Why Does My Guinea Pig Eat My Hair? #Reasons #Hazards #Remedies

You have a Guinea Pig and are petting it. And suddenly, you feel someone is tugging at your hair. You find that it is your Guinea pig, and it is eating your hair. Once you stop it from eating your hair, you would simply begin wondering why my guinea pig eats my hair?

Why Does My Guinea Pig Eat My Hair?

Your guinea pig eats your hair simply because human hair is made of fiber, and fiber is the staple diet of a guinea pig. Since human hair consists of biodegradable proteinaceous fiber, they find it an extremely great option as part of their diet. Likewise, a guinea pig needs a high quantity of fiber for the digestion of its food. That is primarily why a guinea pig eats hair, as it can become a huge stimulant for her diet.

Why do Guinea Pigs like Hair?

There can be several reasons why a guinea pig likes your hair. Some of the reasons that you would find quite impressive in this context can include:

Is it Ok For My Guinea Pig to Eat My Hair?

Most of the time, the guinea pigs tend to eat your hair out of curiosity. In fact, the behavior is called Barbering and is primarily a result of boredom on the part of the guinea pig. Barbering refers to the behavior shown by your cavies or guinea pigs where they are found to be chewing on your hair and thus may end up eating it.

There is practically no harm in the guinea pigs in eating your hair. This will show the attachment that the cavies have with you and how secure it feels with you. However, it can become a problem if it becomes a habit. If the guinea pig continues eating your hair continuously, it can end up being a huge hair loss for you. The guinea pig can even cause a burrow or hole in your hair. So you may want to redirect its energy to something else and ensure that it isn’t eating your hair.

Why Does My Guinea Pig Hide in My Hair?

If you are new to petting a guinea pig, you will find the guinea pig burrowing into hair a little unique and strange. However, it should be noticed that burrowing is a natural behavior for the guinea pig. Whether your guinea pig is in the wild or domesticated, they would find it comfortable to burrow so that they can hide to their safety.

Most of the time, guinea pigs tend to find the owner’s hair one of the excellent options for hiding safely. So, it would find it quite relaxing and superb to stay in your hair. This behavior may appear to be a little difficult and annoying for the guinea pig owners. But, that is quite harmless, and it can be one of the excellent options to show that it provides you a deeper bond and the trust that the guinea pig shares with you.

What to Do If Guinea Pigs Eat Hair?

Guinea pigs tend to eat hair, and this behavior is called barbering. Barbering can be a behavior that involves eating the hair of the owner or that of the cagemates. This behavior can have several reasons, and one of them is boredom. Therefore, stopping this behavior can be quite important.

The first step involved in how to stop the guinea pigs from eating hair is to find the exact reasons for the issue. It can be a behavior that can be caused due to stress, boredom, and competition with other cagemates. Check the exact reason for the behavior, and once that is understood, you can move ahead to find ways to address it.

The next step would be to pay close attention to find which guinea pig is barbering and which is being barbered. In certain cases, the barbering can also be self-inflicted. You can observe the pigs closely enough to find the unusual behavior.

You can apply taste deterrents on the hair or fur of the guinea pig that is being barbered. Lemon juice or Bitter Apple can be one of the prime options for making sure that barbering is avoided. This can make the hair taste bitter and thus dissuade the guinea pig that is barbering.

Isolating the guinea pig that barbers away from the other guinea pigs can be one of the excellent options. But, unfortunately, a huge competition between the two guinea pigs and the aggression therein can make them indulge in barbering.

Have you changed the surroundings of the guinea pig? Any change in the cage, food, or location can make it aggressive and indulge in barbering. If that is the case, it can be a good idea to restore the situations in the environment.

Finally, excessive barbering can also be due to an underlying medical condition. Again, a visit to the vet may help you find the issues if any, and thereby resolve them.

Some of the other tips  that can prove to be a great option can include:

What Happens if My Guinea Pig Eats My Hair?

Nothing harmful as it is may happen when the guinea pig eats your hair. But, it should be noticed that it can be annoying if it becomes a habit. If you do not stop the guinea pigs from indulging into the habit, it can be not very pleasant.

Continuous barbering can result in very unpleasant behavior for you and the guinea pig. Once the guinea pig begins chewing on your hair, it may get addicted to the habit and then end up continuing the habit in very unwanted behavior. You may also find your hair is reduced to a much higher degree of extent. The guinea pig may also extend the habit and may indulge in chewing and barbering the cage mates’ hair as well.

Why do Guinea Pigs Eat Human Hair?

The primary reasons that would end up making your Guinea pig eating your hair can include several reasons. A few of the reasons can include:

Lack of Fiber in the Diet

Guinea pigs are herbivores, and they primarily eat plants. Therefore, they would need to eat a huge amount of fiber, and this would be available in vegan foods. If the guinea pig does not get enough fiber, it will end up chewing up on your hair.

The Guinea pigs need high fiber content, and your hair can be a great option for the purpose. In such a case, changing the diet can prove to be a great option.

Boredom

Guinea pigs tend to get bored quite frequently, and barbering can be a habit that results from acute boredom. But, on the other hand, they tend to explore things quite often, and hair is one of the best means that it can burrow and hide in.

The Guinea pigs are on a constant lookout for the stimuli and thus find the hair one of the excellent ways to get indulged in. If that is the case with your guinea pig, you can consider providing it different toys to get busy with.

Social Grooming

The guinea pigs get indulged in a lot of social behavior. This activity can keep them happy and occupied. This can keep them from establishing a social hierarchy. It can also mean a sign of intimacy.

If you find the guinea pig gnawing at you or biting you, it can be a sign that the guinea pig sees you as a part of its own group. That can be one of the reasons why it gnaws at you.

Curiosity

Guinea pig is naturally inquisitive, and you would find that they would love chewing and biting at things. They would find that they would chew at everything that interests them. This can include the hair or clothing of the owners as well.

If you have a young guinea pig, it will begin exploring new things around it. For example, when the guinea pig finds the hair is made of fiber, it would begin liking it and perhaps continue eating the hair.

The Concluding Thoughts

It is quite harmless for the guinea pigs to et your hair. Some of them may not eat the hair, but may simply like to hide in your hair. The prime option you would want to go with would be to stop your pig from getting used to the habit of eating the hair of its owners.

You would definitely not want to suffer from hair loss due to your guinea pig eating your hair. Given the fact that the guinea pig does not get any kind of nutrition from eating the hair, and may even choke on it. That is exactly why it is highly recommended to stop the guinea pigs from eating your hair or even eating the hair from its cage mates.