Chasing is NOT a reason to separate. You need to separate only if they're turning into rolling, biting balls of fur.
Take a chill pill and try again. But let them alone to work it out. The more you interefere, the worse it will be for them and the longer it will take.
Guinea pigs are wired to establish dominance, and if you want them to live together, you've got to let them do it. If you wanted something that would play together at first introduction, you needed puppies.
Hard lump under chin, soft poop as well?
JJ keeps chasing Rosie out of the little house in the cage.. Should I rave that be? Apparently that's normal for them to do so I don't know. Sorry I'm so clueless about this stuff
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Delaine
- Supporter in '14
How many little houses do you have for them? I have two sows. They are sisters and are now over five years. Zoe started chasing Abbey out of the houses at five weeks old. I added more houses and two of everything.
If my girls are having a very bad day I put them in their floor time area. Zoe soon gets tired of chasing Abbey in the large area and Abbey has lots of space to get away from her. When I put them back in their cage they are tired and content.
If my girls are having a very bad day I put them in their floor time area. Zoe soon gets tired of chasing Abbey in the large area and Abbey has lots of space to get away from her. When I put them back in their cage they are tired and content.
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto the advice you've received.
You have to let them work it out. Chasing, growling, noseoffs, mounting (yes, even for females), getting in each others' faces is normal. Only separate if there is actual biting, going for each other's eyes, or they turn into a rolling ball of fighting fur.
We have 2 females in a 2x5 C&C, with 3 water bottles, 2 pellet dishes, multiple hay piles and 5 hide boxes, and they still occasionally fuss at each other. That's normal.
You have to let them work it out. Chasing, growling, noseoffs, mounting (yes, even for females), getting in each others' faces is normal. Only separate if there is actual biting, going for each other's eyes, or they turn into a rolling ball of fighting fur.
We have 2 females in a 2x5 C&C, with 3 water bottles, 2 pellet dishes, multiple hay piles and 5 hide boxes, and they still occasionally fuss at each other. That's normal.
In the play pen, I have one house out, and I leave the cage open too. There's another house in the cage, so I count it as two.
About 3 feet by 2 feet. I let them play in the hallway for a few hours a day to make up for the smallish cage.
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Talishan
- You can quote me
They'll fuss a lot less if you can give them more space. A 2x4 C&C cage is roughly 2 1/2 feet by 5 feet. That's the minimum they really need.
Extra outside exercise runaround time is great, but it'll help keep them from fussing if they can run around when they feel like it rather than on your schedule.
Extra outside exercise runaround time is great, but it'll help keep them from fussing if they can run around when they feel like it rather than on your schedule.
Ok. I'll keep that in mind and buy another cage or make one soon. My mother has a concern though, and now I'm worried as well. Rosie doesn't sleep inside the house at all, always outside. There's plenty of room for both of them to be in there comfortably, but every time Rosie tries to go in there, JJ "kicks" her out. Throughout the night, we also hear loud screeches (I don't know if that's what you'd call it) from Rosie.
I don't know if it's a dominance thing from JJ, but I kind of feel bad for Rosie. Is it still part of the introducing type of thing? They've been in the same cage for about 3 weeks now, so I'm not really sure what to think about the situation...
I don't know if it's a dominance thing from JJ, but I kind of feel bad for Rosie. Is it still part of the introducing type of thing? They've been in the same cage for about 3 weeks now, so I'm not really sure what to think about the situation...
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto Delaine. Two houses at a minimum, three is better. And they need to have more than one door.
We use upside-down cardboard boxes with at least three, usually all four, sides cut to make openings. You can get little plastic mini-stepstool things at Walmart or a dollar store that serve the same purpose and work well.
All they really want is something covering them from the top. Past that, they need to be able to see more than one way in or out. That keeps one pig from either defending it, or trapping the other, and helps them to feel that they have an escape route.
We use upside-down cardboard boxes with at least three, usually all four, sides cut to make openings. You can get little plastic mini-stepstool things at Walmart or a dollar store that serve the same purpose and work well.
All they really want is something covering them from the top. Past that, they need to be able to see more than one way in or out. That keeps one pig from either defending it, or trapping the other, and helps them to feel that they have an escape route.
Okay, thank you. I will make or buy a new house sometime this week and see if the problem goes away. Hopefully JJ won't be a big bully to her little sister anymore once I get a new house.
If I were to make a cardboard house with one big opening in the front (the whole side cut off) and some fleece cut with a fringe covering the opening, would that be okay? I was thinking since JJ would have to guard a bigger area, she'd let Rosie in. I'm probably going to stick to the advice y'all gave me and do two or more openings, but I was wondering if that could be an alternative to many openings.
Sorry if that's a stupid question
If I were to make a cardboard house with one big opening in the front (the whole side cut off) and some fleece cut with a fringe covering the opening, would that be okay? I was thinking since JJ would have to guard a bigger area, she'd let Rosie in. I'm probably going to stick to the advice y'all gave me and do two or more openings, but I was wondering if that could be an alternative to many openings.
Sorry if that's a stupid question
Okay. I'll make or buy the house today and I'm going to get a new cage soon, so they have more space to run around. Thanks for all the help!
I have one pellet dish, and one water bottle. I'll add another water bottle because I have an extra laying around. I can add another dish as well.
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Talishan
- You can quote me
Ditto the advice you have received on all counts.
Several smaller houses with lots of doors are much better than one large one with only one door. They don't want to feel enclosed or hidden, per se. They only really want a roof, with open passages/trails underneath it.
If you use cardboard -- make sure all tape is out of reach and labels are torn off. They'll chew it, which is fine as long as it's clean.
Several smaller houses with lots of doors are much better than one large one with only one door. They don't want to feel enclosed or hidden, per se. They only really want a roof, with open passages/trails underneath it.
If you use cardboard -- make sure all tape is out of reach and labels are torn off. They'll chew it, which is fine as long as it's clean.
I am making a c&c cage on Friday; it will be a 4x2 with a 1x2 loft. Would you prefer fleece over bedding? I'm leaning towards fleece, but my mom is wanting bedding.