StardustEcho
Junior Guinea Pig
Hi. I'm at a bit of a loss here. I've got two bonded boys, both just over 1 year old. They were bonded at around 8 & 12 weeks of age respectively and have always gotten along really well, popcorning when they sniff each other, very occasional cuddling up etc.
The slightly older boy, Kino has always been the dominant pig and Marsh has always been the most submissive of all our pigs. The most dominant behaviour we ever see is Kino rumble strutting a bit and Marsh popcorning as a result.
Marsh has been making strange noises for the past 24 hours (I've posted about them before) and this episode was going on a lot longer than usual so we went off to the vets with both boys in tow this afternoon where Marsh was prescribed antibiotics and Metacam for possible early pneumonia/respiratory infection. Other than strange noises he seemed completely himself, eating, drinking, pooping as usual. Then in the car on the way back he and Kino started fighting like crazy in the carrier. I had to pull over and sat Marsh on my lap for a bit. They seemed to calm down fairly quickly and didn't look hurt at all. So as I was alone in the car and didn't have many options I put them back together and watched for a bit. They both dozed off and seemed unbothered.
Put them back in the cage when we got home and there was a bit more chattering and rumbling than usual but I put it down to the stress of the vets. Now, a few hours later they've been rumbling and chattering on and off, and just 10 minutes ago, Marsh lunged at Kino, chased him, and appears to have pulled out a bit of hair leaving a bloody patch on Kino. I've separated them and Kino is chilling in the playpen just now.
Marsh is usually the most docile of pigs, he loves both human company and Kino's company and when my girlfriend went to try and calm him down while I had Kino, he wouldn't stop chattering. I'm worried about the apparent 180 shift in personality since the vet visit and whether their bond is now irrevocably broken or if it is possible Marsh will calm down once he's feeling better?
Any advice would be great, I'm at a loss of what to do and feeling very sad for both my boys right now.
(If it's of relevance they have a 3x4 cage and we do have females in our herd but they live in the other room and don't share any items/fleece as I know Marsh can get agitated when he smells them.)
The slightly older boy, Kino has always been the dominant pig and Marsh has always been the most submissive of all our pigs. The most dominant behaviour we ever see is Kino rumble strutting a bit and Marsh popcorning as a result.
Marsh has been making strange noises for the past 24 hours (I've posted about them before) and this episode was going on a lot longer than usual so we went off to the vets with both boys in tow this afternoon where Marsh was prescribed antibiotics and Metacam for possible early pneumonia/respiratory infection. Other than strange noises he seemed completely himself, eating, drinking, pooping as usual. Then in the car on the way back he and Kino started fighting like crazy in the carrier. I had to pull over and sat Marsh on my lap for a bit. They seemed to calm down fairly quickly and didn't look hurt at all. So as I was alone in the car and didn't have many options I put them back together and watched for a bit. They both dozed off and seemed unbothered.
Put them back in the cage when we got home and there was a bit more chattering and rumbling than usual but I put it down to the stress of the vets. Now, a few hours later they've been rumbling and chattering on and off, and just 10 minutes ago, Marsh lunged at Kino, chased him, and appears to have pulled out a bit of hair leaving a bloody patch on Kino. I've separated them and Kino is chilling in the playpen just now.
Marsh is usually the most docile of pigs, he loves both human company and Kino's company and when my girlfriend went to try and calm him down while I had Kino, he wouldn't stop chattering. I'm worried about the apparent 180 shift in personality since the vet visit and whether their bond is now irrevocably broken or if it is possible Marsh will calm down once he's feeling better?
Any advice would be great, I'm at a loss of what to do and feeling very sad for both my boys right now.
(If it's of relevance they have a 3x4 cage and we do have females in our herd but they live in the other room and don't share any items/fleece as I know Marsh can get agitated when he smells them.)
