pcclosertofind
New Born Pup
Hello all!
I had two male guinea pigs who, though not without the occasional bickering, get along really well. One was obviously dominant and the other goes along with it.
A little over 2 weeks ago, I adopted a third from the local shelter. I completely cleaned and sanitized their cage (which is 1 midwest cage and a homemade extension that's about 1.5 times the size of an additional midwest-sized cage) and introduced them on neutral ground. I really tried to my best.
After some significant dominance behavior on the part of the new piggie (but no biting, luckily), I thought they reached an agreement as to the hierarchy. But the new guy just can NOT leave well enough alone. He's always teeth chattering at the other two, chasing them, raising his head. He's kind of a jerk, just *all the time*. The one who was already the submissive one has gotten so much so that he won't even eat from my hand anymore (which he used to do freely). He'll only eat hidden away from the new pig. I'm starting to worry that this new pig is making my other two pigs just miserable.
Is my only solution just to keep them separated all the time? Thank you for your help!
I had two male guinea pigs who, though not without the occasional bickering, get along really well. One was obviously dominant and the other goes along with it.
A little over 2 weeks ago, I adopted a third from the local shelter. I completely cleaned and sanitized their cage (which is 1 midwest cage and a homemade extension that's about 1.5 times the size of an additional midwest-sized cage) and introduced them on neutral ground. I really tried to my best.
After some significant dominance behavior on the part of the new piggie (but no biting, luckily), I thought they reached an agreement as to the hierarchy. But the new guy just can NOT leave well enough alone. He's always teeth chattering at the other two, chasing them, raising his head. He's kind of a jerk, just *all the time*. The one who was already the submissive one has gotten so much so that he won't even eat from my hand anymore (which he used to do freely). He'll only eat hidden away from the new pig. I'm starting to worry that this new pig is making my other two pigs just miserable.
Is my only solution just to keep them separated all the time? Thank you for your help!