Wheeksers
Junior Guinea Pig
Hey loves,
So almost a month ago we adopted our youngest, Monk Fruit, into the herd. At first, we thought she was a male so she was alone in a separate cage - but next to the bigger sow herd to allow for socialization and bonding. During this time, Monk would hide nearly 24/7, barely ate, and was not very social/interactive. Realizing that we never checked her gender ourselves, we came to find out that POOF- he is a she and thus does not need to be separated (thank goodness cause my heart was so broken by how Monk was reacting to being in the cage). When we adopted Monk, she was about 3 weeks old - so coming home with us, she was immediately separated from mom and siblings, put into a solo cage, and was very spooked. Once we introduced her to the new herd, she's been more active and is the most vocal when it comes to food/treats. However, there are a few things that concern me/are questionable that I'd like to throw out there.
Monk continues to be picked on by other members of the herd at random points throughout the day. This is typically others nipping at her butt, which causes her to do a loud squeak that sounds like it's pain - there is no visible signs of harm - but this is a behavior that continues to happen. This occurs randomly, not just when a more dominant pig wants her spot, but just randomly - typically by the same two piggies (who might be the top rank? I'm still trying to figure it out cause the hierarchy continues to shift a little it seems - or I'm just poor at reading guinea pig cues - haha). I know that dominance behavior can look like this, especially by those who are close in rank, but this has been going on for weeks and it breaks my heart when it sounds like she's being attacked. It does not happen daily, but often enough that I'm worried that such behavior is contributing to her continual avoidance/hiding/shyness. She is eating and drinking just fine - and will eat veggies/treats with the rest of them - it's just this random nipping behavior that's concerning me.
Is there anything I can do? Or is this a wait and let them figure stuff out?
<3 Thanks!
So almost a month ago we adopted our youngest, Monk Fruit, into the herd. At first, we thought she was a male so she was alone in a separate cage - but next to the bigger sow herd to allow for socialization and bonding. During this time, Monk would hide nearly 24/7, barely ate, and was not very social/interactive. Realizing that we never checked her gender ourselves, we came to find out that POOF- he is a she and thus does not need to be separated (thank goodness cause my heart was so broken by how Monk was reacting to being in the cage). When we adopted Monk, she was about 3 weeks old - so coming home with us, she was immediately separated from mom and siblings, put into a solo cage, and was very spooked. Once we introduced her to the new herd, she's been more active and is the most vocal when it comes to food/treats. However, there are a few things that concern me/are questionable that I'd like to throw out there.
Monk continues to be picked on by other members of the herd at random points throughout the day. This is typically others nipping at her butt, which causes her to do a loud squeak that sounds like it's pain - there is no visible signs of harm - but this is a behavior that continues to happen. This occurs randomly, not just when a more dominant pig wants her spot, but just randomly - typically by the same two piggies (who might be the top rank? I'm still trying to figure it out cause the hierarchy continues to shift a little it seems - or I'm just poor at reading guinea pig cues - haha). I know that dominance behavior can look like this, especially by those who are close in rank, but this has been going on for weeks and it breaks my heart when it sounds like she's being attacked. It does not happen daily, but often enough that I'm worried that such behavior is contributing to her continual avoidance/hiding/shyness. She is eating and drinking just fine - and will eat veggies/treats with the rest of them - it's just this random nipping behavior that's concerning me.
Is there anything I can do? Or is this a wait and let them figure stuff out?
<3 Thanks!
I would give them a little bit of time to sort themselves out and let her find her place but keep an eye on her and weigh her daily to check she isn't losing weight.