Is My Guinea Pig Depressed?

[Dilly's Piggies]

My girl Lottie had ovarian cysts so was spayed 5-6 months ago, her Mum was also spayed the same day and sadly did not make it, she passed away the next day. Since then, Lottie has not been right, she has a lot of problems with her weight, still eats fine and nothing wrong with her physically but her weight is lower than it should be although she is maintaining it pretty well.

I wonder if she's suffering with depression as she is sleeping most of the time and just seems less bright in general. She went through a lot of trauma in a very short space of time and although some people think animals don't feel emotional stress or grief, I am pretty darn sure they do.

A few months before the spay a new baby pig was also added to their herd, there was Mum, her 2 daughters Lottie and Harriet, and then an 'adopted' baby sister, Dolly. Dolly is a very sweet pig and has always been perfect with the others, the Mum was naturally always boss, but since she is gone now and both of her daughters are spayed, Dolly seems to have been given the leader role by default since neither Lottie or Harriet really care about dominance or being in charge since they were spayed.

Even though Dolly is not bossy or dominant, Lottie appears afraid of her, Dolly can just walk up to Lottie whilst she's eating and Lottie will just walk away from her food, nothing even happened in that situation but Lottie chooses to avoid Dolly completely. It's very different behaviour to what I'm used to with my Guinea Pig herds and I am worried Lottie is suffering with depression after all she has been through and perhaps has just decided to give up fighting for anything and just lets the others take all of her food, contributing to her weight issues?

Harriet is doing really well and her weight is going up, she is Lottie's best friend and they always lay together and mutual groom, also something I've never seen two pigs do before, it's like Harriet knows Lottie is sad and she's trying to comfort her.

I'm not sure what's going on, or how to help. They have a big C&C cage with lots of food and toys, regular floor time and lots of human cuddles. I'm hoping the weather picks up soon, perhaps going outside on the grass will lift her spirits.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! It can take months after a major operation for lost weight to come back, especially if the operation has not been the smoothest. As long as Lottie is stable on that score, I would not worry.

But if Lottie is not happy with the group, I would would consider trying her and Harriet as a pair and see whether Lottie is perking up more when away from the big group. The group bond is not going to be broken that quickly, so you have a good 2 weeks' time for a trial, or even longer. It is what I usually do when I feel a piggy is struggling in a group.

I also give any companion the choice of going to back once the new pair dominance has settled. if the new bond is working well, the newly bonded will say hello to the group through the bars but then go off on their own. If a piggy is truly desperate to be back with a group, they will try their best to break back in; in that case, I let it provided that the companion is stably bonded and in a good place. You need to either have an opaque divider or a hospital/spare cage away from the group while you establish a new pair or group.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Hi! It can take months after a major operation for lost weight to come back, especially if the operation has not been the smoothest. As long as Lottie is stable on that score, I would not worry.

But if Lottie is not happy with the group, I would would consider trying her and Harriet as a pair and see whether Lottie is perking up more when away from the big group. The group bond is not going to be broken that quickly, so you have a good 2 weeks' time for a trial, or even longer. It is what I usually do when I feel a piggy is struggling in a group.

I also give any companion the choice of going to back once the new pair dominance has settled. if the new bond is working well, the newly bonded will say hello to the group through the bars but then go off on their own. If a piggy is truly desperate to be back with a group, they will try their best to break back in; in that case, I let it provided that the companion is stably bonded and in a good place. You need to either have an opaque divider or a hospital/spare cage away from the group while you establish a new pair or group.

They are only in a trio, just Lottie, Harriet and Dolly. I have another herd of 5 that all live together but these 3 are separate? I just got Lottie out and took her downstairs to sit on the windowsill with me with the window open a little so she could smell and see outside, she really enjoyed it and perked right up, she also eats much better when away from the others.

She has always been a 'wild one', before her surgery, always happy, cheeky and energetic, I saw a glimpse of her real self just now when I gave her some attention and when I put her back home, she immediately went to eat and just looked so happy like she used to. She is a 'nosey' girl and loves to see everything and be involved with everything, I don't think having her cage elevated is working out for her, I need to take off the black correx walls and put perspex there instead so she can see out, I think even a simple change like that would really make a difference...

Do you also think this sounds like depression/boredom, she needs cheering up somehow?

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

She's a little odd because all of my other pigs are only happy and themselves when they are in their cage, but Lottie is totally different, she's only happy when she's out of it...?

 

[Wiebke]

They are only in a trio, just Lottie, Harriet and Dolly. I have another herd of 5 that all live together but these 3 are separate? I just got Lottie out and took her downstairs to sit on the windowsill with me with the window open a little so she could smell and see outside, she really enjoyed it and perked right up, she also eats much better when away from the others.

She has always been a 'wild one', before her surgery, always happy, cheeky and energetic, I saw a glimpse of her real self just now when I gave her some attention and when I put her back home, she immediately went to eat and just looked so happy like she used to. She is a 'nosey' girl and loves to see everything and be involved with everything, I don't think having her cage elevated is working out for her, I need to take off the black correx walls and put perspex there instead so she can see out, I think even a simple change like that would really make a difference...

Do you also think this sounds like depression/boredom, she needs cheering up somehow?

Since guinea pigs can't tell you what they'd like, you have to find it out by trial and error. I can only give you recommendations based on what you are telling me.

I would recommend that you play around with different scenarios/layouts to see whether you can find something that helps perk up Lottie - she may be happier with being next to other piggies for more interaction and more stimulation.
Would Dolly go with your other group or is that a no no as another option?

