Sow Dominance

[zuzanna]

I had two guinea pigs to begin with, Coffee and Toffee - Coffee being the dominant piggie. Unfortunately, after a very short time of about 7 weeks of having them, Toffee got very ill and passed away. Soon after her death, I got another female piggie called Snowball. The two were doing alright - just the usual dominant behaviour.

After about 3 weeks, I noticed that the guinea pigs stopped eating one morning. (I have a thread about this - My Guinea Pigs Are Acting Strange!) That day, they both seemed very cold as they were snuggling up together - which was really unusual as they weren't really friends. I was hand feeding both of the guinea pigs and a few days later, they started to get better but of course were still lacking in some vitamins. This is when I noticed Snowball eating her own poops. I know this is normal for guinea pigs so I dismissed it but then I noticed that Coffee was going up to Snowball's rear end and eating them straight from her! I checked all over Snowball to check if Coffee was biting or causing any harm but there was nothing to be found. The only worrying thing is Snowball's shrieks every time Coffee is near her (which I know is submissive behaviour, but it's still a bit worrying as it's constant!)

I seperated the piggies for about a day and placed them back together to see if there was a change but there is nothing! It's been a few days of going back and forth - which I know isn't the best idea - but I don't know what to do!

Should I permanently split them up? Or wait until they are both back to 100% full health?

 

[Wiebke]

I had two guinea pigs to begin with, Coffee and Toffee - Coffee being the dominant piggie. Unfortunately, after a very short time of about 7 weeks of having them, Toffee got very ill and passed away. Soon after her death, I got another female piggie called Snowball. The two were doing alright - just the usual dominant behaviour.

After about 3 weeks, I noticed that the guinea pigs stopped eating one morning. (I have a thread about this - My Guinea Pigs Are Acting Strange!) That day, they both seemed very cold as they were snuggling up together - which was really unusual as they weren't really friends. I was hand feeding both of the guinea pigs and a few days later, they started to get better but of course were still lacking in some vitamins. This is when I noticed Snowball eating her own poops. I know this is normal for guinea pigs so I dismissed it but then I noticed that Coffee was going up to Snowball's rear end and eating them straight from her! I checked all over Snowball to check if Coffee was biting or causing any harm but there was nothing to be found. The only worrying thing is Snowball's shrieks every time Coffee is near her (which I know is submissive behaviour, but it's still a bit worrying as it's constant!)

I seperated the piggies for about a day and placed them back together to see if there was a change but there is nothing! It's been a few days of going back and forth - which I know isn't the best idea - but I don't know what to do!

Should I permanently split them up? Or wait until they are both back to 100% full health?

Guinea pigs recovering from an illness/malnutrition will eat other piggies' deigestive poos to help stock up their guts. Sniffing bums, especially when a sow is coming close to her season is also normal.

I would give them a bit more time to settle if there is no sign of fighting or outright bullying.

Make sure that you have got two of each, hideys, food bowls and water bottles, spaced well apart. Feed pellets and veg rather twice daily in smaller portions, so each piggy can eat a full portion and not hog any leftovers. In the meantime, they can eat plenty of hay, which should make up to 80% of the daily food intake for long term gut and dental health.

 

[zuzanna]

Thank you for replying so quickly. The only worrying thing is is that Coffee will not leave Snowball alone at all! She only will go off for about 2 minutes to eat some hay but when she's finished, bothering Snowball is the only thing she does.