Guinea Pigs Don’t Get Along

[RoxyGuineaPigLover]

Hi again! Many of my problems are focused around behavior, as you might have noticed, so I’m counting on you guys to help me out with this! Candy is the slightly older pig and is the dominant pig. Holly is the newer one, and had the strange addiction to never stop following Candy! We probably got Holly too late because Candy HATED her when we first put her in the cage with her.

The sales lady said at the place we got Holly “I just stick my new pigs in the cage with the others!” She must have calm pigs. Candy chased poor Holly around and bit her whenever she got too close. Once I noticed Holly had a bit of her ear missing, which is where Candy usually bites it threatens to bite her. I’m not sure if it was Candy or if that was already there, but I hope it was already there.

Since then, they've been getting along better! I’ve started to sometimes put Candy in Holly’s cage to see how they do together. Candy often stalks around the cage and chatters her teeth while holly hides in her igloo. I read somewhere that when a pig gets agitated, his/her neck fur stands up, and that happens too. Soon Candy comes into the igloo, and I know what happens next. In a second, it becomes a wild goose chase with Candy out to get Holly! I just don’t understand! They do so well in the playpen together and do an okay job sharing the food!

Also, I don’t know what to do for the cages. I plan on merging them together when they can get along in one cage. If I put Holly in Candy’s cage, Candy will NOT want to share the space with her. I know how she gets in small spaces with other pigs. But if I put Candy in Holly’s cage when I put them together every other day, I don’t want Holly to think she isn’t safe in the cage that’s hers. Sorry this was so long, but please help! I feel so awful because Holly looks so lonely in her cage alone. I really want them to be together and get along. Thank you if you read all this!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi again! Many of my problems are focused around behavior, as you might have noticed, so I’m counting on you guys to help me out with this! Candy is the slightly older pig and is the dominant pig. Holly is the newer one, and had the strange addiction to never stop following Candy! We probably got Holly too late because Candy HATED her when we first put her in the cage with her.

The sales lady said at the place we got Holly “I just stick my new pigs in the cage with the others!” She must have calm pigs. Candy chased poor Holly around and bit her whenever she got too close. Once I noticed Holly had a bit of her ear missing, which is where Candy usually bites it threatens to bite her. I’m not sure if it was Candy or if that was already there, but I hope it was already there.

Since then, they've been getting along better! I’ve started to sometimes put Candy in Holly’s cage to see how they do together. Candy often stalks around the cage and chatters her teeth while holly hides in her igloo. I read somewhere that when a pig gets agitated, his/her neck fur stands up, and that happens too. Soon Candy comes into the igloo, and I know what happens next. In a second, it becomes a wild goose chase with Candy out to get Holly! I just don’t understand! They do so well in the playpen together and do an okay job sharing the food!

Also, I don’t know what to do for the cages. I plan on merging them together when they can get along in one cage. If I put Holly in Candy’s cage, Candy will NOT want to share the space with her. I know how she gets in small spaces with other pigs. But if I put Candy in Holly’s cage when I put them together every other day, I don’t want Holly to think she isn’t safe in the cage that’s hers. Sorry this was so long, but please help! I feel so awful because Holly looks so lonely in her cage alone. I really want them to be together and get along. Thank you if you read all this!

Hi!

Please let the girls work through their relationship issues on neutral ground and not in Holly's cage. The girls HAVE bonded; all they need is time together in a place that doesn't belong to either sow and doesn't have any huts with only one exit because chucking underpiggies out of any prime estate is perfectly normal post-bonding dominance behaviour.

Keep in mind that Candy most likely overacting due to insecurity and fear because she is not used to other guina pigs.

It is totally normal for sub-teenagers to attach themselves to an older piggy for guidance. That is how they learn - it is the equivalent of school for human children.

PLEASE NEVER use any hideys with only one exit in any pair or group with dominance issues; ideally never use pigloos. Full stop!
Get log tunnels or children's foot stools instead. This means that Holly cannot get trapped and that bites to the ears will hopefully not happen again.

PLEASE read our sow guide and behaviour guide links. You could have spared yourself AND especially poor Holly a lot of unnecessary stress because all the points you have so far bumped into the hard way are dealt with in the links and have mostly been avoidable.

Here they are one last time. Please read the links for poor little Holly's sake!
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

 

[RoxyGuineaPigLover]

Hi!

Please let the girls work through their relationship issues on neutral ground and not in Holly's cage. The girls HAVE bonded; all they need is time together in a place that doesn't belong to either sow and doesn't have any huts with only one exit because chucking underpiggies out of any prime estate is perfectly normal post-bonding dominance behaviour.

Keep in mind that Candy most likely overacting due to insecurity and fear because she is not used to other guina pigs.

It is totally normal for sub-teenagers to attach themselves to an older piggy for guidance. That is how they learn - it is the equivalent of school for human children.

PLEASE NEVER use any hideys with only one exit in any pair or group with dominance issues; ideally never use pigloos. Full stop!
Get log tunnels or children's foot stools instead. This means that Holly cannot get trapped and that bites to the ears will hopefully not happen again.

PLEASE read our sow guide and behaviour guide links. You could have spared yourself AND especially poor Holly a lot of unnecessary stress because all the points you have so far bumped into the hard way are dealt with in the links and have mostly been avoidable.

Here they are one last time. Please read the links for poor little Holly's sake!
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

Thank you so very much! You have my full gratitude and respect

 

[Freela]

I agree with letting them work things out in neutral ground. Putting one pig into another pig's space is a recipe for conflict (imagine if some new person just showed up and started living in your house with you!) Once they have accepted each other on neutral ground, you can put them into a nice, neutral cage together (it doesn't actually have to be new- but it has to be new to them, so scrubbed down to eliminate scents, rearranged, etc.) Letting them meet in a neutral space and then making the shared cage as unfamiliar as possible (especially not smelling like either of them) will help them to get along and not become territorial over a space that was previously theirs alone.