Worried about bullying in cage

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Amylittlehands

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Hey everyone.
I'm writing this in desperation of some advice! My partner and I got two guinea pigs about a month ago, sows. I'd say their around 2-3months old, weighing around 400g-ish. They seemed to have gotten along fine until recently.

They popcorned together, slept together & enjoyed meal time together. I did notice Hermione doing a 'mating dance' & mounting Edd a few weeks ago and thought nothing of it. Now, in a twist of fate Hermione is ill (Vet is booked but can't get sooner than Tuesday). I think she has some sort of infection in her eye, it doesn't look terrible but her eyes look dull and producing a lot of gunk. It seems to be clearing up due to me gently cleaning it. She seems a bit lethargic and nippy, squeaky and agitated if you touch her back and belly (Wasn't like it before). I thought the cats swiped at her (We have the cage secured but I didn't know what else to think).

Today during snack time I noticed Edd made a turn against her and kept nipping on Hermione back making her squeak and flinch & jolt her head. I was really confused as I thought they sorted out their differences regarding dominance and Hermione triumphed, that's not the case.

Hermione seems to be drinking fine but I'm not on constant watch of the cage so I don't see them eat, I 'think' Edd is hogging all the food, she tends to take it from Hermione's mouth when I give them veggies from hand during snack time.

We have now split our C&C cage into two to let Hermione have a break and stock up on food (She felt underweight and could feel her bones under fur and I could pinch her skin) so that's a cause for concern.

It's very confusing and upsetting for us and the pigs as they we're fine before, given the same treatment of love and attention.

I will keep you updated on her appointment.

If anyone has advice and has been through this we'd appreciate it as we'd love to have them bonded again.

Amy
 
When they're unwell they can get very 'nippy' and confront the other piggie......my girl Onyx did this recently to her sister (they're over 3 !)
Really sorry to hear about her eye, you could gently bathe it......pre boil some water, let it cool right down and then with a clean makeup remover pad (or something soft) wipe away from the eye cleaning away all the gunk. (sounds like that's what you're already doing? )
It does concern me to hear that she's lethargic..... perhaps put a call into your vets and ask for advice :)
Try feeding Hermione on her own to make sure she's eating enough, weigh her daily and you'll notice any weight loss.....


HEALING WHEEEEKY VIBES FOR HERMIONE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 
Glynis said:
When they're unwell they can get very 'nippy' and confront the other piggie......my girl Onyx did this recently to her sister (they're over 3 !)
Really sorry to hear about her eye, you could gently bathe it......pre boil some water, let it cool right down and then with a clean makeup remover pad (or something soft) wipe away from the eye cleaning away all the gunk. (sounds like that's what you're already doing? )
It does concern me to hear that she's lethargic..... perhaps put a call into your vets and ask for advice :)
Try feeding Hermione on her own to make sure she's eating enough, weigh her daily and you'll notice any weight loss.....


HEALING WHEEEEKY VIBES FOR HERMIONE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply! The odd thing is that Edd isn't unwell, yet she's being a bit nasty to Hermione, I thought it'd be the other way around because she's unwell. When I say Lethargic I mean, less energetic than Edd who's a bit more adventurous. Hermione isn't hunching or wheezing, she runs around the cage when we pick her up (Good sign apparently?). Very hard to explain what she's like, because she's so new to our family it's hard to tell what's out of the ordinary. If I had concerns of a UTI or URI I'd take her to the vet a.s.a.p. Thanks for the advice about cleaning the eye, I've been keeping ontop of it and feed her a great range of veggies (Got them coriander and spinach this week which they loved).

So yeah, I'm confused as to why it's Edd that's being nippy towards the unwell piggy.

They're separated for now until Hermione is back on her feet again!

Here's picture of Hermione's eyes (Bad quality & link to pic)
IMG_20120618_012652.jpg

<-- Click if you can't see it.
IMG_20120618_012722.jpg

<-- Click if you can't see it.

As you can see her eyes aren't very bright, they seem dull and maybe slightly sunken? Before, the white parts of her eyes wouldn't show (That's not gunk, just the white part of an eyeball).

Very odd!
Bless her.

Amy
 
ouchies Amy that does look really sore :...:(

sorry i was a bit muddled mallethead (i'm at work so the phone interrupts me on here sometimes!)

I think it's an instinct with them.....
Poor baby she looks so miserable.....

