Bullying Guineapigs

[lola and chicha]

hi
so i have 2 guinea pigs, one long hair and one short. I got them in August 2016 and they were born in May 2016. I bought them together so they knew each other but one of them developed an abces and we took her to the vet who drained it and then it re grew and popped on its own accord, she asked us if they got on and at the time we thought they did so she assumed Lola had scraped her neck on the side of her pen but recently we have noticed they aren't getting on. Since it's winter we brought them inside to a smaller hutch and when it's not cold outside to a larger one but when inside we hear high pitched squeaks and suspect Chicha is bullying Lola since Lola is often alone in the outside part of the hutch with Chicha in the hay. This morning i watched the hutch and suddenly one of them made a huge high squeak and Chicha was head butting Lola to the other side of the hutch aggressively so i put Chicha in the outside hutch and Lola inside but i don't know what to do to help this. When it was warmer in the summer they played fine outside on the grass with more space but i can't do that in the snow. Lola has always been shy and skittish but she hasn't improved and is very quiet. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Wiebke]

hi
so i have 2 guinea pigs, one long hair and one short. I got them in August 2016 and they were born in May 2016. I bought them together so they knew each other but one of them developed an abces and we took her to the vet who drained it and then it re grew and popped on its own accord, she asked us if they got on and at the time we thought they did so she assumed Lola had scraped her neck on the side of her pen but recently we have noticed they aren't getting on. Since it's winter we brought them inside to a smaller hutch and when it's not cold outside to a larger one but when inside we hear high pitched squeaks and suspect Chicha is bullying Lola since Lola is often alone in the outside part of the hutch with Chicha in the hay. This morning i watched the hutch and suddenly one of them made a huge high squeak and Chicha was head butting Lola to the other side of the hutch aggressively so i put Chicha in the outside hutch and Lola inside but i don't know what to do to help this. When it was warmer in the summer they played fine outside on the grass with more space but i can't do that in the snow. Lola has always been shy and skittish but she hasn't improved and is very quiet. Any ideas?
Thanks

Please follow the tips on whorking out whether their bond is still working or whether it is dysfunctional. Is there a possibility to give them more space indoors. Please bring Chicha back inside. The current UK weather is really not suitable to put a guinea pig outside and switch from warmer to cold temperatures!
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

PS: the screaming is submission screaming. Is it ongoing or is it connected with Chicha having a strong season; they are currently in a hormonal teenage phase (it is less well known in sows as it rarely leads to fall-outs, but sows have their teenage hormonal spikes too). A small hutch with no room to get away from each other will acerbate any problems.

Is there a possibility to attach a foldable run to the indoors hutch to give your girls more space and a change to get away from each other?

 

[lola and chicha]

Please follow the tips on whorking out whether their bond is still working or whether it is dysfunctional. Is there a possibility to give them more space indoors. Please bring Chicha back inside. The current UK weather is really not suitable to put a guinea pig outside and switch from warmer to cold temperatures!
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Sow Behaviour
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs

PS: the screaming is submission screaming. Is it ongoing or is it connected with Chicha having a strong season; they are currently in a hormonal teenage phase (it is less well known in sows as it rarely leads to fall-outs, but sows have their teenage hormonal spikes too). A small hutch with no room to get away from each other will acerbate any problems.

Is there a possibility to attach a foldable run to the indoors hutch to give your girls more space and a change to get away from each other?

Chicha wasn't cold coz there is hay but she's inside now and we have an inside run but they don't like it and never come out and it is chicha squeaking. Since lola has been alone she is in the area where Chicha was and she is a lot calmer, i have chicha a bath and she's now sitting on towels with a hot water bottle. I just don't no what to do in the evening since i can't attach the run. Should i put them in the inside run at night?

 

[lola and chicha]

Chicha wasn't cold coz there is hay but she's inside now and we have an inside run but they don't like it and never come out and it is chicha squeaking. Since lola has been alone she is in the area where Chicha was and she is a lot calmer, i have chicha a bath and she's now sitting on towels with a hot water bottle. I just don't no what to do in the evening since i can't attach the run. Should i put them in the inside run at night?

they r girls

 

[Wiebke]

Chicha wasn't cold coz there is hay but she's inside now and we have an inside run but they don't like it and never come out and it is chicha squeaking. Since lola has been alone she is in the area where Chicha was and she is a lot calmer, i have chicha a bath and she's now sitting on towels with a hot water bottle. I just don't no what to do in the evening since i can't attach the run. Should i put them in the inside run at night?

Yes, I know that they are girls, however the way you figure whether you are dealing with a case of acute bullying or not is the same. We do not have a sow-specific thread.

Yes, please use the indoors run when putting them back together and see how they react, especially Iola - if he is very tense and unhappy again, then there is an issue.

Be careful with large temperature changes; guinea pigs don't take well to big swings in a short time and can fall ill.

 

[lola and chicha]

Yes, I know that they are girls, however the way you figure whether you are dealing with a case of acute bullying or not is the same. We do not have a sow-specific thread.

Yes, please use the indoors run when putting them back together and see how they react, especially Iola - if he is very tense and unhappy again, then there is an issue.

Be careful with large temperature changes; guinea pigs don't take well to big swings in a short time and can fall ill.

i watched them and when i put out kale Chicha came out of the little house to take some and then lila tried to get out but Chicha shuffled back to stop her from eating and she did his continuously so lola was trapped and when she did get out she grabbed a piece and ran behind the house to eat it. This morning Chicha was in the house and Lola was hiding in the tunnel.. they still don't get on but at least they have room to run away from each other

 

[Wiebke]

i watched them and when i put out kale Chicha came out of the little house to take some and then lila tried to get out but Chicha shuffled back to stop her from eating and she did his continuously so lola was trapped and when she did get out she grabbed a piece and ran behind the house to eat it. This morning Chicha was in the house and Lola was hiding in the tunnel.. they still don't get on but at least they have room to run away from each other

Please remove all hideys with just one exit, as recommended in the links I have given you. This prevents "locking in". Also provide two equal hideys spaced well apart for that reason.
The same goes for water bottles, bowls and access to hay.

If Lola is very stressed, you may have to split them up and find another solution for them.