Question about Guinea Pig crawling under her cage-mate

[The Alcotroll]

I have two young Guinea Pig females, only a few months old, called Cleopatra and Nefertiti.

They're from Pets at Home, but came from a large pen with several others and the woman at the shop seemed to know her stuff.
I bought them to be class pets in a Primary school, and we've had them a week- I've kept the kids away for the most part to help them settle in, and they seem to be getting more confident.

I've noticed a lot of nipping from Cleopatra, the larger of the pair- often there'll be a loud squeak and the smaller will come bolting out of their hidey-hole to the other side of the cage. There's also some chunks taken out of her ears, though I can't find any blood or other injuries. I understand that's part of Guinea Pig dominance behaviour so I'm not overly concerned for the moment; I've seen them playing tig and chasing each other, sharing food and cuddling, and Nefertiti (the smaller Pig) gets very upset and sets to scouring the cage and wheeking if I separate them. The cage could probably be bigger, but they get daily floor time and I've put in two hidey holes and some old material that Nefertiti in particular enjoys exploring.

What does concern me is that sometimes, Nefertiti will often try to crawl under Cleopatra's lower body. Of the two she is the more inquisitive and first to explore so I don't think she's scared. It actually put me in mind of a young animal looking for its mother's teat.

Should I be worried about this? Is there an implication for her feeding? Is she likely to exacerbate the dominance/bullying behaviour as Cleopatra gets fed up with having a smaller Pig crawling under her body when she's trying to chill?

 

[Freela]

Two things I thought of... it's possible that she is looking to nurse (especially if she is still young.) Sometimes pet stores separate babies from their moms too young and they are not fully weaned. The second that I thought was that she could be trying to eat the poop of the other guinea pig- sounds nasty, but eating cecal pellets (special poops full of nutrients) is a normal part of guinea pig digestion. I have seen pigs try to nose under another pig to eat their cecal pellets, but generally only when there is some disturbance of gut flora- ie. saw it with a sick pig on Baytril whose stomach was badly upset. I would keep an eye on that pig to see that she is eating and doesn't have an upset gut, just in case.

 

[The Alcotroll]

Thanks. I've been hand-feeding them both carrot every day in an attempt to get them to enjoy coming out of the cage, and I've just watched Nefertiti eating nuggets from their bowl, so I don't think its digestion.

If she is trying to nurse, what are the implications? Is it something she will grow out of, and will it affect the relationship between her and Cleopatra?

 

[The Alcotroll]

An update and a thread-bump that I think justifies thread necromancy:

I've brought the girls home from work (a hard day spent being cooed at by Year 3 during wet play) and set them loose for some floor time. Cleopatra is still larger and heavier by a visible margin, and clearly the dominant pig; she steals Nefertiti's vegetables, sends her buddy out scouting while she stays in the hidey hole, sometimes refuses to share shelters, and still occasionally sends Nefertiti scampering squeaking away with little nips and buts.

However, tonight, I've seen Nefertiti prowling around Cleopatra making a continuous low rumbling sound, after which she mounted the larger pig and started going for it. After a moment of shock, Cleopatra shrugged her off, but Nefertiti isn't to be dissuaded and is currently chasing her larger partner around the floor, growling at her and trying to get on her back again.

The woman I spoke to when I bought them assured me they were both female, and I've had a look on that website with all the pictures of guinea pig private parts at various ages. I'm as certain as I can be that I won't be needing to change Nefertiti's name to Akhenaten; furthermore, this is the first time I've seen this behaviour in five weeks.

I've heard that this sort of behaviour is a dominance thing, but in all other issues Cleopatra is very much the bossy one of the pair, so its strange to see her hopping and skipping and squirming away from her smaller cage-mate instead of just snapping at her.
Most of all, I'm worried about having to explain to a bunch of seven year-olds tomorrow what exactly their beloved Guinea Pigs are doing...

 

[funnehmare]

I can't help with you trying to explain it to your class! but my smallest girl will often go through this when she's in season. She will try to mount my boss pig (Jammy) who will squeak and bolt from Dodger (smallest pig), despite that fact she would normally tell Dodger off. Dodger will often mount and hump Biscuit too. The next day all will go back to normal again with Jammy chasing and bossing Dodger and Biscuit about!

You might find your littlest pig is beginning to hit the hormonal stage or was/is in season (depending on her age).

 

[Freela]

It sounds like the more submissive pig is in season, when they are in heat even a subordinate pig can try getting frisky with her cagemate! Some pigs have noticeable cycles based on behaviours, and other don't, but even those that don't may have a strong cycle where they act this way every once in a while. If they are young or adolescent piggies, it may be because their hormones are just kicking it and it will settle down when they are older.

My original pair of sows were Linney and Frenzy- Linney very definitely the boss, and Frenzy very meek- unless she was in season, and then watch out! It was so out of character for her that it was quite funny- it would only last a few days, and then she would be back to her meek and mild self.

 

[The Alcotroll]

Thanks for that. Interestingly, they both spent the following day spread out across the straw in their cage pretending to be asleep, so the kids never noticed anything amiss. When I got them home, they were back to normal, with Cleopatra doing all the bossing and Nefertiti scuttling around looking for food and ways to escape.

Strange.