How To Make 2 Girl Guinea Pigs To Like Each Other

[Kristen]

Hi guys! So I recently got 2 girl guinea pigs, one older than the other by a month or two. I've worried that they aren't getting along cause I haven't heard any squeaking. I have seen them cuddled in the hut but I wasn't sure if it was one of the pigs just following the other one. I also saw one nibbling on the other ones ears and wasn't sure if that is bad. Could someone please help me out and tell me the difference between bonding and not bonding I really want them to get along. thanks!

 

[sharonS]

Sounds as if bonding is going just nicely, ear licking or nibbling is just the more dominant piggie showing the other piggie that they are top piggie. You say that they cuddle up, I would say they sound pretty happy.

 

[klee]

They sound like they are getting on fairly well. Ear licking is a sign of dominance and the fact the other pig is allowing her to do it sounds like it is going well.

 

[Kristen]

Well that's good! When one of the piggies nibbled or licked on the other piggies ear the other piggie seemed to keep trying to shake it off like how a dog shakes and then eventually it got annoyed with it and jumpe over the piggie and ran out of the hut

 

[VickiA]

That all sounds perfectly normal to me.

 

[minipig]

I was wondering what the ear nibbling was about! I was worried my guinea pig had mistaken the other's ear for a bit of food haha! Good to know she's just asserting her dominance

 

[Wiebke]

Ear nibbling and licking is called "power grooming"; it means "I want you to be part of the group I am leading".

All guinea pigs need to establish a hierarchy at the beginning of a relationship. A lot of it looks rather like bullying to us; but it is the way guinea pigs operate and you have to let them work through it.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/sow-behaviour.38561/