Constant grooming?

Suki&Indie

Suki&Indie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all! Some context to start with; I had two piggies come down with bloat who are now very luckily on the mend :) however one of them started chasing the others to get their poo. Now she won’t stop chasing them and is constantly putting her head up their bum or right in their face (despite no longer eating the poo) It’s so constant that the other piggies are struggling to eat/drink/sleep as she ignores verbal warnings and bites and continues to invade their space. I’m constantly having to separate them or take the offending pig out of the cage to try give the others time to eat.
Any idea why she’s doing this and if she’ll stop by herself?
 
Can you supplement her with a probiotic? One of mine had problems with gut bacteria after being on medication and treated for gut stasis. I would supplement him with fibreplex and Pro C as he was constantly chasing his companion for edible droppings. The probiotic kicked in and he stopped
 
How long has the chasing been going on? When you say separating are you taking her out and putting her back in? And you say they can’t eat at all, is the chasing non-stop all day? How is their weight?

As mentioned above you could try giving her a probiotic. Or even try and make her some poo soup. Otherwise I’m not too sure. What are her poops like?
 
Suki&Indie said:
Hi all! Some context to start with; I had two piggies come down with bloat who are now very luckily on the mend :) however one of them started chasing the others to get their poo. Now she won’t stop chasing them and is constantly putting her head up their bum or right in their face (despite no longer eating the poo) It’s so constant that the other piggies are struggling to eat/drink/sleep as she ignores verbal warnings and bites and continues to invade their space. I’m constantly having to separate them or take the offending pig out of the cage to try give the others time to eat.
Any idea why she’s doing this and if she’ll stop by herself?
Click to expand...

Recovering guinea pigs will suplement their devastated microbiome by eating the redigestible poos of their mates. They can very occasionally turn into real pests.

You could try to make 'poo soup' (i.e. mimic this live cavy gut microbiome transfer) with normal absolutely freshly dropped healthy poos. It is not quite as effective as the caecotrophs your girl is after but it is still more effective than probiotics when done correctly. alternatively or in combination, a course of fibreplex may help.
You can find the exact 'poo soup' recipe and information on fibreplex in this guide here: Probiotics, Recovery Foods And Vitamin C: Overview With Product Links
You
 
Hi! Thanks so much for all your responses. Sorry for late reply I’ve been so busy nursing piggies night time is the most free time I get at the moment!
To answer some questions, she’s been chasing them since shes recovered enough to want to start moving again (about two days)
By separating them I mostly mean when I take her out for about half an hour to give her critical care and when she’s being a major pest I take her out for a very short amount of floor time to give the others a rest
The chasing is all day and all night! Last night I actually didn’t get to sleep as all I could hear was piggy squabbling.
Luckily their weights haven’t gone down (yet) but I’m currently also supplementing them with a bit of critical care just to ensure they get something in their tummies.
Her poops are not good, they’re small and dry, however definitely improving as she gets her medicine and critical care.
Thanks for the suggestion of fibreplex, I’m popping into my vets tomorrow to see if they have some and if not I’ll cook up some poo soup (lovely)
 
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