Cannot bond as usual

S

Sgboyd

Junior Guinea Pig
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Brought a female home to my lonely girl from a poor situation. Had her quarantined until vet and am on pregnancy watch since I took her from a situation where she was with multiple males.

Anywho...in the past I've set up a play pen for bonding, but now I have a cat and my new gal is the size of a mouse. Vet doesnt want her to be stressed in case she is expecting, so it was suggested two cages side by side. They can see each other but not be in each others space. I've had the cages stacked since I got a second cage until I come up with a better plan.

Well, tonight I had the new girl, Nissa, on my lap and my son had my other girl. Aoefe on his lap. Both started squeaking an almost shriek sound at each other. Aoefe kept trying to get to my lap and Nissa kept trying to sniff her. It seemed Aoefe was trying to bite so we separated and put them in their respective cages side by side.

Aoefe is now trying to bite the cage (never did that before) furiously. I had to put a visual barrier up to get her to stop. I don't want her to damage her teeth.

When I brought her into my home initially, Aoefe adjusted and bonded well with her sister. Now that she is a lone pig, I am concerned she wants to stay that way.

I'd try a bonding bath, but that could stress my possibly pregnant Nissa.

Any tips for bonding in this unique situation would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
Bonding is not always a straight forward process. However, until you actually carry out a proper bonding in neutral territory then you won’t know whether they will actually bond. It doesn’t mean she wants to stay alone though. A successful bond comes down to character compatibility and unfortunately getting a piggy on spec means you have no way of knowing if they will actually be compatible.

We don’t recommend bonding baths at all.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
 
You could try now. But just be aware that if she does turn out to be pregnant, the hierarchy can change once she gives birth.
 
Siikibam said:
You could try now. But just be aware that if she does turn out to be pregnant, the hierarchy can change once she gives birth.
Click to expand...
Can you explain what to expect? Past three days she has gained 20 g each day. I'm becoming more convinced I'm going to be a grandma.
 
Also, with the squawking taking place...I never had that when bonding before. Walk me through what says this is too much and I should separate. I know blood. My other girls chattered, rumble strutted, and mounted one another but never squawking. It sounds frantic.
 
The squeaking may just be submission squeaking and not anything more hideous. It sounds a lot worse to us than it actually is. Have a read of the guides that Piggies&Buns linked to in her earlier reply. And then also have a read of the ones below to know when the dominance behaviour is too much.

May I ask why you’re weighing her daily? Weekly is fine, and you won’t know she’s pregnant until the latter weeks.

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
 
I was weighing daily because I was told she was over a month old and she was anything but a month weight wise. I suspect either pregnancy or bullying preventing access to food. She had no idea what to do with hay when I got her and looked underweight/malnourished. She ate nothing the first 24 hours and having one go into stasis before I began critical care and monitored weight closely. Hence daily weights. I needed to know she wasnt losing.
 
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