emmainanutshell
New Born Pup
Has anyone else had a female guinea pig whose dominance increased or persisted for several weeks after an ovarian cyst spay? One of my piggies had a full ovarian cyst spay on the 7th November, and for the past 6 weeks or so, she has been consistently displaying dominant behaviour. She lives with her two sisters - one is the same age as her (1.5 years) and the other is just about to turn a year old. They live indoors in a 5x2 C&C cage with a loft area, including 3 seperate feeding areas, 2 water bottles, and plenty of hides and places to sleep and play seperately to one another.
She rumblestruts and mounts her sisters in short bursts throughout the day, especially after getting put back in the cage after cuddles, or if her sisters move around the cage in a way she seems to dislike. She isn't aggressive and doesn't bite, lunge, or spray at them, and has never injured them, but there have been days where she's been particularly dominant and chased them around the cage, which seems quite stressful for them. Occasionally her sisters will give her a telling off by rumbling back at her or spraying, but this is rare.
She was a fairly dominant piggy pre-surgery, which intensified when she developed her cyst, but she seems even more dominant now that she's been spayed
It seems strange to me because I expected the spay to reduce hormonal behaviour rather than escalate it. I've been told that some piggies are just naturally dominant and will be rumbly all throughout their lives, but the persistence of the behaviour has me a little concerned.
There's no obvious signs of her being unwell - she maintains a healthy weight, has a lovely soft and shiny coat and bright eyes, normal stools and appetite, and is very active. In the last week, a small patch of fur on the centre of her back has started thinning, which I am keeping a close eye on. She does tend to nibble that area sometimes so I'm unsure whether this could be a case of mild overgrooming, hair loss related to hormonal changes, or something else. I've had fungal infections/mites in the herd before, but it doesn't look the same as that at all, and it hasn't gotten any worse in the last couple of days.
She's a very happy, energetic, and affectionate piggy with humans, and has moments where she is affectionate with her sisters too. I’m just wondering whether this level of on-and-off dominant behaviour for 6+ weeks post-spay is considered normal. I expected a temporary hormone spike after surgery, but as it has now been almost 2 months since her procedure, I’d really appreciate reassurance or hearing other people's experiences.
Thank you
She rumblestruts and mounts her sisters in short bursts throughout the day, especially after getting put back in the cage after cuddles, or if her sisters move around the cage in a way she seems to dislike. She isn't aggressive and doesn't bite, lunge, or spray at them, and has never injured them, but there have been days where she's been particularly dominant and chased them around the cage, which seems quite stressful for them. Occasionally her sisters will give her a telling off by rumbling back at her or spraying, but this is rare.
She was a fairly dominant piggy pre-surgery, which intensified when she developed her cyst, but she seems even more dominant now that she's been spayed
It seems strange to me because I expected the spay to reduce hormonal behaviour rather than escalate it. I've been told that some piggies are just naturally dominant and will be rumbly all throughout their lives, but the persistence of the behaviour has me a little concerned.There's no obvious signs of her being unwell - she maintains a healthy weight, has a lovely soft and shiny coat and bright eyes, normal stools and appetite, and is very active. In the last week, a small patch of fur on the centre of her back has started thinning, which I am keeping a close eye on. She does tend to nibble that area sometimes so I'm unsure whether this could be a case of mild overgrooming, hair loss related to hormonal changes, or something else. I've had fungal infections/mites in the herd before, but it doesn't look the same as that at all, and it hasn't gotten any worse in the last couple of days.
She's a very happy, energetic, and affectionate piggy with humans, and has moments where she is affectionate with her sisters too. I’m just wondering whether this level of on-and-off dominant behaviour for 6+ weeks post-spay is considered normal. I expected a temporary hormone spike after surgery, but as it has now been almost 2 months since her procedure, I’d really appreciate reassurance or hearing other people's experiences.
Thank you
