Guinea Pig Behavior Concerns

[LaLand]

My poor Moo died last night. She was only 7 months old. I had just checked on them about two hours prior and she was eating away happily then before I went to bed I found her in the middle of the cage. I don't know what happened and I'm torn up inside.

However, Moo was pregnant when we bought her and didn't know. We have her and three of her babies who are roughly 3 months now. One of her babies is now very aggressive suddenly. Is this normal? She's chasing the other two out from under a shelf she's staying under. She's been making an aggressive clicking sound we've never heard before, and she won't let us pick her up at all. Is she also dying? Or is this grieving? I'm so worried now and not sure what to do. Should I take her out for a few days?

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for your loss.
A sudden loss is always very hard but sadly it happens often as a result of a heart attack or fatal stroke.
Guinea pigs do grieve too.
But also, the loss of their mother will cause a change in the hierarchy and the youngsters will need to re-establish their hierarchy with a new top dominant piggy and this is possibly why you are seeing a sudden change in the behaviour. Do not separate them though. Separating will cause problems in itself so leave the youngsters all together as they have been.
Do go to a vet for a check up if you are concerned about their health.

 

[LaLand]

I’m sorry for your loss.
A sudden loss is always very hard but sadly it happens often as a result of a heart attack or fatal stroke.
Guinea pigs do grieve too.
But also, the loss of their mother will cause a change in the hierarchy and the youngsters will need to re-establish their hierarchy and this is possibly why you are seeing a sudden change in the behaviour. Do not separate them though. Separating will cause problems in itself so leave the youngsters all together as they have been.
Do go to a vet for a check up if you are concerned about their health.

So should I just keep a watch and make sure she doesn't hurt the other two very badly? I'm not sure where to intervene here. Right now she just won't let them under the shelf with her, she chases them out. I'm use to dominance behavior in dogs, but not use to it with my GPs, but I think it was just known that my oldest was the top of the hierarchy as their mother.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes the mother would have been the top piggy and now the youngster sounds like she is beginning the process of establishing herself as top piggy.
Do just keep a watch for now, if you intervene too early you upset the process and things have to start all over again. You are unlikely to see a full on fight amongst sows (it’s more often boars that do this). Keep an eye that everybody is being allowed to eat and they aren’t being unduly harassed but you do need to let dominance behaviours take their course to get things to settle. If you see any behaviours you aren’t sure about then do ask

Ensure you weigh them regularly during this period of unrest to ensure that everybody is being allowed to eat

I am going to link in some guides below :

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[LaLand]

Yes the mother would have been the top piggy and now the youngster sounds like she is beginning the process of establishing herself as top piggy.
Do just keep a watch for now, if you intervene too early you upset the process and things have to start all over again. You are unlikely to see a full on fight amongst sows (it’s more often boars that do this). Keep an eye that everybody is being allowed to eat and they aren’t being unduly harassed but you do need to let dominance behaviours take their course to get things to settle. If you see any behaviours you aren’t sure about then do ask

I am going to link in some guides below :

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

OH okay. Thank you. I was breaking it up at first. Last night after we removed her from the cage they all seemed kind of down and weren't as active. It just started happening this morning so I guess it is beginning. I won't intervene unless I feel it necessary. They're all getting access to food and drink just fine. Two seem to be fighting out for the top spot and one is just staying to the side. I'll look over the links, thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

OH okay. Thank you. I was breaking it up at first. Last night after we removed her from the cage they all seemed kind of down and weren't as active. It just started happening this morning so I guess it is beginning. I won't intervene unless I feel it necessary. They're all getting access to food and drink just fine. Two seem to be fighting out for the top spot and one is just staying to the side. I'll look over the links, thank you

Yes definitely keep an eye. If those two can’t decide who will be top and the other piggy back down, then you could run into problems and need a permanent separation but just keep an eye for now given it is a new situation. Trios can be troublesome to get to work if there isn’t one clear dominant and with the other two happy to be lower ranking. I’ve added another link below to explain further.

Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?

 

[Wiebke]

My poor Moo died last night. She was only 7 months old. I had just checked on them about two hours prior and she was eating away happily then before I went to bed I found her in the middle of the cage. I don't know what happened and I'm torn up inside.

However, Moo was pregnant when we bought her and didn't know. We have her and three of her babies who are roughly 3 months now. One of her babies is now very aggressive suddenly. Is this normal? She's chasing the other two out from under a shelf she's staying under. She's been making an aggressive clicking sound we've never heard before, and she won't let us pick her up at all. Is she also dying? Or is this grieving? I'm so worried now and not sure what to do. Should I take her out for a few days?

Hi!

I am extremely sorry for your loss! you are welcome to post a tribute to your little mother in our Rainbow Bridge if you would like to.
Sadly guinea pigs can die out of the blue at any age from a heart attack or stroke if there is a genetic disposition for it.

Please don't interfere with her baby girls. What you are witnessing is them establishing a new group hierarchy and leadership in the wake of her unexpected and sudden loss. It is always more pronounced when the leader is insecure in herself because she doesn't feel ready yet, and she is up against her sisters who have the same claim. If you interrupt this process, you will only make things worse.

Please remove any hideys with just one exit until after things have died down again; it may take some days or even weeks until they have fully settled down again.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts) (has a chapter on typical dominance behaviours in sows)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (last chapter is about the post-bonding dominance phase, which you are experiencing now)

Human Bereavement: Grieving, Coping and Support Links for Guinea Pig Owners and Their Children