Younger Guinea Pig Acting Like The Older One Is Her Mother?

[SeanB]

We collected our second guinea pig recently and introduced her to our first one which has gone down really well, however the younger one Nissa was burying her head into the older one Tamiyo and crying quite a lot when Tamiyo was understandably unresponsive to her. She was trying to bury her head into her face and close her eyes and nipped and licked at her ear a few times.

Tamiyo just acts really unresponsive and turns away from her which is clearly upsetting Nissa.

Is it possible that Nissa may be seeing her a mother since shes quite young? (we rescued her when she was on her own).

 

[Chief Guinea Pig]

It sounds like they're very found of each other!
It is good when a piggy nibbles another one's ear, they're reminding they love the other pig. She may well be looking up to Tamiyo as a mother figure.

 

[SeanB]

It's good to hear that Although Tamiyo seems to just ignore her when it happens, do you think it just might be nerves from being new?

 

[Wiebke]

Tamiyo has accepted your little one (that is what the ear licking/nibbling is for; it means "I want you to be a member of the group I am leading").

Little babies are very vocal and some can be real drama queens. Tamiyo is behaving just like the little one's mum would after the end of the weaning period, so don't worry; the little one will calm down and settle in.

 

[madguinealady]

I have put babies in with pebbles and she mothers them.One of them lost her mum when she was only a couple of weeks old so I got them at five weeks as the rescue knew I could look after them