ILoveGilbertTheGuineaPig
Senior Guinea Pig
Hi everyone. I would love some input because I'm feeling a little lost right now.
So let me just start by saying that my girls have always gotten along relatively well. They're pretty evenly matched in dominance but Scarlet has always ultimately been the top pig. Even when they are in season, they seem pretty tame. Just a day or so of rumbling and humping and then they're all back to normal. Monday night (7/1) they got in a fight that I wasn't there to see. My dad had saw it (and he doesn't understand pig behavior a whole lot) and he had put a piece of cardboard in the cage to separate them because he said it was very bad. I didn't see any wounds and figured it was just them being in season because I saw Scarlet trying to hump Eclair during the day so I wasn't worried. Tuesday morning though, I was in bed and heard them in the living room chasing each other. It sounded really bad and not like the usual "in season" chasing. I checked them out and Scarlet was clearly very shaken. She kept on hiding and acting real strange. I fed them and Scarlet who normally LOVES her pellets was not eating them as ferociously as she normally does. She kept hiding and then coming out to eat and hiding and coming out. She also kept running away every time Eclair came close. At one point she nearly jumped out of the cage from trying to get away from Eclair (who honestly was not doing anything but her normal pig things). Neither of them were making any sounds which confused me more. There was no chattering, no helpless squeal, nothing. Just Scarlet seemingly oversensitive to Eclair's movements.
When I came home from work Tuesday night, they seemed completely fine so I was relieved. I figured it was just them being in season, no big deal. Wednesday all day they seemed fine but at night, my brothers told me that they were "fighting" again. Unfortunately I didn't see what happened, but I wasn't super worried. Left them alone. This morning though, I woke up hearing the squeaking and chasing and also finally got a glimpse of what happened. It was literally just Eclair chasing Scarlet around the cage. And now I'm finally feeling concerned because we're going on 3 days and this is still happening. And it's not the typical in season hormones. There isn't rumbling. There isn't humping. It's really just Eclair going after Scarlet and I'm not sure what to do...
Could it be ovarian cysts? Neither Eclair or Scarlet have crusty nipples or bald spots on their side, but this behavior change happened around the same time as one of them being in season. Or perhaps it's just a change in dominance? I've only had them since March and Scarlet was boss the entire time. But now she's just afraid of Eclair it seems. She's still eating and has a good appetite, but I do feel like she is stressed and hiding. And to clarify, they get along 95% of the day. There's just a few of these "chases" that happen either in the morning or night it seems but after an hour or two it's like nothing ever happened. But I'm just concerned because this has never happened before and I'm not sure why it's happening now. I observe them quite a bit and I don't feel like Eclair is bullying her (besides when the chasing actually happens). I haven't heard any rumbling, chattering, or angry squeaks and there hasn't been any rumblestrutting between the two.
I'm just really concerned...I'm worried that I'll have to permanently separate them because it's killing me to see Scarlet freak out every time Eclair comes close by. I almost feel like I can't even leave them alone together. The chase always ends with Scarlet clinging to the bars of her cage trying to escape. She could definitely jump out of the cage if she was scared badly enough and I'm afraid she'll get hurt/lost in my house. I'm just really not sure what to do right now. Any advice would be super appreciated.
So let me just start by saying that my girls have always gotten along relatively well. They're pretty evenly matched in dominance but Scarlet has always ultimately been the top pig. Even when they are in season, they seem pretty tame. Just a day or so of rumbling and humping and then they're all back to normal. Monday night (7/1) they got in a fight that I wasn't there to see. My dad had saw it (and he doesn't understand pig behavior a whole lot) and he had put a piece of cardboard in the cage to separate them because he said it was very bad. I didn't see any wounds and figured it was just them being in season because I saw Scarlet trying to hump Eclair during the day so I wasn't worried. Tuesday morning though, I was in bed and heard them in the living room chasing each other. It sounded really bad and not like the usual "in season" chasing. I checked them out and Scarlet was clearly very shaken. She kept on hiding and acting real strange. I fed them and Scarlet who normally LOVES her pellets was not eating them as ferociously as she normally does. She kept hiding and then coming out to eat and hiding and coming out. She also kept running away every time Eclair came close. At one point she nearly jumped out of the cage from trying to get away from Eclair (who honestly was not doing anything but her normal pig things). Neither of them were making any sounds which confused me more. There was no chattering, no helpless squeal, nothing. Just Scarlet seemingly oversensitive to Eclair's movements.
When I came home from work Tuesday night, they seemed completely fine so I was relieved. I figured it was just them being in season, no big deal. Wednesday all day they seemed fine but at night, my brothers told me that they were "fighting" again. Unfortunately I didn't see what happened, but I wasn't super worried. Left them alone. This morning though, I woke up hearing the squeaking and chasing and also finally got a glimpse of what happened. It was literally just Eclair chasing Scarlet around the cage. And now I'm finally feeling concerned because we're going on 3 days and this is still happening. And it's not the typical in season hormones. There isn't rumbling. There isn't humping. It's really just Eclair going after Scarlet and I'm not sure what to do...
Could it be ovarian cysts? Neither Eclair or Scarlet have crusty nipples or bald spots on their side, but this behavior change happened around the same time as one of them being in season. Or perhaps it's just a change in dominance? I've only had them since March and Scarlet was boss the entire time. But now she's just afraid of Eclair it seems. She's still eating and has a good appetite, but I do feel like she is stressed and hiding. And to clarify, they get along 95% of the day. There's just a few of these "chases" that happen either in the morning or night it seems but after an hour or two it's like nothing ever happened. But I'm just concerned because this has never happened before and I'm not sure why it's happening now. I observe them quite a bit and I don't feel like Eclair is bullying her (besides when the chasing actually happens). I haven't heard any rumbling, chattering, or angry squeaks and there hasn't been any rumblestrutting between the two.
I'm just really concerned...I'm worried that I'll have to permanently separate them because it's killing me to see Scarlet freak out every time Eclair comes close by. I almost feel like I can't even leave them alone together. The chase always ends with Scarlet clinging to the bars of her cage trying to escape. She could definitely jump out of the cage if she was scared badly enough and I'm afraid she'll get hurt/lost in my house. I'm just really not sure what to do right now. Any advice would be super appreciated.
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