You have the home bodies that cannot get back to their cage quickly enough during a cage clean and then you have the adventurers that adore their free roaming time and can't get enough of it.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

Since guinea pigs can't tell you what they'd like, you have to find it out by trial and error. I can only give you recommendations based on what you are telling me.

I would recommend that you play around with different scenarios/layouts to see whether you can find something that helps perk up Lottie - she may be happier with being next to other piggies for more interaction and more stimulation.
Would Dolly go with your other group or is that a no no as another option?

You have the home bodies that cannot get back to their cage quickly enough during a cage clean and then you have the adventurers that adore their free roaming time and can't get enough of it.

Lottie is 100% an adventurer, she loves nothing more than roaming, she's my piggy that is famous for jumping out of her pen and jumping up the stairs, she's extremely special and a free spirit, I think being cooped up this winter has really got her down. Which is why I'm anxiously waiting for a good day outside, I've bought them a huge brand new outdoor run for christmas and I haven't even been able to build it as the weather has been so rubbish! I hate the UK.

Dolly was originally supposed to go with the herd of 5 but it didn't work out, they're set in their ways and weren't open at all to a new member, that's why she ended up with Lottie's family. They get on perfectly in the trio it's just Lottie seems either afraid of her, or just can't be bothered to argue over things so she just gives everything up to Dolly all the time, it's sad for me to see as she used to be so sassy!

I think I will try re-arranging the cage and cut out the correx walls so she can see outside, watching her hooman slaves is her favourite TV show lol!

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

This probably sounds really stupid... But do you think having the radio or TV on in the piggy room would help at all? They only see people a few times a day when it's clean out time, veggie time, medicine time or cuddle time, it's pretty quiet and boring in there. The others don't mind but it's just for Lottie really. I was even thinking about buying her a tablet and putting it in the cage as a TV, people do it for dogs so why not piggies!

 

[DM030819]

I honestly don't think they notice it. I used to do it for my piggies but since I moved to a noisy street they don't seem to react to any loud noises coming from outside. They all stay asleep when a car starts honking outside.

I'd think the change in Lottie would be due to a change in hierarchy and dynamics in the cage. Just having one pig different can cause a huge difference.

My Anselmo for example was bottom pig when he came to me, and lived as part of a trio of boars. They all got on fine but he moved away when they told him too. Fozzy died and we adopted Toki. He became part of the trio. Then Anselmo was top pig, strutting his stuff and taking first dibs on food. He wasn't the oldest, Arnold was but the change in pigs had changed the way he acted.

You could try her in different combinations and if it doesn't change anything then you'll need to start looking into medical reasons for the weight loss.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I honestly don't think they notice it. I used to do it for my piggies but since I moved to a noisy street they don't seem to react to any loud noises coming from outside. They all stay asleep when a car starts honking outside.

I'd think the change in Lottie would be due to a change in hierarchy and dynamics in the cage. Just having one pig different can cause a huge difference.

My Anselmo for example was bottom pig when he came to me, and lived as part of a trio of boars. They all got on fine but he moved away when they told him too. Fozzy died and we adopted Toki. He became part of the trio. Then Anselmo was top pig, strutting his stuff and taking first dibs on food. He wasn't the oldest, Arnold was but the change in pigs had changed the way he acted.

You could try her in different combinations and if it doesn't change anything then you'll need to start looking into medical reasons for the weight loss.

She has already been to the vet numerous times, physical problems have been ruled out, so I'm looking into mental health and environmental reasons now

 

[Wiebke]

Lottie is 100% an adventurer, she loves nothing more than roaming, she's my piggy that is famous for jumping out of her pen and jumping up the stairs, she's extremely special and a free spirit, I think being cooped up this winter has really got her down. Which is why I'm anxiously waiting for a good day outside, I've bought them a huge brand new outdoor run for christmas and I haven't even been able to build it as the weather has been so rubbish! I hate the UK.

Dolly was originally supposed to go with the herd of 5 but it didn't work out, they're set in their ways and weren't open at all to a new member, that's why she ended up with Lottie's family. They get on perfectly in the trio it's just Lottie seems either afraid of her, or just can't be bothered to argue over things so she just gives everything up to Dolly all the time, it's sad for me to see as she used to be so sassy!

I think I will try re-arranging the cage and cut out the correx walls so she can see outside, watching her hooman slaves is her favourite TV show lol!

I would think that Lottie is still not feeling fully right and has lost her position in the hierarchy because of it. If you can perk her up with roaming time or little adventures - even if you take her outside on a sunny day for literally a couple of minutes to sniff the air or a few blades of grass to nibble on, that can help to give her more incentive to get better.

Letting her rummage in a heap of her own soiled bedding or the other group's soiled bedding before you wash it, it also always fun - and doesn't cost you anything except a little time!

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

I would think that Lottie is still not feeling fully right and has lost her position in the hierarchy because of it. If you can perk her up with roaming time or little adventures - even if you take her outside on a sunny day for literally a couple of minutes to sniff the air or a few blades of grass to nibble on, that can help to give her more incentive to get better.

Letting her rummage in a heap of her own soiled bedding or the other group's soiled bedding before you wash it, it also always fun - and doesn't cost you anything except a little time!

LOL! How did you know she loves to do that? I let her roam the bedroom sometimes when I clean and she is always getting into the bin bags and dirty laundry

 

[Wiebke]

LOL! How did you know she loves to do that? I let her roam the bedroom sometimes when I clean and she is always getting into the bin bags and dirty laundry

BIG favourite with the Tribe, including raiding each other's hay trays before I empty them. Smell is one of the strongest senses in guinea pigs, so they get a lot more information from it than we humans who have a MUCH weaker one. We tend to underestimate the importance of it.