Weird behaviour after death of cage mate.

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jennydune

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Hi all,

Long time lurker.

Sadly my guinea pig passed away a week ago.

His cage mate tried biting his ear and tugging at him to wake him up, but after no luck, he left the deceased alone (which I then removed from the cage). My alive guinea then started zooming and popcorning, and has actually been happier since his cagemate has left. Although has been more hesitant abot being picked up/taken out of cage. (They usually got on okay.)

Has anyone else ever come across this?
 
Welcome to the Forum, and sorry it is under such sad circumstances.

You did the right thing letting you piggy see his cage mate, and nibbling, licking, etc are all normal behaviours when a bereaved piggy is trying to wake his deceased cage mate up.

After that is is hard to know what is really going on, but I do think sometimes piggies can tell when a cage mate is seriously ill (long before we know) and this sudden joy is because they know they are no longer suffering (something which could cause a closely bonded pair stress).
That's just my take on it though, but you might find these guides helpful.

Looking After a Bereaved Guinea Pig
Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children
 
jennydune said:
Hi all,

Long time lurker.

Sadly my guinea pig passed away a week ago.

His cage mate tried biting his ear and tugging at him to wake him up, but after no luck, he left the deceased alone (which I then removed from the cage). My alive guinea then started zooming and popcorning, and has actually been happier since his cagemate has left. Although has been more hesitant abot being picked up/taken out of cage. (They usually got on okay.)

Has anyone else ever come across this?
Click to expand...
Hi and welcome

I am very sorry about your loss. Please take your own time to digest and to grieve.

You can never tell how piggies react to a loss; sometimes in very unexpected ways.

It looks like there may have been some underlying stress going on. It can be simply the fact that your widower is happy to have it all to himself. Unfortunately, we cannot ask the piggies why they react as they do.

When you look for new company in the coming weeks, in view of his reaction I would recommend to look for a more submissive companion who cannot challenge your widower's lead.
 
Hi!
In my experience zooming and popcorning doesn't always stem from happiness and joy, but rather stress and nervousness. I experienced it with my two girls when they were younger. If I got only one piggy out, the remaining pig would start zooming in circles and squeaking. This could go on for a minute straight. They definitely did not seem happy and the zooming would stop once I would put the other piggy back in the cage. The solution for that in my case was to just get them out together until they grew out of it, but since that is not an option for you, it seems like the best thing to do would be to find your piggy a new companion. They may be missing the company.
 
Hi all - Thanks for your responses, good to get your insight. He may have been zooming from stress/uncertainty.

Yes, I will be getting another piggie soon to keep him company.
 
It was strange/sad watching him trying to tug and pull his deceased companion by the fur, and in guessing he must have known/understood on some level that something was wrong (opposed to the deceased guinea just being asleep).
 
jennydune said:
It was strange/sad watching him trying to tug and pull his deceased companion by the fur, and in guessing he must have known/understood on some level that something was wrong (opposed to the deceased guinea just being asleep).
Click to expand...
They do understand when a companion has passed away... nuzzling/licking/nibbling the deceased is really common. How they react after that is very individual... I've had pigs be seemingly fine and pigs be very distressed and anywhere in between. I can remember very clearly the first pair I had, one developed a severe dental abscess and passed away pretty young. I had been taking her for multiple vet appointments and her cagemate was very obviously looking for her and waiting for me to bring her back whenever she was at the vet... when she passed and her cagemate said her goodbyes, she never looked for her again. That's how I knew that, on some level, she understood that she was not coming back again.

I'm sorry for your loss, it's never easy.
 
Interesting you ask this...one of my pigs passed away two weeks ago & her cagemate had been with her since their previous owner got them from a petstore 6yrs ago.

The one that passed away was the dominant one, they didn't always get along, but they were a good pair.

The first few days, she was a bit depressed, but I connected her cage to my other pigs' cage & all went well so she wasn't alone. BUT - her personality has changed, she is more curious, more willing to be touched, etc. than ever before. She's more lively & more confident. So, I think her cagemate definitely taught her a lot & she's now able to really come into herself.

Just an interesting observation.
 
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