Guinea Pig Does Not Like Other Guinea Pigs

[GuineaPigLife]

Hello this is my first post. My fiancee owns a Guinea Pig Marley (girl) who is about 9 months old now and two months old when she got Marley. Marley was bought Out of a local Pets At Home shop in the UK with another Guinea Pig, Millie. Millie died after 2 months of living with my Fiancee of a certain toxin placed in the grass in her area by local council the vet found high levels of a toxin in her system when they examined her she had been funny for 1 day and had a scheduled appointment at vet due to concerns but was found dead in her cage in the morning with marley laying next to her body squeaking as soon as my fiancee went to sleep about 5 in the morning she woke up a few hours later to find her dead.

It was a devastating time for all of us but we gave her a good burial. Marley seemed okay a bit more needy than normal needing lots of cuddles but generally okay no signs of depression and no odd behaviours. stools were fine and so was her eating and her activity levels. Marley was the dominant one of they two but they both had deep affection for one another.

Myself and my fiancee (we don't live together but i spend most days and nights at her house with the pigs) talked it over and since we knew Guinea Pigs do best in groups or pairs, a week after Milie passed, we bought another pig, Esme, from a local pet shop (not pets at home) Esme and Marley got on great, they did the dominance behaviour mounting, grooming fur, chasing ets but snuggled up to eat other about five misn after being introduced to one another.

Esme loved Marley and Marley loved Esme, so it seemed. Esme got sick, she had one patch of dark black hair on her otherwise white body which smelled foul even though she was cleaned regularly and even given a small bath to see if it would help. Esme became lethargic, looked ill and would stand still for a long time not moving. the only indication something was wrong was the patch of black foul smelling fur on her chest area. Soon after My fiancee found Esme in the cage, she was very obviously dead with her body having been ripped open and was a mangled mess. there was blood all over her and over Marley and Marles fur. We don't know to this day if Marley attacked Esme (which is very unusual for a guinea pig to do ive read) or if it was done post mortem or had something to do with maybe her sensing Esme was ill? i have no experience owning guinea pigs so i have no idea.

Since then we have not got any other Guinea Pigs and it is just Marley now as her parents wont let her get any more pigs. i was concerned about depression but Marley is totally fine nothing is changed stools good behaviour excellent but as soon as she is near another guinea Pig she becomes aggressive and attacks them, she loves human attention and seems to hate being with other guinea pigs which i find so strange.

ive read that some guinea pigs are just like that and I'm reluctant to put another guinea pig in with Marley in case we lose them too. Marley seems content and has plenty of play time and cuddle time with both of us on a regular basis as well as plenty of time to explore and exercise.

What could have caused Esme's death and marley to do that to her body? should we try another guinea pig given Marley's seemingly obvious dislike for other guinea pigs? and is it really possible she could have attacked Esme? does anybody have any help or suggestions?

Also we spoke to a staff member of Pets At Home and they seemed to have the view that if Marley si hostile to other Guinea Pigs and two of her Cage mates have died that we should leave her herself if she seems content and not showing signs of depression?

i wondered what everybody else's views were on this and just wanted some feedback because its been so hard losing Millie and Esme and worrying about Marley and Marley's health and wellbeing.

i will attach a photo of Millie ( brown), Esme (white with black fur at nose) and Marley (Grey and White) for you all to see

Thanks Everybody !

Robyn

 

[Veggies Galore]

Welcome to the forum . I am so sorry you have lost 2 of your Guinea Pigs. Are you happy to add your location to your profile ? It is very useful to know what Country and County you live in .

We have generally found it is best to find somewhere where you can take your lone Guinea Pig for bonding . If you can give us an idea of where about you live, we may be able to point you in the right direction

 

[GuineaPigLife]

Welcome to the forum . I am so sorry you have lost 2 of your Guinea Pigs. Are you happy to add your location to your profile ? It is very useful to know what Country and County you live in .

We have generally found it is best to find somewhere where you can take your lone Guinea Pig for bonding . If you can give us an idea of where about you live, we may be able to point you in the right direction

Hello We live in the uk in Scotland we live in a big city thank you for your kind reply

 

[Veggies Galore]

I will tag @lisaali to see if they have any ideas

 

[GuineaPigLife]

thanks for your help @PiggyOwner

 

[Freela]

I'm sorry you lost two of your pigs. I think the fact that Marley has lived happily with two companions would indicate that yes, she can get along with other pigs (I would think that any mutilation to Esme would have been done postmortem. I haven't seen it myself but have heard of it before. If there was an attack, it would likely have been very noisy and someone in the house would probably have heard it if they were in the house. When a pig dies, it's very normal for the other pig to sniff, lick, and otherwise investigate the body. If a long period of time elapses, it's easy to see how this could progress to chewing, simply out of confusion/distress/curiosity.) Did Esme ever see a vet? With a foul odor from somewhere, I'm wondering if she could have had a septic wound or an abscess... and yes, pigs will sniff/bite/chew/lick at infected areas on other pigs or on themselves, and I imagine would also do it postmortem.

Under what circumstances is Marley meeting with other pigs (as you say she attacks them, I'm guessing she is being exposed to other pigs in some way for you to see this behavior.) Guinea pigs don't do well with short 'play dates.' When they meet another pig, they get right down to establishing dominance. It's very important to their social structure to know who ranks where. A short meeting without the opportunity to establish a pecking order is apt to be confusing to them. Once a pig meets a pig, it's best to let them sort it out unless there's actual blood-drawn violence. It also matters where they are meeting other pigs. Neutral ground is best. A pig meeting a new pig in a space that he/she thinks of as their territory is apt to be defensive. Meetings on neutral ground typically go better, and it's always better if pigs are not introduced and removed and then reintroduced, etc. It makes intuitive sense to us to get to know someone in short bursts rather than moving right in, but we aren't guinea pigs!

I know there are UK rescues that allow 'dating' so that pigs can meet potential companions to see how they get along. This might be a good option if it's available to you (I wish something like that was available where I live!) In that way, you could see how Marley does being introduced to a prospective companion with no commitment on your part to the second pig if it doesn't work out.