• PLEASE NOTE - the TEAS facebook page has been hacked, take extreme care when visiting the page, for further information visit here

Dominant Sow Attacking Post Op Piggy Friend :(

Status
Not open for further replies.
Poppy'sMum

Poppy'sMum

Senior Guinea Pig
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
5,471
Reaction score
2,142
Points
1,120
Location
Dear old Blighty UK
I am at my wit's end :( I have a trio of 3 girls, mum & daughter (Petal & Daisy aged 4 & 3 this year) and Ziggy a 3 year old. They have all lived together all their lives & got along ok, although Ziggy & Daisy are not best friends. I found a large lump on Ziggy on Tuesday :( Wednesday she was in the vets & had it removed, we have a 2 week wait to see what it was, as it was neither an abscess nor a cyst. I brought her home later that day & put her in with the other 2 as I believe it helps them recover quickly; they've all had ops unfortunately & each time they have rejoined the group without any problems. However today Petal & Ziggy have been chattering teeth at one another & when I took Ziggy out later to syringe feed her, she has a bite mark on her top lip & a small nip on the back of her ear :( I am gutted :( I didn't want to leave them all together so I have hurriedly put a run up tonight & removed Petal who did the biting. I am afraid they won't get on again. I can't do a bonding bath as Ziggy has a wound & stitches from the surgery. Did I remove the right pig? I don't know what I can do tomorrow. I don't really have space for 2 separate cages & I can't get any more guinea pigs, so if I separate I will have to have 2 together & 1 on it's own :( What can I do to get them to like each other again? And why did Petal suddenly attack her? Any advice welcome please.
 
Sorry to hear this, very distressing at a difficult time for you as it is and upsetting.

Tagging @Wiebke
 
Please keep your ill piggy separated; her recovery has priority!

Sadly, fall-outs can happen in the wake of a medical procedure when a piggy is smelling and behaving differently and no longer "one of us". Not all piggies will go back together. This is unfortunately one of the few secenarios for a sow fall-out. However, try not to stress yourself out any further and tackle the situation step by step. Don't force the piggies back together until Ziggy has fully recovered.

Once Ziggy is well and fully back to health in about 10-14 days (that is how long the wound takes to knit fully), you can try a full intro on neutral ground (like a run on the lawn) under your close supervision. Have a towel or oven gloves at the ready. You may have to brace yourself that Petal may not accept her back; we have seen it happen to sisters on here. Piggies, once they have made up their mind, will rarely change it. I am very sorry for all the added worries! :(
 
You could swap smells for a while then bathe them both when she has recovered.Treat it as a totally new introduction
 
Thank you everyone :) Today I had to go to work so Petal (Dominant) was left on her own as I didn't trust her with Ziggy (Post op) :( I had an awful stressful day as I worried there could be a fall out with Ziggy & Daisy who I left together :( All seems normal tonight, I have just made up a C & C with 3 sections so they can all see each other but not touch & left them in there for an hour whilst they ate their tea & I didn't hear one unhappy sound :) So I then sectioned off a bit of their house (Also C & C) so that Ziggy is separate from the other 2 to give her a bit of peace from the others whilst she recovers. No nasty sounds so far & they can see but not touch her. Petal & Daisy (Mum & daughter) look like they have never been apart & are eating, sleeping etc like nothing happened :) I feel mean that Ziggy only has a teeny space (2 x 1) but I want them to still feel part of the group so will that matter just for a few days? I can't bath them until 10 days after so that's next weekend. Is this looking a little more promising now?
 
They are still apart :( Ziggy is understandably very nervous of the others. I put her in with the youngest Daisy to see if they would be ok but Daisy tried to nip her :( At the moment I have Ziggy in a teeny section, I don't like her in there at all, she can see & hear them though :( I am putting them in a C & C for floor time which has 3 separate sections so they can eat & see each other together but apart. Petal did a little bit of teeth chattering when they had almost finished, but I think that was because she could see the food in Ziggy's section, it was the sort of teeth chattering they do when hungry? Not the angry high pitched noise she made before. By doing this am I still keeping them used to one another or is it totally pointless? :( I am so upset right now, plus the fact I have foot problems & my ankles & feet are so swollen up I can barely walk isn't really helping :'(
 
@Poppy'sMum I know thus is a historical thread now but what was the outcome with your girls? Did they reunite? I'm having a similar issue now but it's the subordinate sow moving in while the older dominant sow is recuperating from surgery
 
@stripeybeanie yes they did get back together afterwards :) I had help from the wonderful Wiebke, she told me to give them a few days to cool off, so I separated the poorly girl. Then after a few days I made a big pen in my hall with c & c grids, bathed them all together then dried them off & put them all in the pen with a big pile of hay & lots of food with no hideys. I did this in the morning & by the late afternoon they were lying next to one another :) It is very nerve wracking, the poorly one was chased & nipped several times, but she did back down to the dominant sow. There were a few face offs & the odd clacking sound at each other but no more lunging. You have to be very brave & it was awful to watch but they have been together 3 years so I really wanted them back together & it worked. Now the dominant one is poorly out of my 3 so I am prepared as it may happen again.
 
Oh that's good news! I'm really pleased they rebonded with eachother. Thankyou @Poppy'sMum for the tips. We've only had Dotty for 2 months as a new companion for Bea after her sister passed away, so I'm concerned their bonding isn't long enough to stand the change in dynamic Bea's surgery has brought, but time will tell. We don't have a spare cage so have fashioned something from an old under-bed storage box for Dot for tonight & I'll buy a new one tomorrow.
I hope your girl Petal gets well soon xx
 
stripeybeanie said:
Oh that's good news! I'm really pleased they rebonded with eachother. Thankyou @Poppy'sMum for the tips. We've only had Dotty for 2 months as a new companion for Bea after her sister passed away, so I'm concerned their bonding isn't long enough to stand the change in dynamic Bea's surgery has brought, but time will tell. We don't have a spare cage so have fashioned something from an old under-bed storage box for Dot for tonight & I'll buy a new one tomorrow.
I hope your girl Petal gets well soon xx
Click to expand...

Once bonded, piggies will usually go back together. It is much less frequent that it leads to a fall-out or acceptance problems. It also depends on the operation. I have made good experiences with having a companion piggy at the vets and during the recovery, even as major as an emergency spay. Not all vets will allow a companion during an operation though, so you may have to enquire.
 
Aw I hope it works out, whenI had a cage previously I sectioned a bit off. It may be worth getting some c &c grids & making a run with a partition so they can see each other but not touch & pop them in it each day to see how they get on :) Good luck, if you have any problems send Wiebke a pm or start a thread of your own & tag her, she is a piggy behaviour guru lol :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top