Need some help with new guineas please

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Hello!

We got our first two guineas from pets @ home on friday. Everything is going OK so far, apart from a couple of things which it would be great to get some advice on.

The two guinea pigs are both female and were supposed to be around 8 weeks old, but one is noticeably bigger than the other and has become more dominant. She is also bolder in some ways and will eat from our hand BUT....

1. If we try to touch her, even just to stroke, she will immediately "shake" us off and run away to the other side of the cage. We haven't got close to picking her up yet, but can pick up the smaller guinea quite easily, even though she's shy. She will come and sniff our hands sometimes, and doesn't seem to be scared.

2. The bigger guinea seems to be aggressive to the smaller one still.We have an igloo and tube in the cage, but sometimes if the smaller guinea tries to enter the igloo she will be chased out after a lot of loud squeaking. This happens randomly outside of the igloo too, and it looks like the bigger guinea is biting, although there has been no blood.

Should I be worried? I thought that it would take the guineas some time to get to know each other, but its been a few days now, and I don't want the smaller guinea to become a nervous wreck. I also expected them to not like being picked up, but thought that stroking would be easier than it has been.

Any advice would help a lot, thanks!
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. :)p

I would suggest taking out the pigloo for now and replacing it with a hidey that has 2 exits. You can use an upside down cardboard box and make 2 doorways. This way the smaller girl cannot get penned in.
It is normal for the undersow to squeak/ scream as a sound of submission. It can sound quite upsetting though, especially with young pigs as the squeaks are very loud compared to the size of pig! As long as she is not being hurt/ able to eat without being bullied/ able to rest and sleep then it is best to let them ride it out. I would think it should settle soon (although with my own girls the loud squeaking went on for a couple of weeks as my undersow screamed if either of the others even looked like they might go near her).

Some pigs do not like being picked up but it's important to establish a routine. I use a cosy (a bit like a big fleece pocket) to pick up my girls. I herd them gently into a corner so that there is nowhere else to go and they jump into the cosy. I use the same words each time- 'in you pop'. Now when I want to pick them up I get the cosy out and most of the time they get in with no herding necessary.

Just in case you want to make sure, this is an excellent link to help you sex your guinea pigs.
http://www.cavyspirit.com/sexing.htm

:)
 
Hi flips, thanks for your advice, it's very reassuring :)

It sounds like the smaller guinea is just getting scared of the bigger one, even though there isn't any real biting or anything. I've been watching them closely this evening and the smaller guinea starts squeaking as soon as the bigger one comes near - very similar to what happened with yours. She's eating, drinking and sleeping fine, so will do as you suggest and get a house with two exits and see how it goes.

As for picking them up, I like the idea of getting them to go into something as we're worried about hurting them when they try to wriggle away.

The guy at the pet shop double checked the sex, but I guess it never hurts to make sure!
 
Dominance behaviour is normal and will last for longer than you think; it follows a firm protocol which in time gives both the top and the bottom piggy their say in which shape the relationship will take.

Give it time and develop rituals, so your piggies will know what to expect!

Please be aware that most animals in P@h come from places where they have had virtually no human contact before.

Here is more about sow behaviour and tips for settling new guinea pigs:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=36239
 
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