Please Help! Stressed piggy, Should i try swap my guiena pig pairs or not?

[The.Aussie.Guineas]

I'm going to try explain this the best i can, i’ve attached pics with their names next to them down below. I have 4 guiena pigs but they are housed in 2 seperate cages in pairs (Gus & Karma as a pair and Viva & Sugar as the second pair, same as in the pics). For years i only had Viva and her friend but she passed away so i had to get her a new friend. Originally i just got Gus a de-sexed male as her new friend but it wasnt long before Gus started showing severe aggression towards Viva so they could not be housed together. Gus had been stuck in a rescue shelter for 3 years (his whole life as he is 3) so i did not want to just drop him back as he deserves a home. So since Gus and Viva couldnt live together i ended up going and getting 2 more out of the same shelter so that they could both live here in seperate cages but have a friend each. The two girls i rescued are both 1yr old’s and they are Karma who is now living with Gus and also Sugar who is now living with Viva. Please also note that The whole reason i got new guienas in the first place is to make Viva happy since her lifelong friend died, Viva is nearly 5 years old and she is really special to me i have had her since she was a baby and we have a very strong bond so i want to do anything i can to make sure she lives as long as possible. To make a long story shorter Gus & Karma the newbies both get along great and love eachother. However its been 6 months now and Viva & Sugar do not have the same relationship, its starting to really stress Viva out and it seems like its making her age quicker as shes so stressed atleast once a day Sugar will not stop chasing her and teeth chattering and she also trys to mount Viva which is strange since shes a girl. Sugar gives her little nips sometimes but not many and she has never fully attacked Viva… however Viva still seems like she is on edge 24/7 and frightened since her old lifelong friend used to be super chilled and she never did any of this. In the other cage with the de-sexed boy there is Karma and she is a super chilled girl and is not agressive at ALL she has a very calm personality and she is alot more like Viva’s old friend so i feel like Viva would like her way more. I dont know if i should swap the pairs and put Sugar in with Gus and give Karma to Viva as a mate. Since Viva is so on edge at the moment i dont know if trying to bond her with a new friend will stress her out more or if its worth it for her health? … Karma and Gus also do really love eachother so i didnt want to break them up but i dont know what else to do as Viva just wants a relaxed friend like her old one and i really am worried about her, she has started making sounds she has never made before and overall does not seem good at all. What do you guys think? If its too confusing please look at the pics to understand who’s who and get a visual on what I'm trying to say… Sorry this is long but i would appreciate help so much i just want to do whatever is best for Viva’s health as she cant take anymore stress so I'm not sure if new bonding will make her worse or not

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

It is important to note that mounting and chasing are normal dominance behaviours practiced by both sexes including in same sex pairings - it is not sexual behaviour.
Nipping is a gesture of power which doesn’t break the skin - it sounds as if Sugar is asserting dominance over Viva. Again, this is normal.
Can you tell us more about the sounds Viva is making?
For example a high pitched squealing is actually submission which is the correct response for a submissive piggy to make.

These behaviours can seem distressing to us but are very important to them. It’s important to not intervene in a functioning bond with dominance behaviours - all that achieves is to disrupt what is normal and actually causes more upset.

Now, where things get be more complicated is if normal dominance tips over into bullying. Sows can be more underhand about bullying which can make it harder to spot.
The typical signs of bullying are relentless chasing to the point a piggy cannot rest. Is chased away from food so potentially you’ll notice weight loss at each routine weekly weight check. Generally becoming withdrawn. Not all signs will be present so you need to work out whether it is going too far.
First, before going any further you should have sugar checked by a vet. Piggies can display these kinds of behaviours if there are health conditions at play including ovarian cysts.

The way you determine a failing bond is to separate them for a few days. If Viva was to perk up during those few days apart then that is often a sign that they don’t like each other and their separation is likely to need to be made permanent. Sugar would be upset by a separation by it is not her response you go by.
You can then reunite them on neutral territory (very important it’s neutral) and see responses. If viva immediately goes back to being withdrawn etc then it would be clear their bond has failed and separation would need to be permanent.

I’m not necessarily sure I would try to switch pairs as it would seem such a shame to separate gus and karma.
If viva and sugar did need to be separated, they can remain in side by side cages. This enables through the bar interaction but without having to share a territory.
That obviously means you have to have the space for three cages though

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