Old friends but now unbonded?

[fiyah]

Hi! I have three guinea pigs, ethel, macchiato, and blueberry. recently, ethel developed an upper respiratory infection that she fortunately survived because we discovered it soon enough. because of this, she had to be separated from the herd because she was contagious. she was also diagnosed with arthritis and was put on pain medicine and metacam.

before she was separated, ethel and macchiato were very bonded, they got along well. ethel is much older than her and it was kind of the pecking order that she was more dominant.

now that ethel has recovered, i introduced them and i didnt think anything would be wrong with that. i noticed very loud chattering from ethel, something ive never heard from her. i panicked and put my hand in the cage to separate macchiato and ethel quickly. she bit me very hard and i started bleeding and i was scared to touch her after, but i managed to get them separated again.

today i let them have floor time together to see if it had calmed down, and they got into a big fight. no blood was drawn, however, tufts of fur were pulled. could anyone explain why theyve unbonded? i thought it was because ethel was in pain from her arthritis and thats why she was acting out, but shes able to walk well and seems fine. what could be the issue? she has never been this violent with any of my piggies. does anyone have any tips for re-bonding? thanks

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I have three guinea pigs, ethel, macchiato, and blueberry. recently, ethel developed an upper respiratory infection that she fortunately survived because we discovered it soon enough. because of this, she had to be separated from the herd because she was contagious. she was also diagnosed with arthritis and was put on pain medicine and metacam.

before she was separated, ethel and macchiato were very bonded, they got along well. ethel is much older than her and it was kind of the pecking order that she was more dominant.

now that ethel has recovered, i introduced them and i didnt think anything would be wrong with that. i noticed very loud chattering from ethel, something ive never heard from her. i panicked and put my hand in the cage to separate macchiato and ethel quickly. she bit me very hard and i started bleeding and i was scared to touch her after, but i managed to get them separated again.

today i let them have floor time together to see if it had calmed down, and they got into a big fight. no blood was drawn, however, tufts of fur were pulled. could anyone explain why theyve unbonded? i thought it was because ethel was in pain from her arthritis and thats why she was acting out, but shes able to walk well and seems fine. what could be the issue? she has never been this violent with any of my piggies. does anyone have any tips for re-bonding? thanks

Hi!

I am very sorry for you upset! Please NEVER go between riled up piggies with a bare hand. Always have thick oven gloves at the ready with every intro or re-intro you are doing.

A medical separation can sadly mean that adult piggies won't go back together, especially if the underpiggy has decided that she likes being her own top sow or the top sow finds that she is actually happier having her own territory.

There is nothing you can do, as gutting as it is for you (and I know very well just how gutting it is!) Your girls have unfortunately made up their minds on that issue and are not going to change it for the next few years or so...

It is not at all uncommon in older sows, whether after a bereavement or a medical separation. At one point I had four single sows (bereaved or fallen-out) that would not go with any of the others.
Unfortunately, teenage boars get all the bad press but older sows are something else when it comes to complex personalities, believe me!

The best thing is to keep them as next door neighbours with interaction through the bar for round the clock companionship and stimulation - even if that consists of hurling abuse through the bars at first!

Here is more information:
Bonds In Trouble
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

 

[fiyah]

Hi!

I am very sorry for you upset! Please NEVER go between riled up piggies with a bare hand. Always have thick oven gloves at the ready with every intro or re-intro you are doing.

A medical separation can sadly mean that adult piggies won't go back together, especially if the underpiggy has decided that she likes being her own top sow or the top sow finds that she is actually happier having her own territory.

There is nothing you can do, as gutting as it is for you (and I know very well just how gutting it is!) Your girls have unfortunately made up their minds on that issue and are not going to change it for the next few years or so...

It is not at all uncommon in older sows, whether after a bereavement or a medical separation. At one point I had four single sows (bereaved or fallen-out) that would not go with any of the others.
Unfortunately, teenage boars get all the bad press but older sows are something else when it comes to complex personalities, believe me!

The best thing is to keep them as next door neighbours with interaction through the bar for round the clock companionship and stimulation - even if that consists of hurling abuse through the bars at first!

Here is more information:
Bonds In Trouble
Single Guinea Pigs - Challenges and Responsibilities
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)

thank you for this info! it really breaks my heart to have to keep ethel and macchiato separated, they were all such good friends. currently they are in the same cage but separated by two grids so they can still see eachother. i hope that will be sufficient to keep ethel less lonely. its probably safer for all of them to keep them separate.

 

[Wiebke]

thank you for this info! it really breaks my heart to have to keep ethel and macchiato separated, they were all such good friends. currently they are in the same cage but separated by two grids so they can still see eachother. i hope that will be sufficient to keep ethel less lonely. its probably safer for all of them to keep them separate.

That is perfect! They have each got their own territory but can still fully interact.

It is always a very gutting experience.

 

[Swissgreys]

I just wanted to say you are not the only one.
One of our sows (Ruby) has only ever really had a successful relationship with one other piggy - Lucy.
Ruby was very ill last year and also had to be separated for medical reasons.
Sadly when we tried to reintroduce the pair, the same thing happened, and for a long time Ruby couldn't even stand to see other guinea pigs through the grids - we actually eneded up changing our cage layout and having her on a seprate level entirely!
However over the past 12 months she has relaxed (slightly) and now has contact through a grid with our other guinea pigs.
She clearly wouldn't want to live with them, but seems happy enough to visit them on her terms and have the occasional rumble through the bars at them.

 

[fiyah]

I just wanted to say you are not the only one.
One of our sows (Ruby) has only ever really had a successful relationship with one other piggy - Lucy.
Ruby was very ill last year and also had to be separated for medical reasons.
Sadly when we tried to reintroduce the pair, the same thing happened, and for a long time Ruby couldn't even stand to see other guinea pigs through the grids - we actually eneded up changing our cage layout and having her on a seprate level entirely!
However over the past 12 months she has relaxed (slightly) and now has contact through a grid with our other guinea pigs.
She clearly wouldn't want to live with them, but seems happy enough to visit them on her terms and have the occasional rumble through the bars at them.

this is so upsetting, I'm just worried ethel will be to lonely as i work alot. she just kind of sits in her hut all day and doesnt move around. do you think maybe shes still in alot of pain from her arthritis? she seems really depressed