I am furious with Heidi...

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charlotte_alice

charlotte_alice

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OMG....I actually think she needs to be put in a straight jacket, I put Rose and Orella in with Audrina, Heidi and Lily when I turned them out this afternoon for a bit and all hell broke loose.

considering Heidi and Rose never got on, but I thought that things may have got better with separation, anyway, I went to get them in again before having my dinner and going out and I could hear all this squeaking drama from my back door (LONG distance away)

So I went there and they were all running around playing and having fun....but no....not Heidi, she had got Rose around the neck and they were fighting :0 I was actually crying, I screamed at them and rattled the wire (neighbours must think I am very unstable drool)

Then the noise stopped and I went to get them all out of the house compartment, then it started again Heidi flew at Rose and I actually hit Heidi ( i would NEVER do this) she then stopped and hid behind Audrina, I managed to grab her and put her in the box only to find a huge clump of black hair (which I could only assume was Rose's) in her mouth!

I am so distraught at all of this, everyone else got on, just these two, I have just about had enough of Heidi, mum said to get rid of her :0:0
 
Take a step back and get a little perspective here. Heidi is a guinea pig and just behaving in a natural way. She is not trying to be naughty. If she did not get on with another guinea pig before there is no reason to expect her to suddenly do so when you put them together.
When you say you turned them out do you mean you put them togther in a run on the grass? If so, then you'll just not have to put them out at the same time again, or build a divider down the middle of the run to keep them separate (or have 2 runs).
Did you put Rose and Orella into the other pigs' house? It sounds like Heidi was just telling them it's her space.

This must have been upsetting for you but I don't think you can blame the guinea pig. Have a think on things when you're a bit calmer. :)
 
I guess you are right, she was only doing her own thing, its just frustrating as all the others love eachother yet Rose and Heidi are like....well....murderous, it might blow over with time I think, they will not be going in the same run together for some time yet...
 
How upsetting you must have had a terrible fright! Don't make any decisions just yet about her future, wait until you calm down, have a cuddle with her and in a few days think about your options.
 
Am I understanding this correctly? You put them in the run together when you knew they didn't get on? Then you get mad at one of the piggies because she acted in a completely natural way? I'm sorry but I think you need to re-think whether you should be owning guinea pigs at all.
 
Unlike us humans, guinea pigs can't just walk away when you they don't gel.

You have got two dominant girls with a history of not getting on and then you go and stick them in a situation where they are forced to sort out dominance again between them - new territory, new group, all the dynamics involved and without supervision from you. If there is somebody to blame, it has to be you! Be furious with yourself, please!

Here are some informative threads that tell you about guinea pig behaviour. Have a careful read through. Please keep in mind that the run counts as new territory and that putting separated guinea pigs together counts as introductions. EVERY SINGLE TIME!

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
 
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I am assuming Rose & Orella are a pair & Audrina, Heidi and Lily are a trio & live separately.

Rarely have i found with any of my pigs (boars or sows) that once they've established a dislike for one another, they "forget."

Whilst it can't 've been a great experience for all concerned i do hope both Rose & Heidi are ok & you cannot punish Heidi purely for acting on instinct.

You don't know who instigated the fight & ideally, knowing Rose & Heidi didn't get on, you should've supervised them. Fights can start within a bonded group if they're in a different environment; i never leave any of mine out unattended just in case.
 
well I have had many different guinea pigs and mixed them on and off and never had problems, but this incident has kinda made me realise that Heidi won't integrate easily. I let them scrap but when blood and fur is drawn then I step in and separate them up.

I believe someone can't comment on the situation until they are in it themselves, so I can't really take the comments of 'you shouldn't be owning guinea pigs' very seriously when I myself go out of pocket so they can eat and have everything they have.

Rose is not dominant at all, Heidi picks on all of them even Audrina who is top girl (although she really teaches her not too) I guess she is just mental and I gotta get use to it.
 
well.....when I said I hit her, i gave her a firm tap on the nose.....I believe one tap is enough, I have done it to my dog and my horse and it asserts dominance and then it wasnt needed after that....I don't do animal cruelty, I donate about £25 a month to about 5 different charities for animal welfare and all my guinea pigs are rescued....says something doesnt it?
 
I think the biggest problem I have in all this is the fact that you are blaming the piggies. All I am asking is that you stop and just put this into perspective. The problem was caused because of YOUR actions, not the animals. Please be annoyed with yourself and not with them!
 
I can tell you for definate about pigs who have fallen out and how they will hate each other for life! george and Tiger had to be separated as they hated each other and they still do til this day.

A great example came the other day when I was cleaning out tiger's cage which is below george's. I was shaking out a fleece into a bin bag which must have been full of scent and george smelt it and went mad. He came right upto the bars of the front of his cage and started teeth chattering madly! then I heard tiger start from the other side of the room in the play pen. That is what you call blind hatred when a faint smell sends them mad!

I must add they are fine most of the time living close to each other, noises of each other don't both them it must just have been the waft of smell into george's territory!
 
