newly adopted guinea pig behaviours

charlotte_p

charlotte_p

New Born Pup
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hi yesterday i adopted a trio of lovely female guinea pigs. they are absolutely beautiful and I'm so happy to of been able to give them a new home. however since i brought them home 2 of them have been displaying behaviours like teeth chattering, chasing and they have lunged at each other once. i don't know if this is normal and they are just trying to sort out a hierarchy in their new home or if is more cause for concern and i should seperate them. the 3rd piggie does also get pushed around a bit however she seems to be more submissive and has so far just backed down to any confrontation. none of the piggies fights have resorted in anything serious and one always backs down, i just obviously want to prevent anything serious happening if i can.

many thanks charlotte
 
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new arrivals.
I can only echo what @Piggies&buns has told you.
Hopefully they will soon sort themselves out and settle happily into their new home.
 
thanks for letting me know and welcoming me.

I am not sure how long they have been together because the rescue i adopted them from is not entirely sure however. The 2 that seem to be having difficulties are thought to be sisters who are 2 years old and the 3rd piggie is thought to be 3. there cage is 6ft by 2ft, do you think that is big enough ? because its a c and c cage so i can extend if needed. And i will remove there bed with a single entrance.

thanks again for your reply it is very helpful 😊
 
Hi and welcome!

It takes about two weeks' time for a group to establish/re-establish in their new territory. We call this the dominance phase; the dynamics are the same as in the days following the introduction in a bonding. It is the time when the small print of the hierarchical relationship is hammered out and confirmed again.

Please take the time to read the green links in the previous posts; you will understand a lot better what is going on and can judge the severity for yourself.

An insecure leader can overreact in terms of dominance but it should settle down more with every passing day. Please make sure that you have only houses and tunnels with two exits, and that you sprinkle feed rather than bowl feed and make sure that access to hay and water cannot be blocked. if necessary, have two bottles spaced well apart and the same goes for hay, too. The leader will always have first choice but you want to minimise any major bullying behaviours like 'locking in' into a hut or corner and preventing access to food and water.

You can learn about social interactive key behaviours in this illustrated guide here and also how you can use it to make friends with your piggies in their own language (we have included a little course in 'piggy whispering'):
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Settling In And Making Friends With Guinea Pigs - A Guide

All the guide links in your thread are part of our New Owners collection, which is a really great practical and informative information resource which you want to bookmark, browse, read and re-read at need: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
 
Welcome! I recently moved to a new apartment, though my girls are a perfect match personality wise, they are also quite grumpy in their new home - constantly rumble strutting and wiggling their bums, figuring out who the boss-pig is. They should hash it out, just keep an eye on them!
 
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