Clinginess And Hitting Each Other

[Nicola McGregor]

We have 3 female guinea pigs. One is 6 years old, the others are 1 1/2 years old. We are having trouble with the eldest, and one of the younger ones. (The third one is usually left alone by the other two). For over a year we have had them out every evening for playtime in the living room. Ever since we got the younger guinea pigs, there have been behaviour issues between the eldest (Izzy) and one of the younger ones (Honey). Before we got the the younger pair, Izzy lived with an older guinea pig. They seemed to get along quite well- as far as we could tell, they didn't fight. This guinea pig passed away shortly before we got the new pair.

When we first got Honey, she used to try to get underneath Izzy. This behaviour stopped after she grew a bit bigger. Since then, Honey has always been very clingy towards Izzy, and will often follow her around when they are out on the floor. She also cries if she can't find Izzy. However, she often annoys Izzy by nudging her bottom (which make Izzy 'jump'), trying to bite her feet if they are exposed, sniffing her face/chin and trying to take large pieces of food from her mouth. When we put down huts for them to go in, Honey often forces her way into one of them even if the other two pigs are inside, which often results in a lot of squealing, and we will find that she is standing or sitting on top of the other two. We try to give them time apart, but Honey often gets distressed if Izzy is taken away, or will try to get to her if she realises where she is. (Though, Honey doesn't seem distressed if we take her out of the hutch by herself.)

For most of the time we have owned Honey, Izzy has hit her in the face. We also hear her make biting and clicking sounds. Sometimes these little jabs seem to be a response to Honey getting too close (e.g. sniffing Izzy's chin, or trying to chew her ears), but at other times the cause isn't clear. In recent months Honey has started to hit back.

We have never seen them have a full-blown fight, only these little jabs. We are becoming concerned with how vicious some of the behaviour is getting, and don't know what to do. We thought that the problem might sort itself out as Honey became an adult, but it has simply continued. The third guinea pig occasionally hits/ gets hit, but this is very rare.

Is there any way of resolving this problem? It's difficult to separate the pair after one of them hits the other due to Honey's clinginess.

 

[Wiebke]

Honey seems to have some issues re. clinginess and rather what you may call prolonged baby behaviours (resulting from some trauma when she was a baby?).

Head butting is normal dominance behaviour; it is letting the undersow just feel the teeth without hurting them and also asserting the private sphere of a hgher ranked piggy. Izzy's behaviours mean that she is telling Honey off quite strongly, but still well within the bounds of acceptable behaviour. Honey in turn is also starting to behave a bit more dominant towards Izzy, i.e. the chinning and the ear nibbling, which are the mildest and most friendly forms of dominance.

As to the squeezing up issues, you may want to consider getting either rabbit size hideys or ones that are open on two sides. You can adapt small cardboard boxes for that and replace them when they are too chewed up.

PS: If Izzy has definitely reached the end of line, you will know! But you may want to see whether you can keep Honey occupied otherwise for a while in order to give Izzy some breathing space.