My female piggy is purring and rumble-strutting a lot.

jem4367826

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Hello forum!
I have a bit of a problem with one of my females, I was wondering if maybe someone could help. Sorry, It is a bit of a long story.
I have five guinea pigs. I originally started with two piggies, Lola and Honey. We soon realised Lola was pregnant, from the previous owner. We do not breed our guinea pigs, and the vet double checked Honey was definitely a girl, which she totally is :nod:. The vet guessed Lola was about a week into her pregnancy (she did not have a tummy, we had no way of knowing she was pregnant when we bought her)
We took Lola home and took care of her, fed her extra veggies and about six weeks later, she successfully gave birth to three healthy babies (woohoo!) - Nala, Nibble and Miffy.
Honey is quite a skittish pig, so we separated her from the Lola and the babies, so Lola could properly care for her babies without Honey running all over them, and maybe hurting the tiny pigs!
The babies got bigger and we put Honey back into the cage after a week, and everything went well.

The babies are 2 months old now and are very cute.
But over the last few weeks I have been noticing that Lola has been loudly purring and rumble-strutting heaps, all the time. She seems to be very annoyed at Honey. And she is a bit nippy at her. Honey and Lola used to get on well before the babies.

I just want to make sure Lola is not in pain or something.
Maybe I am just overreacting, but I love my piggies and want to care for them the best I can :)
I am just not sure what the constant purring and rumble-strutting means, and why Lola is doing it all the time.

Sorry for the extra long back story. Thank you for taking the time to read! 💜
 
Yes, I see what you are saying. We should have put them in a neutral territory area, but we did not. We put Honey back into her normal cage with Lola.
 
You will have to re-introduce them on neutral territory. I would say remove her from Lola's cage and prepare to do that. @Piggies&buns? She's likely acting that way because she feels Honey has invaded her territory. The hierarchy can also change with the birth of pups.

As an aside, have you sexed the piggies? Any boys need to be separated at 3 weeks or 250g, whichever comes first.
 
Yes, I might go and re-introduce them now. The pups have been checked by a vet, and have been sexed. Nibble is a boy, and we have put a divider in our c&c cage, separating the girls from him. Thank you for your helpful replies! :)
Also, quick question - what age can I get Nibble neutered? The vet said six months?
 
Yes, I might go and re-introduce them now. The pups have been checked by a vet, and have been sexed. Nibble is a boy, and we have put a divider in our c&c cage, separating the girls from him. Thank you for your helpful replies! :)
Also, quick question - what age can I get Nibble neutered? The vet said six months?

Yes that sounds about right - 4-6 months is about the age range but it depends on when the testicles descend and the weight of the piggy. Some vets like them to be a certain size before putting them under anaesthetic.
 
You’re welcome ☺️ Pigtures pretty please? 😁
 
Yes, here are some pigtures 💗

image0.webp
(Nibble has the black head, and Miffy is sharing a piece of kale with him. Nala is in the middle)
This was when they were about a week old.

image1.webp
here is Honey.

image0 2.webp
Meet Lola, the Mama.
Thanks for all the nice welcomes! :)
 
i got my boars neutered at 3 months old so it depends where you live
 
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