Rescue Guinea pigs

[Abirose]

I would like some help and advice please. I rescued two female guinea pigs three weeks ago, the rescue centre said they came from a group of five females, the other three females were rehomed individually and are all about 18 months old. They had a health check by the rescue centre which said they had some scab on coat, they were treated for mites but said could likely be fighting. The rescue centre put cameras in the cage and said no fighting was seen. I have them in a ferplast cage 120x60cm with a fitted sleeping compartment at one end, there has been a lot of chasing of Rosie by Abigail and Rosie has been giving out high pitch squeaks when they are both in their sleeping compartment. Yesterday I took the sleeping compartment out and replaced it with two igloos, Abigail tried to get in whichever igloo Rosie was in and caused more problems. I put the sleeping compartment back in and one igloo this seems to have helped but doesn't leave much room in the cage. Rosie is a lot smaller and much more timid. Any advice would be welcome please.

 

[Wiebke]

I would like some help and advice please. I rescued two female guinea pigs three weeks ago, the rescue centre said they came from a group of five females, the other three females were rehomed individually and are all about 18 months old. They had a health check by the rescue centre which said they had some scab on coat, they were treated for mites but said could likely be fighting. The rescue centre put cameras in the cage and said no fighting was seen. I have them in a ferplast cage 120x60cm with a fitted sleeping compartment at one end, there has been a lot of chasing of Rosie by Abigail and Rosie has been giving out high pitch squeaks when they are both in their sleeping compartment. Yesterday I took the sleeping compartment out and replaced it with two igloos, Abigail tried to get in whichever igloo Rosie was in and caused more problems. I put the sleeping compartment back in and one igloo this seems to have helped but doesn't leave much room in the cage. Rosie is a lot smaller and much more timid. Any advice would be welcome please.

Hi!

Your two sows are currently in the after-bonding dominance phase to establish a new group in new territory.

Please remove any hideys with just one exit during this stage and only use them if the sows are really getting on well; generally hideys with two exits are better when keeping guinea pigs. Always have at least the same number of hideys as guinea pigs (the same goes for any food bowls, which you remove between meals to encourage your guinea pigs to eat as much vital hay as possible - it whould make over 80% of the daily food intake.
Chucking an under-piggy out of a hidey off a food bowl is part of normal dominance behaviour. The top pig has first choice and is going to enforce it especially during the dominance phase, which is on average about 2 weeks long.

Please take the time to read these guides here. They will help you to understand the dynamics and the behaviours you are seeing.
This guide is looking at all stages of the bonding process, including the dominance phase; it also contains lots of illustrated behaviours to help you understand how guinea pigs interact: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Here is our sow guide; it also has a behaviour section: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Both guides are part of our very helpful and informative new owners guide collection, in which we are specifically addressing all the areas we get the most questions and worries about in as practical and precise way as possible to help new owners learn what is normal and what not and how to go about for the long term. Lots of things have changed in the piggy in recent years, from diet recommendations to medical care to our understanding how guinea pigs as a species and not just as human pets, which in turn is influencing how we as humans interact with them, so that many wide-spread preconceptions have had to be ditched: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Babaroosie]

Hi! If you can try and give them hideys with more than one entrance, so that if one of them gets stuck in it whilst being threatened by the other she can back out of the situation. Fights between sows tend to break out because of fear, which is more likely to happen if one of them gets stuck. How long have you had them for, and is the level of aggression getting less over time? If Rosie is making high pitched noises it may be an indication that she is telling Abigail 'I'm not a threat leave me alone!', Which is normally surprisingly effective in getting the more dominant guinea pig to back down. If Rosie is smaller, make sure that she has access to good and water - maybe have two or three of each available? It sounds like Abigail is bullying her, and might be preventing her from getting what she needs to grow. If the behaviour continues, it might be worth separating them to see whether Rosie perks up without Abigail being there. Be careful about doing so though! It's best if they manage to sort out their problems themselves, and it can take a while for them to settle down. If they draw blood h owever, separate them. Honestly I would really recommend that you read some of the guides available
On this website, about Bonding Guinea pigs, bullying, and Sow Behaviour. I am by no means an expert!

 

[VickiA]

I would like some help and advice please. I rescued two female guinea pigs three weeks ago, the rescue centre said they came from a group of five females, the other three females were rehomed individually and are all about 18 months old. They had a health check by the rescue centre which said they had some scab on coat, they were treated for mites but said could likely be fighting. The rescue centre put cameras in the cage and said no fighting was seen. I have them in a ferplast cage 120x60cm with a fitted sleeping compartment at one end, there has been a lot of chasing of Rosie by Abigail and Rosie has been giving out high pitch squeaks when they are both in their sleeping compartment. Yesterday I took the sleeping compartment out and replaced it with two igloos, Abigail tried to get in whichever igloo Rosie was in and caused more problems. I put the sleeping compartment back in and one igloo this seems to have helped but doesn't leave much room in the cage. Rosie is a lot smaller and much more timid. Any advice would be welcome please.

@Wiebke ’s post above says it all and gives you all the info you need to u derstand what’s going on with these ladies. I don’t like those built in shelf/sleeping compartments and remove them from any ferplast cages that come my way. I ensure that there are only log arches, plastic stools and houses with 2 exits so no one can get stuck.

