morumotto
Junior Guinea Pig
Hey! I'm concerned that the bond between my piggies is failing. I would love to know if this is the case, or if I'm potentially overreacting.
A week and a half ago, my piggie Neo (F) was diagnosed with a UTI. She was prescribed enrofloxacin to deal with the UTI. Unfortunately, she went into GI stasis and had to be hospitalized. Eventually she finished her antibiotic and was pulled out of stasis and she was able to return home to me Monday. She was still struggling overall, so I set up a recovery cage next to the big cage so she could still interact with her friends while she got better.
Over the course of the next few days, there were some ups and downs, but eventually her poops were getting better and she was eating on her own. Yesterday, she eventually stopped eating and would spend a lot of time laying next to the connecting wall to the big cage and chewing on the bars to get through. To me it seemed that she was getting depressed and wanted to be back with friends. I figured that even though she wasn't 100% yet, she was well enough that maybe being back with her friends would do her some good. I did floor time with the three of them and it went perfectly. Neo immediately perked up, chirping and eating with her friends. I took that as a good sign and started cleaning their big cage while they spent time getting reacquainted.
As soon as they got into the big cage together again, things went south. Her friends (Oreo (F) and Lu (neutered M)) immediately started chasing her around. Oreo, in particular, has been the main instigator. She'll chase Neo out of hidies and away from anything she may be chewing on. I've seen Oreo lunge at Neo's face multiple times, causing Neo to scream and run away. Lu will also do this to a lesser degree. A few times I've even seen Oreo and Lu box Neo into a corner together. I've never seen them act this way towards each other; Oreo and Neo were actually bonded together when I first adopted them.
I'm so worried now that I made a huge mistake by putting them back together. I'm worried that Oreo and Lu have rejected Neo. So far I have not witnessed any rumble-strutting or teeth-chattering directed at, or coming from, Neo. It's mostly been one-sided chasing and lunging. I have seen that several times after Neo has been pushed to her limit, Oreo or Lu will lay down next to her... though I don't know if this is affectionate or some subtle form of dominance display. I am considering the possibility that Oreo may be in heat right now (I saw Oreo's attempt to mount Lu prior to putting Neo in the cage with them) and that's the source of aggression at the moment and will hopefully die down soon.
Even right now as I type this, Neo is currently hiding away under a small fleece blanket and Lu is laying next to her. Maybe every 15 minutes or so Lu will stick his face into the fleece blanket (not sure if it's quite a lunge or not) and Neo will scream. But then he'll go back to just laying next to her.
Is anyone able to offer any insight into this? Does this seem like they're rejecting her? Was it a big mistake to move her back in with them before she was 100%? I'm so worried now that their bond is failing because of this whole situation. This would be a worst-case scenario for me, as I don't have enough room to house Neo in a separate cage long-term and cannot afford a fourth guinea pig to be her friend. Thank you so much for reading.
A week and a half ago, my piggie Neo (F) was diagnosed with a UTI. She was prescribed enrofloxacin to deal with the UTI. Unfortunately, she went into GI stasis and had to be hospitalized. Eventually she finished her antibiotic and was pulled out of stasis and she was able to return home to me Monday. She was still struggling overall, so I set up a recovery cage next to the big cage so she could still interact with her friends while she got better.
Over the course of the next few days, there were some ups and downs, but eventually her poops were getting better and she was eating on her own. Yesterday, she eventually stopped eating and would spend a lot of time laying next to the connecting wall to the big cage and chewing on the bars to get through. To me it seemed that she was getting depressed and wanted to be back with friends. I figured that even though she wasn't 100% yet, she was well enough that maybe being back with her friends would do her some good. I did floor time with the three of them and it went perfectly. Neo immediately perked up, chirping and eating with her friends. I took that as a good sign and started cleaning their big cage while they spent time getting reacquainted.
As soon as they got into the big cage together again, things went south. Her friends (Oreo (F) and Lu (neutered M)) immediately started chasing her around. Oreo, in particular, has been the main instigator. She'll chase Neo out of hidies and away from anything she may be chewing on. I've seen Oreo lunge at Neo's face multiple times, causing Neo to scream and run away. Lu will also do this to a lesser degree. A few times I've even seen Oreo and Lu box Neo into a corner together. I've never seen them act this way towards each other; Oreo and Neo were actually bonded together when I first adopted them.
I'm so worried now that I made a huge mistake by putting them back together. I'm worried that Oreo and Lu have rejected Neo. So far I have not witnessed any rumble-strutting or teeth-chattering directed at, or coming from, Neo. It's mostly been one-sided chasing and lunging. I have seen that several times after Neo has been pushed to her limit, Oreo or Lu will lay down next to her... though I don't know if this is affectionate or some subtle form of dominance display. I am considering the possibility that Oreo may be in heat right now (I saw Oreo's attempt to mount Lu prior to putting Neo in the cage with them) and that's the source of aggression at the moment and will hopefully die down soon.
Even right now as I type this, Neo is currently hiding away under a small fleece blanket and Lu is laying next to her. Maybe every 15 minutes or so Lu will stick his face into the fleece blanket (not sure if it's quite a lunge or not) and Neo will scream. But then he'll go back to just laying next to her.
Is anyone able to offer any insight into this? Does this seem like they're rejecting her? Was it a big mistake to move her back in with them before she was 100%? I'm so worried now that their bond is failing because of this whole situation. This would be a worst-case scenario for me, as I don't have enough room to house Neo in a separate cage long-term and cannot afford a fourth guinea pig to be her friend. Thank you so much for reading.
