Sorry for the long post.
My sister and I were talking tonight about Penny and Cocoa’s behavior towards each other and it’s opened my eyes.
Cocoa has always acted as the dominant one, even though the cage has a divider. She constantly likes to bother Penny through the bars, even if she means well.
I can now see the reason why Penny always moves her barn hideout by the divider; she doesn’t want Cocoa to bother her/she feels safe from Cocoa.
Penny’s already been through so much with her background, so I want her to feel comfortable and safe. What more can I do so that Cocoa doesn’t bother Penny? Should I cover the divider so they can’t see each other? But then I feel bad since piggies need that interaction. I’m really stumped. I wish they could just get along. Any advice is appreciated
Hi!
Please forget about your guinea pigs conforming to
your human own wish that they get along, as hard as that is for you when you have to give up a happy dream and get down confront reality. Guinea pig are every bit as complex as we humans, and like you won't get on with every classmate or workmate or every potential partner chosen by friends and family, by far not all piggies will gel. They are very much their own personalities with their own stories.
You will be happier in the longer term if you accept them for what they are rather than trying to push them into your own rose-tinted concept of what you want them to be.
All those cute and funny videos on social media are not a fair representation of normality; they pander to a narrow set of expectation of their human viewers and by that reinforce that very specific picture. People are not showing off their piggies not getting on, not wanting to be cuddled or spend hours on the sofa watching tv with you...
Penny is making it clear that she is not wanting Cocoa's attentions. Please do not cover the divider as they still need the constant stimulation from each other's presence, but forget about being able to change personality, behaviour or the chemistry between them. You can do as little about it as you can do with humans. They are what they are, as simple as that.
I know that it is much more difficult in the US where good rescues that offer dating on adoption day and that have neutered boars etc. are far and few in between to find a compatible partner of the piggies' choice. Or accept that your own choice of partners is not what your piggies would have chosen and that some piggies are so wary of the company of others that they rather stay away.
You are a good and loving owner, and as such want your piggies to be happy. Please concentrate on making them happy within the reality they live in rather within your dream of a happy partnership.
Both sows have their own hang-ups. You will have to accept them and work with them as they are. You can't make any undesirable personality traits or traumas simply go away. Please also be aware that there is in most cases fear or insecurity and not aggression at the root of over the top dominance behaviour.
PS: And yes, I have had my own single sows; four at one time that would not live with any of the others. They still needed the stimulation from each other's company. It has taken me nearly a year to work out a satisfactory solution for them all with the much wider range of my own piggies and access to rescue piggies. It has taken me even longer and has involved many failed tries to find what works for them with other piggies.
I currently have a bereaved piggy on my hands that has just been summarily dumped by her off-and-on feuding sister's group after 3 peaceful months with them and that is deadly afraid of (and very aggressive with) any other piggy it has not been introduced to when she was younger. Sadly I have run of those piggies now... There is no quick or easy solution for Llawen; it is going to be a long, patient, persistent and often painful and frustrating process of mostly failures from trial and error attempts to hopefully find success and happiness for her again at some point in the future.
I rejoice when I find a solution for a difficult piggy that makes them happy, but it is not something I ever take for granted. And in order to make my piggies happy (and not just fulfilling my dreams), I have to allow them to dictate the journey, with all the heartbreak and headaches that this brings for me.
