chew on them ... its a given), giving them plenty of hay, veggies, toys (either homemade or from the store depending on how creative you want to get) ... really every guinea pig is different, so you have to find the right combination for your pigs ... and creativity is allways worth it. bird toys were a total hit with my pigs. good luck!!
they are filing down their teeth ...... guinea pigs need to do this because other wise their teeth will continuously grow and they wont be able to eat there food and they will die so allowing the guinea pig to keep doing this will prevent this so do not stop them.
I wouldn't be worried, and my guinea pig has little wooden strips around his cage so he has plenty to chew. You should be fine. If he starts doing damage to the bars, you should get some small pieces of wood to put in it.
Don't worry, they just like to chew on wood. Though I would watch out for any small lumps under their chins (underside of their necks) because they can get abscesses. Mine got one from chewing to much wood and a splinter went down his throat! Ouch!
