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Should I separate?

Nicjones99

Nicjones99

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, further to my previous post (Loss of appetite - vet says fine), I'm wondering whether I should separate my guinea pigs? Blossom, the dominant one, seems to be bullying Clover, who is eating but still fragile. I don't know whether this will stress them out too much, or give Clover a chance to get her strength back. I've seen Blossom chase away from food, steal her nest and block her into a corner (I thought they were cuddling, but now think otherwise). Also, should I still be giving Critical Care to Clover? She hated the syringe so much she would attack it when it came near (I tried mushed pellets too) - she's been maintaining her weight eating on her own, but not back up to what she was.
 
If Blossom is chasing Clover away from food then yes. This is hard to watch, when seriously Cookie was really poorly the other girls shunned her and didn't want to be around her. They used to bite the bars to be away from her, they felt her illness a threat to their herd safety and reacted as such. Not nice to watch but they are prey animals and weakness is dangerous. We had to seperate for a week in the end till we got Cookie pulled through, there was a chance they wouldn't accept her back into the group but luckily they did and cookie went back to her position of top pig for a year after.
Just be aware separation isn't without it's risks of re-bonding but right now you need to do all you can to get Clover better
 
sport_billy said:
If Blossom is chasing Clover away from food then yes. This is hard to watch, when seriously Cookie was really poorly the other girls shunned her and didn't want to be around her. They used to bite the bars to be away from her, they felt her illness a threat to their herd safety and reacted as such. Not nice to watch but they are prey animals and weakness is dangerous. We had to seperate for a week in the end till we got Cookie pulled through, there was a chance they wouldn't accept her back into the group but luckily they did and cookie went back to her position of top pig for a year after.
Just be aware separation isn't without it's risks of re-bonding but right now you need to do all you can to get Clover better
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice, yes, that's what I thought - get Clover better and stronger then worry about re-bonding. Blossom has always been greedier but Clover is usually faster and more nimble so gets her fair share. I'm taking her to the vets in a minute, so will report back.
 
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