Strange Behavior Change

[Perky]

Hi,

I was looking for another opinion. My girlfriend thinks I'm over-reacting piggie daddy but 2 of our 4 guinea pigs have had a sudden change in behavior....

We've had our 2 youngest Guinea pigs (Tod and Copper) for around 5 months now. Copper was always the quiet and scared one and Tod never rumble strutted but showed signs of being the dominant one. But recently Copper has come more out of his shell (Doenst sit petrified in the snuggie i use to transport them, wanders round the cage more) and Tod has withdrawn a lot. We found 1 tuft of Tods fur in the cage last change. Tod now hides away on a top shelf in the corner and if Copper comes near him he runs away and goes back to that corner. Copper has started to rumble strut now, seems to prefer the food bowl placed near Tod and sort of chases him away from places. I'm worried that Tod is getting bullied and is depressed just spending his days sat in the same spot. They both used to be obsessed with the other 2 pigs in the cage next to them and they would chew the bars and pull on them no matter how much stuff i gave them to keep them from being bored but only on the side facing them, the other 2 pigs dont really care that much about the other 2.

A few other things to take into account that might help?

I have checked over both piggies for mites, bites, teeth, feet, eyes etc etc
They have about 6ft x 3ft of cage space.
2 hidey houses at opposite corners.
They get 2 veg bowls.
I scatter the piggie nuggies instead of using a bowl so one cant crowd the bowl.
2 Locations of hay.
They have things to chew, 2 tunnels, and a wooden arch to climb over.
They have 1 water bottle.
We only get them out the cage about twice a week.

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks and sorry for the essay

Perky

 

[Siikibam]

How old are they now? It does sound like normal dominance behaviour. If Copper is top pig then he has the pick of the hides etc. As for chasing away/stealing food from the other, that’s also normal and can sometimes be a case of top pig getting first dibs. I would scatter feed the veg as well to stop the food hoarding etc.

How often is Copper chasing Tod away from places? And how does Tod react, aside from running off. Is he squeaking or silent?

Being bullied and being the underpig who is experiencing top pig asserting their dominance are two different things. With bullying, there is withdrawal, no eating, depression and weight loss. It doesn’t sound like bullying in this case.

Have you been keeping an eye on their weekly weight? What has it been like for both of them?

I’ll link to some guides for you below. Have a look at the first one which is a guide on levels of dominance. That can help you work out whereabouts Copper sits. The others are useful as they go into detail about boar relationships etc.

A question again. Are the piggies in the other cage boars or sows?

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

 

[Perky]

How old are they now? It does sound like normal dominance behaviour. If Copper is top pig then he has the pick of the hides etc. As for chasing away/stealing food from the other, that’s also normal and can sometimes be a case of top pig getting first dibs. I would scatter feed the veg as well to stop the food hoarding etc.

How often is Copper chasing Tod away from places? And how does Tod react, aside from running off. Is he squeaking or silent?

Being bullied and being the underpig who is experiencing top pig asserting their dominance are two different things. With bullying, there is withdrawal, no eating, depression and weight loss. It doesn’t sound like bullying in this case.

Have you been keeping an eye on their weekly weight? What has it been like for both of them?

I’ll link to some guides for you below. Have a look at the first one which is a guide on levels of dominance. That can help you work out whereabouts Copper sits. The others are useful as they go into detail about boar relationships etc.

A question again. Are the piggies in the other cage boars or sows?

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

Thanks for the reply.

They are around 8 months old i believe.

I have heard about 3 panic squeeks like he thinks hes in danger but apart from that its just silent. Its more chasing him away from the main floor of the cage or if hes close by.

He seem withdrawn but he is eating and he is slowly gaining weight (Not as fast as Copper though).

the other 2 are boars and have gotten along since day 1. Very clear hierarchy there and no chasing off from food, hiding spots or anything. Thats what got me worried.

Is it usual for the dominance to just flip between 2 pigs?

Thank you for the links

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

I was looking for another opinion. My girlfriend thinks I'm over-reacting piggie daddy but 2 of our 4 guinea pigs have had a sudden change in behavior....

We've had our 2 youngest Guinea pigs (Tod and Copper) for around 5 months now. Copper was always the quiet and scared one and Tod never rumble strutted but showed signs of being the dominant one. But recently Copper has come more out of his shell (Doenst sit petrified in the snuggie i use to transport them, wanders round the cage more) and Tod has withdrawn a lot. We found 1 tuft of Tods fur in the cage last change. Tod now hides away on a top shelf in the corner and if Copper comes near him he runs away and goes back to that corner. Copper has started to rumble strut now, seems to prefer the food bowl placed near Tod and sort of chases him away from places. I'm worried that Tod is getting bullied and is depressed just spending his days sat in the same spot. They both used to be obsessed with the other 2 pigs in the cage next to them and they would chew the bars and pull on them no matter how much stuff i gave them to keep them from being bored but only on the side facing them, the other 2 pigs dont really care that much about the other 2.

A few other things to take into account that might help?

I have checked over both piggies for mites, bites, teeth, feet, eyes etc etc
They have about 6ft x 3ft of cage space.
2 hidey houses at opposite corners.
They get 2 veg bowls.
I scatter the piggie nuggies instead of using a bowl so one cant crowd the bowl.
2 Locations of hay.
They have things to chew, 2 tunnels, and a wooden arch to climb over.
They have 1 water bottle.
We only get them out the cage about twice a week.

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks and sorry for the essay

Perky

Hi!

How are your boys (and I assume correctly that they are boars?) now?

If they are shop-bought, then they are currently in the middle of teenage and have just experienced one these intense hormone spikes that are characteristic for this period although there are distinct phases over the course of 10 months. With boars, it only decides during this time whether your boys will ultimately get along in their adult boar identity or not; there is no magic wand measure that can make them change their personality although there are some tweaks that can help a bit.

You may find our guides helpful because they look in detail at this stage of life with practical tips for all aspects:
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Journey through a Lifetime: The Ages of Guinea Pigs