 

[Abirose]

Hi!

Your two sows are currently in the after-bonding dominance phase to establish a new group in new territory.

Please remove any hideys with just one exit during this stage and only use them if the sows are really getting on well; generally hideys with two exits are better when keeping guinea pigs. Always have at least the same number of hideys as guinea pigs (the same goes for any food bowls, which you remove between meals to encourage your guinea pigs to eat as much vital hay as possible - it whould make over 80% of the daily food intake.
Chucking an under-piggy out of a hidey off a food bowl is part of normal dominance behaviour. The top pig has first choice and is going to enforce it especially during the dominance phase, which is on average about 2 weeks long.

Please take the time to read these guides here. They will help you to understand the dynamics and the behaviours you are seeing.
This guide is looking at all stages of the bonding process, including the dominance phase; it also contains lots of illustrated behaviours to help you understand how guinea pigs interact: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Here is our sow guide; it also has a behaviour section: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Both guides are part of our very helpful and informative new owners guide collection, in which we are specifically addressing all the areas we get the most questions and worries about in as practical and precise way as possible to help new owners learn what is normal and what not and how to go about for the long term. Lots of things have changed in the piggy in recent years, from diet recommendations to medical care to our understanding how guinea pigs as a species and not just as human pets, which in turn is influencing how we as humans interact with them, so that many wide-spread preconceptions have had to be ditched: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

 

[Abirose]

Hi!

Your two sows are currently in the after-bonding dominance phase to establish a new group in new territory.

Please remove any hideys with just one exit during this stage and only use them if the sows are really getting on well; generally hideys with two exits are better when keeping guinea pigs. Always have at least the same number of hideys as guinea pigs (the same goes for any food bowls, which you remove between meals to encourage your guinea pigs to eat as much vital hay as possible - it whould make over 80% of the daily food intake.
Chucking an under-piggy out of a hidey off a food bowl is part of normal dominance behaviour. The top pig has first choice and is going to enforce it especially during the dominance phase, which is on average about 2 weeks long.

Please take the time to read these guides here. They will help you to understand the dynamics and the behaviours you are seeing.
This guide is looking at all stages of the bonding process, including the dominance phase; it also contains lots of illustrated behaviours to help you understand how guinea pigs interact: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Here is our sow guide; it also has a behaviour section: Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)

Both guides are part of our very helpful and informative new owners guide collection, in which we are specifically addressing all the areas we get the most questions and worries about in as practical and precise way as possible to help new owners learn what is normal and what not and how to go about for the long term. Lots of things have changed in the piggy in recent years, from diet recommendations to medical care to our understanding how guinea pigs as a species and not just as human pets, which in turn is influencing how we as humans interact with them, so that many wide-spread preconceptions have had to be ditched: Getting Started - New Owners' Most Helpful Guides

Thank you for your help. I have read the guides you recommended. What really worries me is that these guinea pigs were housed together at the rescue centre for over four weeks before I got them and I have had them 3 weeks. The rescue centre said they had scabs on their coats and this was possible fighting( happened at previous owner). Could it be because they have been put together in a new cage? The arguing is not happening all the time they will stand next to each other to eat grass and at the hay rack. Just every now and again Abigail will be chasing and upsetting Rosie. Rosie is very vocal about this, if it happens in the sleeping compartment. I cant see if its serious or not.

 

[VickiA]

Can I ask which rescue you adopted from and whether the piggies were vet checked before they came to you? Did the rescue treat them for mites or fungal before rehoming to you?

Whereabouts are the scabs. Can you post any photos? I’m just concerned in case they may actually have self inflicted bites from mite infestation or a fungal skin condition instead of these being old injuries. Do they look fresh or old? If the scabs came from fighting at an old home then that would be from 7 weeks ago if you’ve had them 3 weeks and the rescue had them for 4 weeks. Those would be quite some injuries to still be present there after all this time.

Often when piggies are in a bonded pair they can still squabble when they get to a new home as they reestablish dominance. However, from the info you have given we can’t be sure of the reason for these injuries.

 

[DMS260820]

I'm sure i have seen this on another thread?

 

[Abirose]

Can I ask which rescue you adopted from and whether the piggies were vet checked before they came to you? Did the rescue treat them for mites or fungal before rehoming to you?

Whereabouts are the scabs. Can you post any photos? I’m just concerned in case they may actually have self inflicted bites from mite infestation or a fungal skin condition instead of these being old injuries. Do they look fresh or old? If the scabs came from fighting at an old home then that would be from 7 weeks ago if you’ve had them 3 weeks and the rescue had them for 4 weeks. Those would be quite some injuries to still be present there after all this time.

Often when piggies are in a bonded pair they can still squabble when they get to a new home as they reestablish dominance. However, from the info you have given we can’t be sure of the reason for these injuries.

Thank you for your reply. They were checked out by a vet at the Rescue centre and the vet report said they had some scab on coat, they treated for mites but likely cause fighting. there were five females altogether, the other three went out individually we got two. they told us to retreat medication on the 19th February, which we did. The rescue centre put a camera in the cage there to monitor if there was any fighting, we were told none was seen. They were there four weeks before we brought them home. We can see nothing on there coats or skin. They just seem to be squabbling a lot and Abigail seems to be bullying Rosie, was just looking for advice.