Confused About My Little Girl's Anger Issues

[Job]

I got 2 little girls about 4 months ago. They are my first guinea pigs. They were kept together with 2 other piggies before I got them. One, Yennifer, was missing half of 1 ear before I got them. I watched her being chased and bitten by 1 of the piggies I did not get. After I got them home, Yang chased Yennifer around mounting her for several weeks but nothing too terrible. No biting. Mostly just "head swaying". After a couple of weeks they settled in together. It took at least a month and a half for them to let me pet them and now they're both fairly comfortable with me also. But, now a new problem has arisen. When I take Yang out by herself she's great with me. It's when I put her back with her sister that she becomes aggressive. Their cage is very large from what I've read. But, Yang makes it a point to find her sister and jump all over her making poor little Yennifer scream. I admit Yennifer is quite a bit more emotional than Yang. She cries when she's left alone in the cage and squeels with delight when I bring in the veggies; whereas Yang is much more reserved and rarely makes any sounds aside from some"purring". And Yang is definitely the confident one. But, I don't understand why it isn't the other way around, as in they get excited and happy to be reunited. They are separated for no more than 20 minutes at a time and it's usually more like 10 minutes for just some 1 on 1 quality time with "mommy". Yennifer does not do this when she's put back in. Nor does she ever try to defend herself. She just squeels until I come rescue her. Could Yang be getting upset because she doesn't want put back in the cage and taking it out on her sister?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

That’s standard dominant behaviours for you! I have 4 girls living together and that’s just a standard day for them

The loud squeals are submissive noises, I wouldn’t take her out the cage as it would disrupt the hierarchy and might cause more issues. Just got to let it run it’s course I’m afraid! These kind of behaviours are more prominent when they’re in season, but it dies down after a day or so.

Just know that it has nothing to do with anger or aggression, it’s just their language and how they communicate. Though it looks rough to us it’s the only way they know!

How big is your cage?

 

[Job]

6 square feet. Two rooms. One room is their kitchen. They don't have to be right next to each other yet they usually are.
Yennifer doesn't seem to like to be away from Yang.

 

[Betsy]

As @Cavy Kung-Fu has said the squeals are of submission. Yennifer is telling Yang that she's the boss. Guinea pigs have a strict hierarchy as this is how their herd system works even if it is a herd of just two. It sounds much worse to us than it actually is. You must ride it out and not interfere however difficult it is. It will calm down. Yang obviously feels the need to remind Yennifer just who is the boss. When Yang feels that Yennifer doesn't need reminding any more it'll stop.

 

[Job]

Ok. Thanks to both of you. She just looks so scared it's hard to ignore.
So, I can't separate them at all or this will continue? Can I bring them both out together?

 

[Cavy Kung-Fu]

You can bring them out separately for cuddles and health checks and that, maybe not for too long though. They obviously love each other and don’t like to be apart!

She may look scared but don’t worry, she’s not. If she were she definitely wouldn’t be so upset when they’re apart. Their body language is so different from ours it can be hard to figure it out sometimes.

It may also be worth looking to get a bigger cage, the recommended size for 2 females is about 10 square feet I think, which should be a 2x4 in C&C terms from what I just looked up. It will certainly help