I was not planning on keeping Lucy for more than the usual 14 days, but she turned out to be quite a project. I kept her for 20. Every breath she took she would 'strike' anything that she could reach. Striking is her hitting her teeth on things with an open mouth, but not biting down. She usually did this to fingers, arms, legs, and wrists. Literally, EVERY BREATH and BAM BAM BAM she would strike. Huge problem, making her completely unadoptable.
As if striking were not enough of a personality flaw, Lucy also screams bloody murder when you reach into her cage to pick her up. So if someone were to think she was cute and want to reach in to pet her, they would get screamed at and bitten. Endearing? I think not.
So I set to work on "The Whiner" on May 9, and nearly had my hand gnawed off in the first few days. She is different than Kipper. Kipper was biting because he was afraid, Lucy, however, was harder to diagnose. It took me 15 days to figure out what was causing her to strike. As she grew to trust me, she bit less and less. By day 5 I was only getting bit a few times every time I held her. But it never really got much better than that. I tried loud noises, sudden movement, presenting my fingers with food on them, and just about everything else I could think of to see if there was something that consistantly made her bite.
However, I finally figured it out. She does not bite every time you touch her hips, but she will USUALLY strike if they are touched or if she sees you heading toward them. I think they may be sore or she may have an old injury that we do not know about. This does not account for every strike, but I think it is the majority of them.
It was very frustrating to have this piggy that got better in the first 5 days, then never improved with all the love and attention I gave her. I held her for about an hour every day, with attention throughout the day when I was home and special treats for good behavior, so that is alot of contact time for her.
Anyway, she whines less when you reach in to touch her if you take the house out first. If not, she still has quite a protest, but does not run from hands. She has never run from hands, just protests loudly! Which is odd, because she likes being held! Silly piggy. She is no spring chicken, so she is a bit set in her ways which is why those extra few days really made a difference.
I am not sure if she is adoptable because of the continued problem with striking, but we will see if there is someone out there really special for her.
All my best!
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