Vet told me to the separate my guinea pig that have been tgt for 2years:/

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Zhi Heng

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I have posted a few times regarding the dominance issue for chubby and midnight, my guinea pigs where chubby is very skittish n runs away frm midnight even though they nvr fight n midnight doesn't stop him from eating etc, chubby just always whine n runs away 😅 but after talking to the ppl here, I have came to a conclusion to keep them tgt n that chubby is just a very submissive piggy that's all. Their dynamic n relationship is fine. But today I visited the vet n she told me that their recent weight loss (both lose abt 150g and midnight hair loss might be due to stress cuz they didn't like each other... N that guinea pigs are more grumpy n dominant when they r ard 3years old according to my vet so only now did the weight get affected?
Also, btw my vet mentioned that a adult guinea pig requires 80mg of vitamin c per day n so i have to buy supplements in addition to feeding Bell pepper( which i already do) , is that true? I thought I read online that guinea pig only require 25mg? Midnight lose of fur is attached below.
 

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Not all relationship problems result in full on fights - weight loss, hair loss etc can be a sign of a stressful relationship and a dysfunctional bond. The way to test a dysfunctional bond is to carry out a temporary separation. The dominant piggy will always be upset by such a separation (and you need to ignore their anger by it during a temporary separation) but it is the submissive piggy’s reaction which is the deciding factor - if the submissive piggy becomes happier, comes out of hideys more often, eats more and gains weight, then that can be the sign that their relationship is a stressful one and a more permanent separation is required.
I have never heard that they suddenly get more grumpy and dominant at 3 years old - no idea where your vet got that from - more normally, boars mellow with age and become much calmer.

However, you need to be certain that these issues are not caused by any health issue first. Separating a well bonded pair can cause stress in itself, so if all health issues are ruled out and the weight loss continues, then testing for a dysfunctional bond may well be the next thing to try. I will add some links in below to help with further information.

Guinea pigs do not normally require additional vitamin c supplements. They get their Vit c needs from their hay/grass (the large intake of hay/grass is the reason Guinea pigs don’t need to make their own), a varied vegetable diet and supplemented with pellets. Overloading then with excess vitamin c can be a waste of time as excess is simply excreted from the body, plus giving more vitamin c than required for a long period, then if there is a sudden drop in Vit c intake can in itself cause scurvy. If they have not be diagnosed with a Vit c deficiency (which is not common anyway), then I would not give extra Vit c.

You need to be able to trust your vet though, so if you are questioning their advice, then maybe you need to look to another vet.

Bonds In Trouble
 
I had to permanently separate my first boars, the submissive one had put up with the stress for 2 years, constantly getting chased ( they were school pigs) When he was alone but next door, he came back to life, so happy and eating better, and the dominant one was happy aswell

My current boar and sow pair, are 50 50, they pine for the other one if I take them apart just to syringe feed Cystease to my sow, but do have little lunges at eachother in the cage, never have actually sunk any teeth in, just warning get out my space type stuff.
 
The vet I see is a senior consultant... She told me that both my guinea pig are perfectly healthy i guess that's why she believes the reason why they are losing weight was due to stress cuz they didn't like each other... @Piggies&buns That's what I thought so too, I always read online saying that guinea pig are most dominant during their teenage years ard 6mths to 1.5year but my vet says 3 to 4 years old is when they r at the peak of testorone etc all that cuz they are fully grown adults, she say like how 40 year old mans r more grumpy n less tolerant n vocal of each other? Lmao...
@SkyPipDotBernie, so your guinea pig lives alone for the rest of his life since then? My chubby seems to enjoy being alone too, I always felt he wasn't a sociable guinea pig, kinda introverted n quiet, like even when he was young, he had another buddy of similar age, when that guy passed away, for some reason the next few days chubby seemed happier and more carefree n running ard the cage (I thought he would be sad n mourning his fren lmao...)n he was always okay with his fren, like they get along perfectly then... One week after the buddy died, I immediately got midnight cuz everyone/everywhere online says guinea pigs needs buddy n can't be alone... But the relationship with midnight he had was much more tense than his previous buddy, like he somehow is always very very skittish n submissive ard midnight... Even tho there weren't really bullying or fighting... Like for the past 2 years, chubby would usuually run away the moment midnight walk towards him n glare at him... Tho he will soon return to that spot usually to eat if he wass eating at that spot.. But I asked the people here online n came to a conclusion that chubby was just a very submissive piggy n there's nothing wrong abt the relationship, but now since my vet asked me to separate them, perhaps i was wrong...
 
