Two baby 3month old sister Guinea's Fighting

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vmark89

Hey guys I'm new to the forum but ive been looking at some of the discussions before for help and advice so i decided to register =) ive got a problem ive recently bought two little sisters called Zara and Zoe who are about 3-4months old ive had them for about a month and a half and ive noticed that when there on my knee in the house they seem to snap at one another not all the time but sometimes its over something as simple as one of them cleaning themselves or getting comfier, and it sounds like i can hear their teeth when they do it, ive put my hand in the way when i think there about to do this as i dont want any harm to come to either one of them and that they shouldnt do it as there sisters =/ i have felt that its quite hard aswell because Zoe has actually caught my hand instead of Zara the other day and left a blood mark under my skin with the pressure, but after she did it she instantly gave me guinea kisses =) because she must have though it was Zara, but I'm just wondering how i can stop this as i dont want them hurt and dont want to have to have them on my knee seperatly.
can anyone help me?
thanks
Mark
 
A) How big is their cage? It should be a minimum of 2x4 ft; the more the better. Tight space can be one of the reasons.

B) Do you have two bowls, hides etc. for them to get away from each other?

C) Sisters can squabble. I have two of them as well! Like with human siblings, blood ties don't mean that you get on all the time.

D) Are your girls doing this ALL the time or only about every two weeks per girl when they are in season and things can be a bit fraught? Your girls are at an age where the hormones do kick in and being in season can also spark another dominance dispute.

Here is more on sow behaviour:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38561
 
thanks for the reply =) yeah their cage is easily bigger than that its about the size of an outside run and a half for their indoor cage and their run is quite big aswell so their not confined in close quarters, we've had other guinea's before but they've all seemed to get on but they werent sisters that was the difference with them. Theyve got two half hidey balls to hide in its ment to be a full ball but we split it in half and turn it upside down so they can get underneath it =) all the other guineas like it and these two do too they have 1 big bottle and 2 bowls they normally have a little go at each other when there on my knee which is each night so they can get used to me and i like having them in too =) but its not all the time that they kind of go to nip each other but they seem to snuggle up on my knee and make the happy noise and inside the cage they seem fine its just on my knee when they seem to do it most. i have noticed that they seem to back up almost like their putting their bottom in the air sometimes its when there just showing a sign of wanting to go the toilet but others it seems to annoy each other, has that got something to do with the dominance?
 
I would think dominance or stress.

Why don't you cuddle them singly instead of together?

If they are shy, you can let them sneak under a small fleece or towel on your lap for added comfort.
 
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Are you 100% sure you have two girls and not one of each? Other thing to say is that this is a tricky age and they're probably asserting their dominance. It is unusual but not unheard of for sister sows to squabble. I have three two year old sows who live with their mummy and they're always bickering. They love each other really!
 
thanks for the info guys, ive just checked them both and their definatly both females =) i was a bit worried then that with them squabbling one might have been a male. i dont understand how they could be stressed I'm always talking gentley to them stroking them softly and they seem to get nice an relaxed i no Zoe like to snuggle up and fall asleep on me, i just dont want them to think that I'm seperating them or making them think they have done wrong by seperating them but ill give that a go later, should i have one out on my knee and have her sister in a box at the bottom of the chair next to me then switch over in an hour or half hour? i do give them treats when they come in to try and stop them being a bit shy i know that when i go to their cage they still run but once their in there okay. i could cut up an old fleece and put that over the top of them when i have them on my knee then so its somewhere to hide?
 
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