Bahaviour

Question
Laura,
  
  I recently got a guinea pig that was very sweet. I could always get him out of his cage very easly and get him to fall asleep in my arms. Then one day i saw a type of walking lice, so my mom took him to the vet, and the vet picked him up and made him scream very loudly and when he was done the vet had a handful of hair. The next day i went to get him out and he ran away from me,  and when i finally picked him up he bit me. So now ever since the vet visit he doesnt want to be held and when i do hold him he bites. I dont know what to do, im a first time guinea pig owner and im 12 years old, but i had a hamster that died recently and i still have another hamster. And i want to be a vet when i grow up. Please get back to me asap.
                              Thank you,
                                      Keely

Answer
Hi Keely,

Sorry for the long delay in getting back to you. I have had increasingly problematic issues with my internet as well as having a very busy home life, so I have had delays in responding to all questions in the past two weeks. Apologies if any inconvenience was caused.

Your guinea may have been psychologically affected by the vet treatment, and will need gentler handling for a while. He may - but probably won't - always need a bit of extra TLC when it comes to interaction between you and him, especially if he was caused a great deal of pain when the vet checked him over.
Talk to him and give him some of his favourite veggies when you handle him, and handle him little and often (i.e. 2-3 five minute cuddles, instead of one long 15 minute cuddle).

It might just be a temporary issue, as the bite he gave you suggests he may have still been in pain from his treatment the day before. Biting tends to be caused by pain or irritation above most other things, so while it may be psychological I imagine he was biting more from pain than from fear. Again, gentle handling helps and his skin shouldn't be so sore within a few days. The vet might have pulled his hair out to see if it was a fungal infection, as fungal skin problems cause dandruffy or greasy skin which allows hair to fall out easily. It may have been another reason why he pulled the hair out, but I think this may just be an explanation to help you understand why he did it.

Best Wishes,

- Laura
www.cavy-care.com