Grumpy Guinea! Advice needed

[Kirjava]

Hello, I have two guineas a girl and a boy. I got Piggy (female) about 6 months ago and Yeti (male) about 3 months ago from a rehoming centre. Initially the difference in Piggy was amazing, but Yeti seems to be a very grumpy guinea pig and is always rumbling at Piggy, she seems quite nervous around him now. I always try to move the things in the cage around and give them two piles of food etc. Do you have any other advice for me? Thanks

 

[Suzygpr]

Hi there and welcome to the forum.

If you could some more info on the piggies please - their ages, are either neutered, cage type and size, and health issues, other pets, children, anything you feel may be relevant?

The more info the more targeted the advice can be.

Suzy x

 

[Kirjava]

Thanks for the quick reply Piggy is around 9 months old and Yeti is around a year and a half (they didn't know his exact age at the rescue centre). Yeti has been neutered but Piggy hasn't.

They live indoors in a Ferplast cage, I think it's a 100. They have floor time almost every night and a run in the garden when the weather is good.

I had them both treated for mites when I got Yeti and he has also had ear mites, which I gave him ear drops for, his symptoms seem to have improved. I have no other pets or children in the house.

I've got two piggy houses, they get two separate piles of food, two water sources (a bowl and a bottle) and lots of toys!

I hope that helps

 

[Suzygpr]

With two of everything in a 100cm cage I'm surprised there's room for the pigs! LOL

Seriously though that may be a bit of the problem - the less space piggies have the more stress they feel. The minimum cage size recommended for a pair is 120cmx60cm, with my pairs I use a wide platfrom across one end of the cage that is open to the front as the bedroom area. It gives the pigs enough space to sleep away from each other if they choose to and stops anyone getting too possessive of the hidey. I place the food bowl and bottle with water drip bowl up there too so they get plenty of exercise getting up and down when they want food/drink. This leaves the floor of the cage open for running around in so there's room for tunnels etc.

Your boy is displaying how macho he is for his lady, it may coincide with her seasons too when she can be a bit more grumpy than usual and he is far more attentive as she is wearing his favourite 'perfume'.

I'm sure others that have neutered male/female pairings will be along to share their experiences too.

Suzy x

 

[Kirjava]

Yeah it is a bit tight :S

I'm going to try and make a C&C cage, hopefully that should make them a bit happier and they'll hvae more room to run around, my girl likes doing that

Thanks for the advice

 

[mikulinek]

It may well be just a space issue. While boar/sow couples should be fairly stable, like with any animal (including us) they will also need their own space. You might want to think about building a nice C&C cage (I really wish we had the room for one!). This way, when they get upset with each other they can have their own space which in turn will reduce the chances of them getting upset with each other