Piggie aggressive after antibiotics! Please help!

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fleetwood&elton

I have 2 wonderful little piggies that have been living together peacefully for a year now.
2 Weeks ago piggie Elton was given a course of antibiotics by the vet after she had a little abscess on her nose which wasn't healing up very well.
Stressed and annoyed by the daily interference in her once peaceful existence I woke up one morning to Fleetwood (the other piggie) screaming for her life.
Elton had overnight decided that Fleetwood wasn't allowed in her space anymore and had started chasing her around the cage, making that moaning sound and biting her whenever she could get to her.
Shocked by what I saw I moved Elton to the outside cage while leaving Fleetwood indoors. I was later advised that although I should keep the piggies separate while Elton was finishing her antibiotics they should remain in the same cage as it might be more difficult to re-introduce them.
So we made a barrier in the cage which each piggie having their own (tiny) living space. But now every time we try to take the barrier away (as Elton finished her antibiotics last week) the same problem emerges.
Poor Fleetwood is literally trying to climb up the bars to get away from Elton... it's heartbreaking!
The strange thing is that when they are on the couch or floor together they seem fine... Elton still is the dominant one and will nip or headbutt Fleetwood out of the way when she annoys her but there is no real aggression.
We tried things like the buddy bath and have even ordered a bigger cage (the biggest one they make actually) but doubt whether that is gonna do any good as when in the outside cage (which is huge) Elton still chases Fleetwood to the other side of the cage although not viciously attacking her.
Both piggies seem very distressed by the whole situation, and so am I... no more smiles about the lovely sounds they make or seeing them play together. It's breaking my heart!
Will they ever be able to live in peace together again? Please help!
 
If you try to reintroduce them, make sure it's on neutral ground and they have been washed with the same shampoo to eliminate any differences in smell.

Unfortunately, it's not unheard of that one guinea pig can decide out of the blue that his/her companion is for whatever reason no longer part of the tribe, and quite often won't have it back. As heartbreaking as it is; it would be better if you thought about what to do in case they won't get together, as well.

It may well be that Elton's sense of smell has been disturbed and she perceives as Fleetwood smelling differently from her. Perhaps it is better to wait until her treatment has finished, before you try to pu them together again.

I wish you best of luck!
 
Thank you vickyt... I might wait till the new bigger cage comes (would that be a neutral enough territory?) and give them another bath before putting them in there.
What would you advise if they still don't get on then?
I have thought about the option of getting another set of piggies as new buddies for the fighting couple. Problem is that I don't have a lot of space and would need to keep one pair outdoors and the other indoors.
But I wouldn't want to keep them on their own.
And would you advise getting another 2 females or would it maybe be better to have a neutered male for the dominant Elton?
 
Sorry to hear they are bickering, it isn't uncommon when one piggy is ill. If they are still not getting on even once back to full health, I would recommend a neutered boar as this will often sort out squabbling sows! I've got 2 groups of sows - a group of 10 and a group of 4, each group with a neutered boar and there is very little squabbling between them now. Girls can get a bit 'hand-bags at dawn' sometimes!

Sophie
x
 
I think a new cage is a very good place, but leave all their stuff out at first; otherwise you can use anything from the bathtub with a towel on the ground to any room floor where they can't hide somewhere and messes cleaned off.

I must admit that my neutered boar is managing well to keep my two squabbling sisters at bay for most of the time, though Nia still has her moments!

I really hope that you will be able to get them back together, though!
 
"hand-bags at dawn" - made me laugh out loud :))

Sorry to hear about fleetwood and elton, hope they manage to patch things up.
x
 
Sounds like great advice from Sophie there...my neutered boar keeps my sows in their places but he is a big softie really :))

Best of luck!
 
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