Aggressive bereaved guinea pig: help!

[littlelily1993]

Hi there, am looking for some help as I'm feeling a bit anxious about my guinea pig.

My piggies, Lily and Luna, were bought from Pets at Home a few months old and are now 2.5years old. They always got on really well. Unfortunately poor little Luna crossed the rainbow bridge last Thursday after not eating her food, discovering a dental problem, having a procedure under GA, then contracting a chest infection and having to make the decision to put her down as she was lop sided and finding breathing difficult </3 It all happened in the space of a few days and was pretty traumatic.

Lily has been doing okay, but has been quite withdrawn, quiet and less active. I've been anxious about her being lonely and getting depressed, particularly as I am going away for a long weekend soon and she won't have interaction then with me (usually its okay as my housemate gives veggies and they had eachother to keep them entertained). So yesterday, I researched a rescue centre in London and potential matches for her to find a friend/at least have a play date and some interaction.

I took her along to GBH rescue in Elmers End, London, which is about an hour from me. The lady there was lovely and showed me some suitable piggies. I decided it may be best to get a similar aged neutred male, as read online this was a successful combination to introduce. I didn't want a young piggie really as I'm unsure if I can commit the extra years right now. I decided upon a fuzzy male called Eddie and they were introduced in a hexagonal pen with food etc.

They got on well, Eddie did a bit of humping but Lily was unbothered, munching veg and talking to Eddie. There were in there for about half an hour and I felt happy to take him home. On the way back they were in the carrier together snuggled up, totally fine. But upon putting them in Lily's cage (which I did clean first and put down lavender oil as advised by the rescue centre lady) Lily became very territorial and aggressive, puffing herself up, teeth chattering and launching herself at Eddie. This continued for a few hours, and Eddie started to retaliate too. They had a couple of tumbles together and fur was lost through biting, but no blood drawn.

Unfortunately I did try and intervene (big mistake I know!) as I was worried about Lily and wanted to protect her, and Eddie nipped my thumb quite badly.

Overnight I could hear they had a few more tumbles and lots of teeth chattering. But today they are both quite quiet and withdrawn, a little bit of chattering and annoyed squeaking but mostly staying out of eachother's way. I am being careful to make sure they are both still eating etc, which they are.

What I am wondering now is, whether I need to take Eddie back to the rescue and swap for a new male pig, or whether to persevere with this pairing? It's drained and upset me a bit as the whole point was to improve Lily's quality of life..!

Any advice would be very much appreciated. I have them in a 3X2 C&C cage with a 1x2 loft and ramp.

Thank you soooooo much in advance! I feel this piggie saga is taking over my life! Why did you have to die Luna?!

xxxxxx

 

[Bill & Ted]

Aw, so sorry you lost Luna x
I would give them time to get to know each other, as they may have started to settle down now. Let the rescue know that it’s been a bumpy night but please give them more time unless they are fighting continually. Good luck and let us know how you get on with them x
Adding lavender oil is not a great idea, it’s supposed to mask any smells but probably stresses them out wonder who smells like that?
There’s some great advice on the GP guides on Bonding

 

[Wiebke]

Hi there, am looking for some help as I'm feeling a bit anxious about my guinea pig.

My piggies, Lily and Luna, were bought from Pets at Home a few months old and are now 2.5years old. They always got on really well. Unfortunately poor little Luna crossed the rainbow bridge last Thursday after not eating her food, discovering a dental problem, having a procedure under GA, then contracting a chest infection and having to make the decision to put her down as she was lop sided and finding breathing difficult </3 It all happened in the space of a few days and was pretty traumatic.

Lily has been doing okay, but has been quite withdrawn, quiet and less active. I've been anxious about her being lonely and getting depressed, particularly as I am going away for a long weekend soon and she won't have interaction then with me (usually its okay as my housemate gives veggies and they had eachother to keep them entertained). So yesterday, I researched a rescue centre in London and potential matches for her to find a friend/at least have a play date and some interaction.

I took her along to GBH rescue in Elmers End, London, which is about an hour from me. The lady there was lovely and showed me some suitable piggies. I decided it may be best to get a similar aged neutred male, as read online this was a successful combination to introduce. I didn't want a young piggie really as I'm unsure if I can commit the extra years right now. I decided upon a fuzzy male called Eddie and they were introduced in a hexagonal pen with food etc.

They got on well, Eddie did a bit of humping but Lily was unbothered, munching veg and talking to Eddie. There were in there for about half an hour and I felt happy to take him home. On the way back they were in the carrier together snuggled up, totally fine. But upon putting them in Lily's cage (which I did clean first and put down lavender oil as advised by the rescue centre lady) Lily became very territorial and aggressive, puffing herself up, teeth chattering and launching herself at Eddie. This continued for a few hours, and Eddie started to retaliate too. They had a couple of tumbles together and fur was lost through biting, but no blood drawn.

Unfortunately I did try and intervene (big mistake I know!) as I was worried about Lily and wanted to protect her, and Eddie nipped my thumb quite badly.

Overnight I could hear they had a few more tumbles and lots of teeth chattering. But today they are both quite quiet and withdrawn, a little bit of chattering and annoyed squeaking but mostly staying out of eachother's way. I am being careful to make sure they are both still eating etc, which they are.

What I am wondering now is, whether I need to take Eddie back to the rescue and swap for a new male pig, or whether to persevere with this pairing? It's drained and upset me a bit as the whole point was to improve Lily's quality of life..!

Any advice would be very much appreciated. I have them in a 3X2 C&C cage with a 1x2 loft and ramp.

Thank you soooooo much in advance! I feel this piggie saga is taking over my life! Why did you have to die Luna?!

xxxxxx

Hi!

Please never stick a freshly dated piggy into somepig else's cage straight away before they have done the bulk of the bonding; that will make the newbie being perceived as an intruder. Give them time on neutral territory and only move into the newly made up and rearranged cage once they have settled down together. Any piggy out of their comfort zone (at the rescue and during transport) can easily react different than when at home.

I would recommend to put a divider in the cage and see how your piggies get on on their own - if one or both parties are perking up noticeably once away from the other, then the bond has failed. In my experience, once there serious scuffles, the bond never really settles down. The instinctive defence bite from your new boar is a clear sign of how much on edge he is; the behaviour is also rather that of a pair of piggies after a serious altercation/fall-out, I am afraid to say.

Please take the time to read these guides here in order to understand what has happened and why:
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Bonds In Trouble
Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering And Cuddling Tips
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)