MichelleM
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi all! Merlin is our newest addition. He's been in the big pen with Nes for about 3 weeks now. Nes is clearly the dominant one, and he seems very secure in it. He doesn't hump, only occasionally turns Merlin out of a hidey, and doesn't really show any aggressive behaviors towards Merlin.
Merlin, I feel, is very insecure and skittish. He's about a year old, and he's never been with another guinea pig before. The rescue told us he was a pet shop buy someone changed their mind on. He's super cuddly and people-friendly. In fact, he's the only guinea pig we've had who loves pets and lap time. But I feel like that's made him skittish around other guinea pigs. He's trepidatious around sniffing Nes. He'll come up behind while Nes is eating, take a quick sniff of his bum, then pull back. He hasn't lunged at Nes, but whenever Nes comes up to sniff his nose, Merlin will chatter and sometimes nip. Nes only ever nips when Merlin instigates it. Nes was a cuddler with our last elderly guinea pig, Ganon, and it seems like he wants something similar with Merlin, but he's being cautious about it.
Is this something Merlin will eventually grow past? They don't fight, there's never been any earnest bites or blood, just Nes chasing when Merlin gets nippy to reassert dominance. They both popcorn like crazy and are each getting plenty of resources (more than two of everything in the pen). I'm concerned Merlin seems to be afraid.
Merlin, I feel, is very insecure and skittish. He's about a year old, and he's never been with another guinea pig before. The rescue told us he was a pet shop buy someone changed their mind on. He's super cuddly and people-friendly. In fact, he's the only guinea pig we've had who loves pets and lap time. But I feel like that's made him skittish around other guinea pigs. He's trepidatious around sniffing Nes. He'll come up behind while Nes is eating, take a quick sniff of his bum, then pull back. He hasn't lunged at Nes, but whenever Nes comes up to sniff his nose, Merlin will chatter and sometimes nip. Nes only ever nips when Merlin instigates it. Nes was a cuddler with our last elderly guinea pig, Ganon, and it seems like he wants something similar with Merlin, but he's being cautious about it.
Is this something Merlin will eventually grow past? They don't fight, there's never been any earnest bites or blood, just Nes chasing when Merlin gets nippy to reassert dominance. They both popcorn like crazy and are each getting plenty of resources (more than two of everything in the pen). I'm concerned Merlin seems to be afraid.