Do my girlies actually like each other?

Grinny Pig

Grinny Pig

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
73
Reaction score
102
Points
250
Location
Birmingham
I have had Hazel and Avril for three months now and they are both about 7-8 months old. They weren’t from the same litter, but were in the same pen at the pet shop and the shop owner said they seemed to get on. They have not had any full on fights, but they both do a lot of rumble strutting and complaining at each other. Hazel is the most dominant one, but Avril tries to hold her own too. They sometimes follow each other around quite happily, but never choose to sleep together. They have a shelter each and I have a larger cage on order to give them more room. The last guinea pig pair I had were older and fully bonded, but having babies is new to me. Can anyone advise how this situation might play out? Are my girls still establishing themselves with each other or do you think it’s a case that they’ll never become fully bonded? Any tips?
 
Grinny Pig said:
I have had Hazel and Avril for three months now and they are both about 7-8 months old. They weren’t from the same litter, but were in the same pen at the pet shop and the shop owner said they seemed to get on. They have not had any full on fights, but they both do a lot of rumble strutting and complaining at each other. Hazel is the most dominant one, but Avril tries to hold her own too. They sometimes follow each other around quite happily, but never choose to sleep together. They have a shelter each and I have a larger cage on order to give them more room. The last guinea pig pair I had were older and fully bonded, but having babies is new to me. Can anyone advise how this situation might play out? Are my girls still establishing themselves with each other or do you think it’s a case that they’ll never become fully bonded? Any tips?
Click to expand...

Hi!

Your girls are typical twin teenagers with the hormones in full flow! That doesn't mean that they are not closely bonded. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Your girls are typical twin teenagers with the hormones in full flow! That doesn't mean that they are not closely bonded. ;)
Click to expand...
That’s good to hear, I hoped as much. The girls aren’t related though.
 
Rumble strutting and chasing are completely normal, they are just trying to sort out their dominance. My two piggies normally bicker and rumble during heat (seasons) and when we first got them they would always try and sort out their dominance!
 
Minnieandpebbs said:
Rumble strutting and chasing are completely normal, they are just trying to sort out their dominance. My two piggies normally bicker and rumble during heat (seasons) and when we first got them they would always try and sort out their dominance!
Click to expand...
That’s good to hear. What are the signs they are in heat?. Hazel seemed very bad tempered during cuddle time today!
 
Piggle and Puggle are cousins the same age and they acted just like that, then we got them a little neutered husboar friend, and we've expanded the herd to 6 piggies... and they still act like that almost a year and 4 new friends later when one of them is in season!
Piggy personalities often aren't as cute or cuddly as they look, they have lots of attitude, and very strong opinions- squabbling a bit and exerting dominance is a normal social interaction that they enjoy mostly as long as there's no overt bullying :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Piggle and Puggle are cousins the same age and they acted just like that, then we got them a little neutered husboar friend, and we've expanded the herd to 6 piggies... and they still act like that almost a year and 4 new friends later when one of them is in season!
Piggy personalities often aren't as cute or cuddly as they look, they have lots of attitude, and very strong opinions- squabbling a bit and exerting dominance is a normal social interaction that they enjoy mostly as long as there's no overt bullying :)
Click to expand...
I envy you having a full herd of piggies, but we have 6 children so do not have the room for more piggies. Maybe I could swap the kids for more guineas! Want to trade? Lol!
 
I often think piggies living together is a bit like student house-mates sharing a flat... they are very different personalities but have lots in common, and sometimes they hang out together, sometimes they don't, there are minor daily squabbles over food and space... generally they prefer to argue over a piece of coriander that somepig else stole than cuddle up, and any cuddling is driven entirely by hormones!
 
PigglePuggle said:
I often think piggies living together is a bit like student house-mates sharing a flat... they are very different personalities but have lots in common, and sometimes they hang out together, sometimes they don't, there are minor daily squabbles over food and space... generally they prefer to argue over a piece of coriander that somepig else stole than cuddle up, and any cuddling is driven entirely by hormones!
Click to expand...
Good analogy!
 
Grinny Pig said:
That’s good to hear. What are the signs they are in heat?. Hazel seemed very bad tempered during cuddle time today!
Click to expand...
Heat usually is every 2-3 weeks. Sometimes piggies have a strong season and they get really grumpy and sometimes you can't even notice they have a season!
 
That sounds exactly like my Koochi and Tutta, Tutta is a glutton so she goes too far and Koochi gets pissed off and rumble struts and at times teeth chattering, their in-heat season is pretty intense and try to mount one another while the other one keeps squirming and running away and they chase each other for days until hormones settle down. But after all that I see them burying their nose into the other's cheeks or ears and that's basically them making up and announcing peace (or piggie kisses?)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top