AdamFrench
Junior Guinea Pig
We have just bought two female sows a week ago and they've been together since. We are inexperienced guinea owners but have read up on a lot before and since purchasing them. However, there is a lot of contradictory information around and its always something else to see behaviour rather than just read about it.
We were told they were both just over 8 weeks and had been living together along with 2 other females since birth. Tao is a bit bigger than Teri and it shows they both know that in their behaviour. When they think we are not there and they're in their house we can here loud squeaking from Teri. Tao is running around inside their house but straight across the top of Teri, as if to chase her away but she doesn't move so Tao just runs straight over her. There have been no physical injury but we can see Tao head butting and pushing Teri around. They do sometime sit together but i'm very worried this is because they are scared of us and being together is the lesser of two evils. We have a vets check up tomorrow so will definitely be asking questions.
We have been trying to set a routine and giving them playtime and floor time with us every evening. We have a second C&C cage area for the living room for when theyre with us as were still trying to build a bond with them, theyre still very scared of us. Tao DOES NOT like to be picked up (i.e. running around madly in her cage trying to not get caught) but when you pick her up she freezes still. Whereas Teri, she doesn't run around too much when getting ready to be picked up, however when I pick her up she bites me, both times she's bit me though hasn't been too long after cooking so I don't know whether this is because she thinks I'm food or whether she hates being picked up.
We've now put another house in the primary cage area and Teri is staying in that house instead on her own.
Do you think they will need to be separated?
Sorry about the essay, I'm just really worried about them
We were told they were both just over 8 weeks and had been living together along with 2 other females since birth. Tao is a bit bigger than Teri and it shows they both know that in their behaviour. When they think we are not there and they're in their house we can here loud squeaking from Teri. Tao is running around inside their house but straight across the top of Teri, as if to chase her away but she doesn't move so Tao just runs straight over her. There have been no physical injury but we can see Tao head butting and pushing Teri around. They do sometime sit together but i'm very worried this is because they are scared of us and being together is the lesser of two evils. We have a vets check up tomorrow so will definitely be asking questions.
We have been trying to set a routine and giving them playtime and floor time with us every evening. We have a second C&C cage area for the living room for when theyre with us as were still trying to build a bond with them, theyre still very scared of us. Tao DOES NOT like to be picked up (i.e. running around madly in her cage trying to not get caught) but when you pick her up she freezes still. Whereas Teri, she doesn't run around too much when getting ready to be picked up, however when I pick her up she bites me, both times she's bit me though hasn't been too long after cooking so I don't know whether this is because she thinks I'm food or whether she hates being picked up.
We've now put another house in the primary cage area and Teri is staying in that house instead on her own.
Do you think they will need to be separated?
Sorry about the essay, I'm just really worried about them