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I accept I shouldnt have done it :( it just upsets me, I am surprised Heidi didn't tear up little Orella (who is half her size) well I am going to fix up and old ark at the weekend so Rose and Orella can have fun outside together without Psycho-Jaws getting to them.
 
charlotte_alice said:
well.....when I said I hit her, i gave her a firm tap on the nose.....I believe one tap is enough, I have done it to my dog and my horse and it asserts dominance and then it wasnt needed after that....I don't do animal cruelty, I donate about £25 a month to about 5 different charities for animal welfare and all my guinea pigs are rescued....says something doesnt it?
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I believe NO TAPS are enough! I cannot believe you have rationalised hitting your guinea pig by saying it was a tap & then to go on further to state you also "tap" your dog & horse.

There is a vast difference between all 3 species. I cannot comment on a horse as i've never owned one but i do have dogs & pigs & i don't assert my dominance with any kind of physical reprimand. My tone of voice is enough!

I too have pigs who won't integrate, for whatever reason; this doesn't make me love them any less & i would never put them into a situation where they could harm themselves or others. For what? To make it easier on myself because i can have them all out together as opposed to in groups.

You can put individual groups out together if you have an area big enough; divide the area off!
 
Niki said:
There is a vast difference between all 3 species. I cannot comment on a horse as i've never owned one but i do have dogs & pigs & i don't assert my dominance with any kind of physical reprimand. My tone of voice is enough!
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trust me when a horses gnashers are coming towards your face whilst trying to put a rug on and its bad manners learnt from a previous owner, sometimes the 'tone of your voice' doesnt do anything, and one forceful hand stops it once and for all.

Well today was a big mistake, I admit it....hands up.....fool over here xx>>> but I went out after I had been out and gave them all cuddles and apologised, it was playing on my mind all night and now things will be different.
 
Briony_Y said:
I can tell you for definate about pigs who have fallen out and how they will hate each other for life! george and Tiger had to be separated as they hated each other and they still do til this day.

A great example came the other day when I was cleaning out tiger's cage which is below george's. I was shaking out a fleece into a bin bag which must have been full of scent and george smelt it and went mad. He came right upto the bars of the front of his cage and started teeth chattering madly! then I heard tiger start from the other side of the room in the play pen. That is what you call blind hatred when a faint smell sends them mad!

I must add they are fine most of the time living close to each other, noises of each other don't both them it must just have been the waft of smell into george's territory!
Click to expand...

Snap Briony. Haggis & Tait fell out, inflicting wounds on one another & their hutches are opposite one another. When i was cleaning Haggis' & put him in a carrier under Tait's hutch Tait came directly above where Haggis was & chattered incessantly only stopping once Haggis was moved. They don't forget!
 
I know some people can just put girls together and all is fine. A lot is due to the personality of the piggies though. Personally I find my boys much easier than the girls because if they aren't going to get on it's so obvious. Girls can be very sneaky and suddenly take you by surprise.
 
It hurts me when you call Heidi "psycho" - guinea pigs have their own characters, and we need to respect that what is right or wrong for us is not the same in their world. They operate on a completely different set of rules.

Heidi, for instance, would never go for an undersow when she is sorting out the dominance question with the top sow of the other group. In terms of piggy society, she is acting very logically.

Sadly, when piggies do not like each other you have to keep them separate, as they will not accept the other one back. Once a piggy has lost the "one of us" factor, it will be strictly treated as an intruder from then on in.

Believe me that I have been VERY careful about putting my own group together and staging the introductions!
 
thanks for the advice girls :( ah well I am sure Rose and Orella much prefer eachothers company to Jaws...its a loving nickname :) right....off to bed! x
 
I'm sorry but i too find the name phycho jaws to be a sad name for obviously a little piggie who is totally innocent, it's just a natural behaviour to protect yourself........
My boys couldn't live together as one would constantly hump the other and this caused some nicks and cuts and a bit of blood, but they loved to be near each other. Every piggie is different just like us hoomans.
I would never put these little ones together again no use pushing their boundaries and upsetting either of the little darlings :(
 
It's good that you've decided to set a separate outside space for Rose and Orella. I think that's the best way forward. :)
There's some good advice here for you to understand about dominance and piggy behaviour so you can become an even better guinea pig owner.
 
When my guinea pigs did not like each other, I was terrified. I thought that Sorrel had changed but I then learned she was acting naturally.

What I think we all need to understand is that guinea pigs are in fact animals. Just because we love them and care for them and give them names, it does not change what they are.

I think that Heidi may just need a friend who is calm and knows her space and is happy just to be a normal guinea pig and not the boss. Maybe Heidi is not suited to her companions and that is not her fault. Sometimes in life, you meet people who you never want to see and I think that Heidi should be allowed those feelings to.

Maybe, you should give them all a big cuddle together. Perhaps, Heidi is just annoyed and needs calming down.

Hopefully, they should find a way to get on but if they don't that is just animals behaviour.
 
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