Rocky Friendship With Daisy And Delilah.

[Eriathwen]

Ive been thinking for some time now that it might be in their best interests to split them and form 2 trios instead of 3 pairs but I'm not really sure.

Theres no outright aggression, more Daisy is, as far as her companion is concerned anyway, a very annoying piggy. She is constantly running around and popcorning..shes so happy but this is causing annoyance from Delilah who will tell her off. Daisy used to be so defensive she would squirt urine at Delilah every time she came near her..this has settled down but she is constantly making high pitched vocalisations that show she isnt comfortable with Delilah so close. There has been a tiny amount of teeth chattering, a fair bit of chasing and some rumblestrutting.

The 'final straw' today really was I had the cage open, sat chatting to Daisy as I somtimes do and Delilah was trying to sleep evidently...when Daisy comes for a chat she will popcorn on the spot which I guess annoys Delilah? Anyway..this time Delilah comes storming out and shoves her head right under Daisy's bottom, causing her to leap up and out of the cage...luckily (news to me!) I'm good at catching small guinea pigs flying through the air...and she is unharmed.

I suppose I'm asking even with no outright bullying, aggression or fighting (obviously Delilah had no idea she was shoving Daisy out the cage possibly causing her harm) is it worth trying to seperate them and put them with others instead? Or is it worth persevering with them as a pair even though they just dont like eachother very much?

Theyve been here over a month now which I guess is still a short period of time, they both settled into the home really quickly, almost from day 1 so I suppose it could still be a settling in thing even though theyre pretty confident with their surroundings..

 

[pig in the city]

Daisy is obviously not stressed by Delilah's behaviour so maybe leave alone. The risk of splitting them is that if the trio's don't work out you may not be able to bond them back together again.
Or consider getting a neutered boar to go with them if you have the space?

 

[TheLottiediarys]

Whats your space like at the moment? Have they got a large area? If not and if its a possibility then maybe a larger area will give them space away from each other, out of each others hair, and gives you the option of also adding a new friend to ease out the tension between the two?

 

[Eriathwen]

Ive a feeling it could be space, theyre in a 120cm cage at the moment but I'm having custom built 4ftx3fts built for each pair which should be ready in the new year. They do over time seem to be calming, but I feel bad having them live with someone they dont really like, hopefully when given more space it will get better but even during floor time they opt to be as far apart as possible. They share nicely, like food and water etc and all the forage mixes that I put in. I'll keep an eye on them for now, I just hate the scared squeaking noises Daisy makes even though she doesnt really act too bothered. More than happy to adopt a neutered boar if 3 would fit in a 4x3 without them feeling crowded again..

 

[TheLottiediarys]

Remember that Submissive Guinea Pigs do squeal to show that they're being submissive and it isn't a bad squeal, it isn't always nice to hear i agree but sometimes we forget that its normal!
Obviously, If your concerned that she's losing weight, getting poorly, isn't coping well, then think about separating, but sometimes it looks nastier then it actually is
GP's are VERY vocal

It sounds like your cage on the way may go a long way to solving these issues

 

[TheLottiediarys]

More than happy to adopt a neutered boar if 3 would fit in a 4x3 without them feeling crowded again..

Here's a helpful link that talks in depth about the recommended cage size's for GP:
Cage Size Guide

But to Para-phrase what it says:
'2x5 C&C grid cage is recommended for 2 boars or 3 sows or 1 neutered boar/2 sows'