Hello, I am new to this site, coming because I am at the end of my rope trying to solve my problem.
I have 2 sows- bursty (4) and Maggie (3). I had bursty for a year before getting maggie- mainly because there's SO much online about how unfair it is to have just one pig, even though she seemed content on her own (I also had a mother and daughter piggie as a child and knew how much they liked to have each others company).
Bonding went fine and they've lived together since, with the odd tryout of dominance by Maggie, usually when bursty is a bit sick (she tends to get respiratory problems), but they'd die down until now. For the past few months I've noticed it becoming more regularly, and now in the past month it seems constant. Maggie just will not stop rumble strutting and humping. It's gotten to the point where bursty is now wheezy again, this has happened a few times in the past when Maggie tried to exercise her dominance, often with expensive trips to the vet. I'm sure now that the stress Maggie puts on bursty causes her to get sick. I split their c&c cage the last night and bursty was not at all bothered, but Maggie was pulling at the cage like crazy so by 8am I took out the divider. I think that was probably the wrong move having read your posts.
I don't know is it time to seperate them for good? I have a vetinary nurse friend who suggested plug ins for small animals that calm them, but she's never seen them used on guinea pigs. Also it's probably important to note that bursty is a very dramatic piggie, she's also the only one of the 2 who ever gets sick. I've also recently noticed Maggie humping the teddy- didn't expect to see that in a female.
I'm sorry for the long post, I am going to bring them to the vet, but where I live there seem to be no exotic vets or any vets with specifically good knowledge on guinea pigs (the last vet I used I found out usually births calves!)
Thank you,
Aileen
I have 2 sows- bursty (4) and Maggie (3). I had bursty for a year before getting maggie- mainly because there's SO much online about how unfair it is to have just one pig, even though she seemed content on her own (I also had a mother and daughter piggie as a child and knew how much they liked to have each others company).
Bonding went fine and they've lived together since, with the odd tryout of dominance by Maggie, usually when bursty is a bit sick (she tends to get respiratory problems), but they'd die down until now. For the past few months I've noticed it becoming more regularly, and now in the past month it seems constant. Maggie just will not stop rumble strutting and humping. It's gotten to the point where bursty is now wheezy again, this has happened a few times in the past when Maggie tried to exercise her dominance, often with expensive trips to the vet. I'm sure now that the stress Maggie puts on bursty causes her to get sick. I split their c&c cage the last night and bursty was not at all bothered, but Maggie was pulling at the cage like crazy so by 8am I took out the divider. I think that was probably the wrong move having read your posts.
I don't know is it time to seperate them for good? I have a vetinary nurse friend who suggested plug ins for small animals that calm them, but she's never seen them used on guinea pigs. Also it's probably important to note that bursty is a very dramatic piggie, she's also the only one of the 2 who ever gets sick. I've also recently noticed Maggie humping the teddy- didn't expect to see that in a female.
I'm sorry for the long post, I am going to bring them to the vet, but where I live there seem to be no exotic vets or any vets with specifically good knowledge on guinea pigs (the last vet I used I found out usually births calves!)
Thank you,
Aileen
