Newly Bonded Guinea Pig Aggression

[mdissel]

I have two guinea pigs - Luna and Lily. Luna was born Feb 2017, and I adopted her Sept 2017 along with her sister. Her sister passed away in the middle of August, so after giving Luna time to grieve, I decided to try bonding her. I went to our local small animal shelter and found her a cagemate - Lily. Lily was born October 2018 and has already had 3 babies. They didn't necessarily hit it off during the bonding session at the shelter, but they were fine with each other. Like there was a very small amount of popcorning and a very little bit of dominance, but mostly just tolerance. So we decided to give it a shot, and we adopted her Sept 21. That afternoon Luna stated her dominance, and Lily started backing down. However, Luna seemed pretty insistent on continually proving her dominance. Come Sunday morning we weren't sure if they were going to work because Luna didn't seem to want to back down even though Lily had clearly given in. On the 22nd we put them back into a neutral zone, and then super wiped down EVERYTHING with vinegar water and put in freshly washed fleece bedding. We then put their neutral zone towel on top of that bedding to give them a familiar scent and eventually removed that towel. They seemed to be getting along fine. Throughout this past week, there were some signs of dominance, but it was normal dominance expression, and Lily gave in every time.

However, tonight it has taken a turn. Luna has been super aggressive, even starting to attack Lily on the neck. She hasn't drawn blood or actually caused any injury. Lily was giving in, but then she actually tried to nip Luna back a few times. It worries me that she's going to fight back, and then we'll have an actual fight. I put them into floor time, while quick swapping out bedding and wiping the cage bars down with vinegar water again. I'm suuuper woried that Luna is going to revoke the bonding, and we'll have to return Lily. Should I be concerned about this, or is it still normal dominance behavior? Is Luna just in heat, and it'll calm down? Any advice/comfort you can give to this worried guinea pig mom is appreciated.

 

[mdissel]

Oh and they both just had vet checks on Saturday. Luna used to have ovarian cysts but after Lupron injections those cysts seem to be gone. Lily has a super tiny one on one ovary. Otherwise, they both seem to be in perfect health.

 

[Wiebke]

Oh and they both just had vet checks on Saturday. Luna used to have ovarian cysts but after Lupron injections those cysts seem to be gone. Lily has a super tiny one on one ovary. Otherwise, they both seem to be in perfect health.

Hi!

It sounds like a stronger season. Nipping is a normal dominance behaviour for the post-bonding dominance phase.
Please do NOT interfere (I know that this is often the hardest part) and let your girls get on with working out the nature of their relationship - how far the leader can push and how far the under-sow allows herself to be pushed. That is what your girls are currently working on.

Please take the time to read these guides here. Remove any hideys with just one exit but make sure that both have an open shelter. Also feed in two bowls and remove the bowls between meals. Make sure that access to hay and water (ideally two bottles in different places) cannot be blocked by the leader.

- Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics (includes post-bonding dominance phase with typical behaviours as well as a chapter on particulars in sow bonding)
- Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts) (includes a chapter on dominance)
- Please brace yourself that the first few seasons in any new bond can be extremely dramatic. You have to sit it out as the shared excess of emotions is a strong bonding experience. When Sows Experience A Strong Season (videos)
- More information on dominance behaviours: Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
- More information on nipping and biting: " Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)