I recently acquired two female guinea pigs - a mother and her 8 week old baby. I am told she was the only one in the litter. The cavvies have settled in, but the mother has started chasing the younger one out of the sleeping compartment of the hutch. The half grown sow is now huddled outside the door or the sleeping area. Is this usual behaviour? What can I do about it? Is there a way I can encourage them to cuddle up again?
Mother gp is chasing away half grown baby
- Thread starter Rosalie
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2009
- Messages
- 54,379
- Reaction score
- 39,486
- Points
- 3,350
Welcome to the forum, Hopefully @Wiebke or @furryfriends (TEAS) @pig in the city or an experienced maybe may be able to advise shortly, please keep checking back
Hi!
Your mother is currently establishing her dominance over her weaned baby. That is normal behaviour but it is made worse through the move to a new territory and home.
Sow Behaviour
Bonding: Illustrated Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
Please always make sure that you have two different sleeping areas and that any hideys have two exits to allow for dominance behaviour. Also have two bowls at least a body length or more apart, which you remove between meals.
Long Term Balanced General And Special Needs Guinea Pig Diets
If you have a hutch, make sure that you have two separate areas that are warm and protected and that your hutch is well insulated (pet shop hutches are not known for being adequate, not even the 'luxury' ones) and ideally under cover well aways from wind and weather as well as predators.
Guinea pigs are NOT hardy and should be treated like tender plants; they need time to acclimatise. Also keep in mind that the immune system of babies is still very much under construction and that they are much more liable to illness and cold.
Cage Size Guide
Cold Weather Care For Guinea Pigs
Hot weather management and heat strokes
What to check and look out for in new guinea pigs (vet checks, sexing, parasites&illness)
Early Signs Of Illness
All these guides are part of our New Owners information pack, which addresses specifically all the areas we get the most questions and concerns about. You may find it both very interesting and helpful as we have tried our best to make our guides as practical but precise.
Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2017
- Messages
- 59,493
- Reaction score
- 84,008
- Points
- 3,465
- Location
- East Riding of Yorksire
Welcome to the forum
Watching guinea pigs sort out hierarchy and social bonds can be stressful for us.
The advice given will help you.
Please can we see pictures
Watching guinea pigs sort out hierarchy and social bonds can be stressful for us.
The advice given will help you.
Please can we see pictures
Thank you for the good advice! I am now feeding the guinea pigs in different areas, and they seem to be settling down. I am attaching pics of the hutch and two cavvies. Just a note that I am in Australia so the weather is quite warm at the moment and the risk of the baby suffering from cold is low.
Attachments
Please read our hot weather guide in this case; hutches are on average 10 C above air temperatures and can quickly turn into death traps. Guinea pigs can die quite easily from heat stroke as their body cooling system is not as efficient as a human one. They regulate their body temperature via the blood flow through the ears. Please bring your piggies inside during heat waves.
I have added it to my previous post, but here it is again. I would urge you to read it; it can be a life saver!
Hot weather management and heat strokes
To be honest, the sleeping compartment is rather small. Make sure that your pair has the option to get away from each other. Unlike widespread assumptions, the majority of piggies prefer their own hideys and in most cases even the snugglers will spend part of the night/day away from each other.
Also make sure that your hutch is really snake proof. Far too many guinea pigs die in outdoors hutches from snakes, spider bites and heat strokes or cold/dampness related illnesses in winter; for that reason the leading Australian rescues are now strongly recommending to keep guinea pigs as indoors pets.
It would help us greatly to be able to tailor any advice for your climate and country/state straight away if you please added your country and state to your account details (accessible via clicking on your username on the top bar). We have members from all over the world. Our default advice is UK based. Having your location appearing with every post saves everybody time and misunderstandings/misleading advice.