Chucking out of sleeping quarters?

[aredgrave90]

Ai yai yai, these guinea pigs

My recently bereaved girl and bossy boots, Elena, has a new friend called Annie. They were introduced at a rescue last week, and this is Annie's fifth night living with us.

The girls live in a hutch (fully sheltered and winter-proofed), which is 5 foot by 2 foot, with plenty of everything. The hutch has a traditional 'sleeping area', which is much more spacious than a hidey. It has lots of hay in it at this time of year, and there is more than enough room in it for the two girls to sleep there without them (even remotely) touching.

On the first night, Elena was a little unsure about sharing her sleeping quarters. I put in an extra hidey, and then, unbelievably, found them both sleeping in it together the next morning! I removed the extra hidey, and for the past three nights, they have happily slept together. Tonight, however, Elena has other ideas. Four times this evening she has chucked Annie out of the bedroom, much to Annie's consternation. I'm happy to put the other hidey back in tonight, and to pack it with hay, in case Annie needs it... but this isn't a brilliant long-term solution. It takes up floor space for one thing.

Has anyone experienced the same thing before? Is there a chance that it's only temporary, or is it likely to be permanent?

Many thanks,
Amy

 

[Wiebke]

Ai yai yai, these guinea pigs

My recently bereaved girl and bossy boots, Elena, has a new friend called Annie. They were introduced at a rescue last week, and this is Annie's fifth night living with us.

The girls live in a hutch (fully sheltered and winter-proofed), which is 5 foot by 2 foot, with plenty of everything. The hutch has a traditional 'sleeping area', which is much more spacious than a hidey. It has lots of hay in it at this time of year, and there is more than enough room in it for the two girls to sleep there without them (even remotely) touching.

On the first night, Elena was a little unsure about sharing her sleeping quarters. I put in an extra hidey, and then, unbelievably, found them both sleeping in it together the next morning! I removed the extra hidey, and for the past three nights, they have happily slept together. Tonight, however, Elena has other ideas. Four times this evening she has chucked Annie out of the bedroom, much to Annie's consternation. I'm happy to put the other hidey back in tonight, and to pack it with hay, in case Annie needs it... but this isn't a brilliant long-term solution. It takes up floor space for one thing.

Has anyone experienced the same thing before? Is there a chance that it's only temporary, or is it likely to be permanent?

Many thanks,
Amy

Hi
Please remove any houses and place with just one exit and sprinkle feed rather than bowl feed. This is normal post-bonding dominance behaviour as the two are establishing a new group in their territory. It is stronger if the top piggy is feeling somewhat insecure in their new role. You will also have to brace for quite some drama when the new leader is coming into season for the first time; the share excess of pheromones and emotion will help cementing the bond.

Please do not intervene otherwise. It should start settling down again over the coming days. The post changes dominance phase lasts around 2 weeks after which your two girls can start making friends outside their hierarchical standing. Most people think that bonding guinea pigs takes just a few hours when actually takes several weeks and is a much more complex process.

More details on what to expect:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (see last chapter)
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts) (includes a chapter on typical dominance behaviours in sows)
When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)
A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours

I hope that this will help you.

 

[aredgrave90]

Thanks for this I assumed that this was the case, though I do hope eventually they'll share the bedroom. If not, I'll look at modifying the hutch. They only have tunnels in the main section of the hutch, so that shouldn't be a problem. I just feel bad for Annie that Elena has a nice snuggly bedroom For tonight I've added a hooded fleece bed in case Annie needs to use it. There isn't really a 'door' to it as such - it would be very hard for Elena to trap Annie in it. I'll see how it goes and hope for the best

 

[aredgrave90]

I might actually remove the divider in the morning so that there isn't a bedroom as such, and put two big piles of hay to bed down in, one at each end of the hutch.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks for this I assumed that this was the case, though I do hope eventually they'll share the bedroom. If not, I'll look at modifying the hutch. They only have tunnels in the main section of the hutch, so that shouldn't be a problem. I just feel bad for Annie that Elena has a nice snuggly bedroom For tonight I've added a hooded fleece bed in case Annie needs to use it. There isn't really a 'door' to it as such - it would be very hard for Elena to trap Annie in it. I'll see how it goes and hope for the best

Please always provide a second sleeping place. It is a human misconception that piggies sleep snuggled up - they mostly sleep apart in their own little nooks and crannies if they have the choice; some may snuggle up part of the night.
Brace for some renewed dominance after the separation and disruption of the bonding process.

 

[aredgrave90]

Sounds good, I'll take out the divider in the morning and replace it with two separate sleeping spaces. I think I was somewhat spoilt with my last two girls - they never 'cuddled', but were happy to share the bedroom, so it never occurred to me that these two ladies wouldn't. I'm on it

 

[Wiebke]

Sounds good, I'll take out the divider in the morning and replace it with two separate sleeping spaces. I think I was somewhat spoilt with my last two girls - they never 'cuddled', but were happy to share the bedroom, so it never occurred to me that these two ladies wouldn't. I'm on it

They may once the dust has settled but you need to allow them their dust kicking first!

 

[aredgrave90]

Elena has always been something of a dust kicker

 

[aredgrave90]

Please always provide a second sleeping place. It is a human misconception that piggies sleep snuggled up - they mostly sleep apart in their own little nooks and crannies if they have the choice; some may snuggle up part of the night.
Brace for some renewed dominance after the separation and disruption of the bonding process.

So I removed the divider and put in two hideys (willow bridges, because they have two exits). I packed these inside and on top with hay, to make it nice and warm inside them. It seems to be working - Elena isn't able to chuck Annie out (because she simply goes to the other hidey), nor can she pin her in. I hope it looks suitable. Thanks for your advice on this!

PS: If the hutch looks a little bit odd, it's because I removed the ramp and replaced the upper flooring. They wouldn't use it, and I wanted them to have more floor space. They now have a separate play area downstairs, as well as the play pen I use for floor time.