Give her lots of little loves from the girls and I XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
and HUGS for you too XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
i know how worrying it is when our babies are unwell :(

Edit: some more of the experience peeps will be on when they wake up i'm sure they'll give you some more helpful advice :)
 
Please dont split them. They sound like there having normal sow behavior, have a read of this link about sow behavior it may be useful:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561

By splitting them up, its may mean that they have to work out hiarachy once again. Girls can often look very mean/violent towards one another and some even scream as if being hurt. This is normally not the case, its usually a cry to 'get away from me' and piggies often take food from each others mouths all the time. Dont split them unless blood has actually been drawn.

Heres a really quick video, I know Wiekbe on here will have some super good videos showing some sow behavior, but this is just an example. My neutered boar splits these sows up from fighting. He looks quite mean and horrible, but hes really not hurting them and its all normal and harmless.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEjOfaHf1v0&list=UURK13Jbuxbofmz319_dt3VA&index=6&feature=plcp"]Ozzie breaks up the girls fighting - YouTube[/ame]


x.
 
Last edited:
Abi_nurse said:
Please dont split them. They sound like there having normal sow behavior, have a read of this link about sow behavior it may be useful:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561

By splitting them up, its may mean that they have to work out hiarachy once again. Girls can often look very mean/violent towards one another and some even scream as if being hurt. This is normally not the case, its usually a cry to 'get away from me' and piggies often take food from each others mouths all the time. Dont split them unless blood has actually been drawn.

Heres a really quick video, I know Wiekbe on here will have some super good videos showing some sow behavior, but this is just an example. My neutered boar splits these sows up from fighting. He looks quite mean and horrible, but hes really not hurting them and its all normal and harmless.

Ozzie breaks up the girls fighting - YouTube


x.
Click to expand...

I'm afriad that if I put them back together while Hermione isn't well it'll slow down her healing. I don't think I mentioned but Hermione seems to be very sore in the spots that Edd keeps biting her, no blood is drawn and I can't see or feel scabs but the poor little lady winces when I try to stroke her whereas she used to pur.
 
Poor girls :( may be Hermoine has another medical problem other than her eye? My girls nip each other often, especially at veg time but never enough to make one wince when touched.

Good luck at the vets xx
 
When we 1st had our two girls Lottie would keep 'pecking' at Bonnie which made her squeal sometimes. A couple of times they were each in a corner 'chuntering' at each other and I thought they were going to fight but it didn't amount to much. This pecking and 'facing off' went on for quite a while and I was worried, there were times when I wanted to take Bonnie out because I felt bad for her but eventually it calmed down. Lottie is very much the boss now and Bonnie accepts it. There has to be a dominant one and I'm sure that's what they were doing-asserting their dominance. I wouldn't leave it too long before you put them back together.
 
It is urgent that you take a piggy with a suspected eye infection or respiratory infection to be seen by a vet asap. An eye infection can get really bad and painful quickly, so the sooner she is seen the better and quicker the recovery.

You often see dominance behaviour towards an ill piggy that is endangering the group (even if the group only consists of one piggy). As you have separated, I would wait until your sick piggy is better and then introduce them on neutral ground to minimise any chances of non-acceptance after illness.

here are some links that will hopefully help you:
eye injuries: http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html#signs
sow behaviour: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
How to stage introductions: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
 
Wiebke said:
It is urgent that you take a piggy with a suspected eye infection or respiratory infection to be seen by a vet asap. An eye infection can get really bad and painful quickly, so the sooner she is seen the better and quicker the recovery.

You often see dominance behaviour towards an ill piggy that is endangering the group (even if the group only consists of one piggy). As you have separated, I would wait until your sick piggy is better and then introduce them on neutral ground to minimise any chances of non-acceptance after illness.

here are some links that will hopefully help you:
eye injuries: http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html#signs
sow behaviour: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
How to stage introductions: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
Click to expand...

I went to the vet today and it appears she sign minor signs of a URI (The vet wasn't specialized in guinea pigs). No signs of crackling in the lungs which is good so we caught it early. She's on anti-biotics given through her water bottle. Her eyes are nearly cleared up and look brighter.

Edd also has signs of crusty eyes so she's on the same meds along with lots of cuddles and gentle cleaning of the eye.

Thanks for the support everyone! I'll keep you updated!

p.s. I'm also moving the cage into the living room to keep on eye on them as I've stopped separating them, good so far and are getting along. maybe they're just cranky from being ill?

x
 
Fingers crossed she feels better very soon. Good that you went to the vet quickly. Might be worth looking for a more specialist vet for future ref, I'm sure forum members could help with recommendations depending on your area.

Mine grumble at each other from time to time and I did wonder if the dominant sow was hogging all the food at one point. I put 2 bowls in on different sides of the cage for pellets and veggies as the dominant sow can't be in two places at once :))
 
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