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Strange Behaviour After Bath

JoannaMarie

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all

I have 2 male guinea pigs (Monty and Alan) who live in separate cages next door to each other due to them fighting when they were younger. They have been like this for 4 years and are very happy pigs. Alan is more aggressive, he is a much smaller pig than Monty but makes up for it by being angry (small pig syndrome!).

I noticed Monty had some static lice on his fur (looked like sprinkled pepper near his bum) so I bathed them both with Gorgeous Guineas Lice and Easy, I washed their cages thoroughly and cleaned the room where they live from top to toe. That was on Sunday, and on Tuesday I noticed Alan was very scared, cowering from the side of the cage which is next to Monty's.

I then noticed Monty is showing very aggressive behaviour towards Alan (which is unusual as Alan is the more aggressive pig) rattlesnaking and puffing his fur up to look bigger. They can't get to each other but Alan is definitely affected by this as he seems very anxious.

Could this all be due to cleaning and removing their scent? Has this happened to anyone else? I need to bathe them again this weekend due to the static lice but I'm worried about making things worse.

Any help would be appreciated, I hate to see them so anxious I want my happy pigs back!

Thanks
 

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It may be something that scared him. You have to remember their sense of smell and hearing is much better than ours so maybe something he heard.

If you think they have static lice you should get them to a vet for diagnosis. I don’t know how they’re treated but it’s best you do that than just bathing them. That won’t be enough far as I know.
 
It may be something that scared him. You have to remember their sense of smell and hearing is much better than ours so maybe something he heard.

If you think they have static lice you should get them to a vet for diagnosis. I don’t know how they’re treated but it’s best you do that than just bathing them. That won’t be enough far as I know.
Thanks for the reply, you are probably right regarding something scaring him, he was very scared on Tuesday he is slowly getting better but I just don't understand why Monty is being so aggressive to Alan. It is my understanding from the vet that with static lice the only way to treat is with bathing, as spot on doesnt work with static lice due to them not biting the pigs. I am a hypochondriac guinea pig mum and I go to the vets for everything. If their behaviour is still the same on Monday I will make an appointment.
 
I’ll tag @PigglePuggle @Piggies&buns as I don’t know how static lice should be treated.

As for their other behaviour - it’s not aggressive. Piggies have to match personalities to get on and live together. When they don’t it’s a personality clash and not aggression.
 
Maybe they had an argument as they usually are fine as long as they have their own space. After looking at some of the posts about static lice I think I will take Monty back to a different vet as looking at previous posts Weibke has said that ivermectin is the most effective treatment. Thanks for your help!
 
If they’re living separate then they have their own space. That shouldn’t cause arguments.
Look at the vet locator and see which one you can get to. I would hold off washing them again for now.
Vet Locator
 
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