Zhi Heng said:
The vet I see is a senior consultant... She told me that both my guinea pig are perfectly healthy i guess that's why she believes the reason why they are losing weight was due to stress cuz they didn't like each other... @Piggies&buns That's what I thought so too, I always read online saying that guinea pig are most dominant during their teenage years ard 6mths to 1.5year but my vet says 3 to 4 years old is when they r at the peak of testorone etc all that cuz they are fully grown adults, she say like how 40 year old mans r more grumpy n less tolerant n vocal of each other? Lmao...
@SkyPipDotBernie, so your guinea pig lives alone for the rest of his life since then? My chubby seems to enjoy being alone too, I always felt he wasn't a sociable guinea pig, kinda introverted n quiet, like even when he was young, he had another buddy of similar age, when that guy passed away, for some reason the next few days chubby seemed happier and more carefree n running ard the cage (I thought he would be sad n mourning his fren lmao...)n he was always okay with his fren, like they get along perfectly then... One week after the buddy died, I immediately got midnight cuz everyone/everywhere online says guinea pigs needs buddy n can't be alone... But the relationship with midnight he had was much more tense than his previous buddy, like he somehow is always very very skittish n submissive ard midnight... Even tho there weren't really bullying or fighting... Like for the past 2 years, chubby would usuually run away the moment midnight walk towards him n glare at him... Tho he will soon return to that spot usually to eat if he wass eating at that spot.. But I asked the people here online n came to a conclusion that chubby was just a very submissive piggy n there's nothing wrong abt the relationship, but now since my vet asked me to separate them, perhaps i was wrong...
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Alone yea, but can still Interect through the cage bars, so like living alone but being able to speak to your neighbour over the garden fence. Any less than that and i don't think it's fair
 
Zhi Heng said:
The vet I see is a senior consultant... She told me that both my guinea pig are perfectly healthy i guess that's why she believes the reason why they are losing weight was due to stress cuz they didn't like each other... @Piggies&buns That's what I thought so too, I always read online saying that guinea pig are most dominant during their teenage years ard 6mths to 1.5year but my vet says 3 to 4 years old is when they r at the peak of testorone etc all that cuz they are fully grown adults, she say like how 40 year old mans r more grumpy n less tolerant n vocal of each other? Lmao...
@SkyPipDotBernie, so your guinea pig lives alone for the rest of his life since then? My chubby seems to enjoy being alone too, I always felt he wasn't a sociable guinea pig, kinda introverted n quiet, like even when he was young, he had another buddy of similar age, when that guy passed away, for some reason the next few days chubby seemed happier and more carefree n running ard the cage (I thought he would be sad n mourning his fren lmao...)n he was always okay with his fren, like they get along perfectly then... One week after the buddy died, I immediately got midnight cuz everyone/everywhere online says guinea pigs needs buddy n can't be alone... But the relationship with midnight he had was much more tense than his previous buddy, like he somehow is always very very skittish n submissive ard midnight... Even tho there weren't really bullying or fighting... Like for the past 2 years, chubby would usuually run away the moment midnight walk towards him n glare at him... Tho he will soon return to that spot usually to eat if he wass eating at that spot.. But I asked the people here online n came to a conclusion that chubby was just a very submissive piggy n there's nothing wrong abt the relationship, but now since my vet asked me to separate them, perhaps i was wrong...
Click to expand...

Being dominant and being hormonal are two different things. They will be dominant throughout their entire lives but hormones in boars fizzle out of time. That makes them mellow out but they will still be dominant If they are the dominant piggy.

i would try the temporary separation so you can test their relationship. If chubby perks up being away from midnight, then it suggests that there is stress and tension within their bond.
 
I see, but last time everytime I separate them with a fence, midnight seems very unhappy throughout the period n always teeth chatter at chubby (he doesn't does that when they live tgt) causing chubby to be scared😅
 
Midnight, as the dominant pig, will be upset by a separation - his reaction is not the important one for determining the functionality of their relationship.
It’s chubby who you need to watch. It’s possible that you are putting human emotions on it by saying he is scared by midnight’s teeth chattering - he may not be scared at all, after all to them teeth chattering is communication and dominance.
The decision is yours as to what you do, but if they are losing weight then you need to get to the bottom of why.
 
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