Izzy Bossing Saffy

karenben

karenben

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
344
Reaction score
358
Points
455
Location
Lancashire
The young sow we got from the Potteries has started bossing my older female Saffy; husboar Harvey grumbles at Izzy sometimes when she does this. She continually disturbs her when she is resting, throws her out of the cosy then only lies in it herself for a few minutes and off she hoes looking for Saffy again. No proper aggression but I think she does nip as Saffy squeaks. The cage is generous c and c with lots of separate places to lie, 3 bowls. At fresh veg time they all share nicely and even pinch from each other with no squabbles. I am a bit worried about Saffy as she is older and has been very quiet lately. I have considered separating with a partition but not sure. Is this just normal behaviour.
 
Hi buddy :)

How old is she? Possible she is hitting the hormonal phase which can throw the hierarchy out a little. Is she in season? Is their lots of rumbling and bum wobbling going on?
 
sport_billy said:
Hi buddy :)

How old is she? Possible she is hitting the hormonal phase which can throw the hierarchy out a little. Is she in season? Is their lots of rumbling and bum wobbling going on?
Click to expand...
Izzy is around 11 months as is Harvey and Saffy is around 4. Think Izzy is worse when in season and right now she is lying quite close to Saffy and leaving her alone. But sometimes she is relentless and you can see the mischief in her when she is looking for Saffy.
 
Is this at regular intervals i.e. would it match with seasons or is it more frequent?
May be worth getting Saffy vet checked. My Violet was always top pig, over Poppy and Holly with no arguments. When squabbles erupted between Vi and Poppy that conincided with Vi losing condition (and status as top pig) I had her vet checked. She had been hiding arthritis from me. After starting her on some metacam she was much happier, regained her status as top pig (got the best beds again) and there was no lack of harmony in the cage right up to when I had her PTS?
If Izzy is always troubling Saffy it may be worth getting the vet to check that Izzy doesn't have hormonal issues (e.g. Ovarian cysts) as that can make a sow rampage like a loony, too.
 
VickiA said:
Is this at regular intervals i.e. would it match with seasons or is it more frequent?
May be worth getting Saffy vet checked. My Violet was always top pig, over Poppy and Holly with no arguments. When squabbles erupted between Vi and Poppy that conincided with Vi losing condition (and status as top pig) I had her vet checked. She had been hiding arthritis from me. After starting her on some metacam she was much happier, regained her status as top pig (got the best beds again) and there was no lack of harmony in the cage right up to when I had her PTS?
If Izzy is always troubling Saffy it may be worth getting the vet to check that Izzy doesn't have hormonal issues (e.g. Ovarian cysts) as that can make a sow rampage like a loony, too.
Click to expand...

great advice Vicky
 
:no:Had Saffy to the vets, there is no exotics vet within an hour so she has been to our regular vet. She seems to be the same as she was in April/May, colitis or some kind of gut infection. On baytrill and given injection of anti inflammatory pain killer but she is not a happy chappy. She is eating little bits.
 
karenben said:
:no:Had Saffy to the vets, there is no exotics vet within an hour so she has been to our regular vet. She seems to be the same as she was in April/May, colitis or some kind of gut infection. On baytrill and given injection of anti inflammatory pain killer but she is not a happy chappy. She is eating little bits.
Click to expand...


Oh no. Poor Saffy :(. I hope that she picks up again. Healing vibes xx
 
Back to the vets today, gut stimulant and ranitidine. They had a good look in her mouth and think she may have an ulcer on one side of her tongue, ? A tooth problem. She is booked in for a dental on Monday unless she fully recovers. I am syringe feeding her but hoping she will start to eat when the gut stimulant kicks in and she has chilled after vet visit.
 
Poor Saffy. Hope you're holding up ok @karenben. It's hard work and stressful having to provide syringe feeding for piggies over a prolonged period. All good wishes for tomorrow x
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top