New Bonded Piggies

Status
Not open for further replies.
chelle83

chelle83

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
392
Reaction score
144
Points
340
Location
Suffolk, UK
Hi

Last weekend Yuri went to Hazelcroft rescue to meet George in hope they would find their forever friends. They both cam back with me Sunday night and have been living together since.

I have been weighing the boys daily and noticed that over the last 3 days Yuri has lossed 19g in weight. Is this normal or anything to worry about?
They rumble quite a bit when passing each other but there is n teeth chattering or any other sign of dominance behaviour.
I noticed Yuri isn't as bothered about his veg as much as he was before and when I've placed veg in the cage George appears to be a hoover and polish's it off very quickly which doesnt give Yuri (the slower eater) to get a fair share.
So at the moment in the evenings I have been hand feeding their veg, 1 to stop George from Scoffing and 2 to make sure Yuri gets some.

What I'm asking really is this normal for the first part after the initial bonding and if so is there anything I can do to help this apart from things like 2 of everything (which they already have) or am I missing something?

Thanks
Chelle
 
Some piggies are just plain greedy... It would be good if you fed them well apart to give George a chance. You can also place a third bowl with some extra food in between them to allow George to eat his normal share.

20g is nothing to worry about; a full bladder can make a difference of 10g, not speak of the tummy content!
 
One thing you can do is place the veggies on the cage and take George out for some cuddle lap time (giving you a chance to bond with him and him getting used to you) and giving Yuri a starting advantage to eat without George hoovering the veggies.

Like Wiekbe said there are very greedy pigs put there, lol! My Dahlia will eat as if the world is coming to an end and will trample her friends in the process. She's a crazy pig :)
 
right need some advice on this situation.
These 2 have now been together for a couple of months. During this time Yuri's weight has dropped nearly 100g. When he eats he is eating fine with no trouble but the problem is I think George is bullying him. They constantly chatter at each other and whenever food is around George will nudge Yuri and he just seems to run off and hide which is making me think he is not eating much. What do I do? Please help, do I seperate them and just let them have half the cage each as I've tried selective feeding but when Yuri is out and I am trying to feed him he wont take it, he will only eat on his terms but its very small amounts as he always seems desperate to get back to his cage, even though once hes there they seem to bicker?
I need to make a decision quick as I am worried for Yuri's health, he currently weighs 990g
 
Hi!

It could be bullying, but I would also make sure that there are no other reasons like dental (back teeth) issues for his weight loss first; there is a wide range of things that can cause a gradual weight loss. It is important that you try to cover all angles before you come to an informed decision. We have got a piggy savvy vets locator on the top bar for our UK members. Is there one you can get to?

You can do a trial overnight separation. If Yuri is noticeably perking up and finding his appetite once there are bars between him and George, then you know that a separation is the way to go. If he is desperate to get back with George, you also have your answer. please re-introduce them on neutral ground and move them to a cleaned out cage once you are sure that they are OK together.

How old are your boys and what is their background? They sound like they are in the middle of the big teenage hormones; am I right?

Until you have got to the bottom on what is going on, I would recommend to top off Yuri with hand feed to stop/slow down any weight loss. https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/forums/caring-for-an-ill-guinea-pig.53/
 
I agree with @Wiebke , it might be best to get to the bottom of why he is losing weight and whether there are other issues. There is always a more dominant pig who will have first grabs of food but that shouldn't prevent the other from eating. I think a vet check with a cavy savvy vet (who can check molars as well as incisors) is recommended and if all is well try having them side by side to see if weight increases. Have you contacted Sarah for some advice? As you adopted from Hazelcroft, she might have some other tips in how to deal with this!

My girl Itsy was losing weight recently and we just found an abscess in her chin that was causing pain.
 
thanks for the replies, ive had a c&c bar up between them for an hour a time the last 2 evenings to split the cage during food time and this appears to be working, Yuri is continually eating so my first thought seems to be correct so i am going to do this for a couple of nights and see how things progress, Yuri this evening is 30g heavier than yesterday morning.
i will obviously keep a close eye on things and will definately take Yuri to the vets if he doesn't want food at veg time.
my only concern is will seperate feeding space be ok for them in the long run, will it encourage further problems, i really don't want to seperate them permanently but in guessing this may have to be an option i have to consider. X
 
after posting this i have just witnessed first hand the bullying with them together, Yuri was in the hayloft George went straight up and pushed him downstairs, Yuri then went to the downstairs water bottle and as soon as George heard it rattle he ran straight down, nuged Yuri then tried to nip him causing a scuffle so i have sectioned their cage in half so they can still interact but can get fully away from each other as well. I will monitor them both over the next few days and see how it goes and if yuris weight goes back up i think I've found the solution :(
 
Naughty George! It is not unheard of piggies who will have a divider and still enjoy the company of each other. I think the famous Nuggets and Smoothie (not sure you know who I speak of, mostly on Facebook) have always been best friends but are kept side by side with a divider.

See how Yuri gets on this way and give him a cuddle for me! Give George a cuddle for me too, he is such a sweety guy, maybe just a bit too assertive ;)
 
MrsSuzy said:
Naughty George! It is not unheard of piggies who will have a divider and still enjoy the company of each other. I think the famous Nuggets and Smoothie (not sure you know who I speak of, mostly on Facebook) have always been best friends but are kept side by side with a divider.

See how Yuri gets on this way and give him a cuddle for me! Give George a cuddle for me too, he is such a sweety guy, maybe just a bit too assertive ;)
Click to expand...
My two brothers live side by side with a divider after they had a big fight.They happily interact everyday and enjoy floortime together they just cant be in the same cage! They aren't miserable at all from what I can tell and enjoy popcorning away and doing zoomies.
 
everything seems to be ok now but i think i may take Yuri to my local vets just to be on the safe side, I go to eastgate vets in mildenhall and am pretty sure someone previously said they have a vet there who is quite cavy savy.....by the way they are both eating and had some floor time together following each other about. How long will it usually take a guinea to put weight back on, I'm guessing loosing is much quicker than gaining? Just a quick question, now they have been split in the cage do i have to still take them both in the same carrier or am i able to just take Yuri?
 
just a quick update before bed. Yuris been to the vets tonight and the vet was amazing, she gave him a proper check along with teeth and all seems to be well so I'm very relieved, will just be trying to encourage him and feed him up a bit for a while to increase his weight. X
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top