Hello, everyone. The past 2 months has been a rough one for my girls (and me), and I would love some suggestions on helping them through.
It started when my little Ginger became sick with a UTI and a fever. She responded really well to her meds and seemed on the up and up, but the day I brought her in for her final recheck, she suddenly collapsed at the vet (they hadn't even touched her yet) with a massive fever and passed away. We were all in shock because she had been doing so well and still don't know for certain what happened.
One of her cage mates, Pfeffer, was bonded to her and followed her everywhere. She was with her in the carrier when she collapsed and has been missing her since. I believe she is trying to find companionship with my other girl, Basil, but Basil's never been that type of GP. She's more of a lioness watching over the pride and never bothered the other two as long as they didn't bother her.
While they cohabitate well enough, it's more in a roommate sort of fashion. Basil wants nothing to do with Pfeffer outside of sharing a space and sometimes gets standoffish when approached. There was a period where if Pfeffer didnt get the hint, Basil would start chattering, then Pheffer would chatter and things would, on occasion, escalate.
Fortunetly, Pfeffer seems to have finally taken the hint, but I feel bad for her. She still tries to creep up to Basil from time to time, only to get yelled at and back away. She's just approaching a year old, and I think she's looking for a friend. I'm debating finding a baby to partner with her, hoping it might restore the original trio balance, but I know there's no guarantee. Also, Basil is a special needs GP with a long history I wont go into, but let's just say she had her own close call a week ago. Fortunately, she's doing well now, but I'm hesitant to add another possible stress factor to her life. Then again, finding Pfeffer a friend might help Basil too. Or maybe I'm completely wrong.
I want to give Basil some more time to recover from her ordeal before I do anything, as I'm sure what lead up it also played a part in her attitude, but I would appreciate any thoughts on how to best approach this. I miss my little Ginger and didnt realize how much she balanced everything. Thank you.
Trying to help my girls cope
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Lynx
- Celebrate!!!
Sorry for the loss of your guinea pig, Ginger.
Hoping you get advice from members here. Right now I don't have guinea pigs.
What I think about is making the cage more interesting, hiding food, mixing things up, so they also have the environment to deal with. It might bring them closer. You might even get some ideas from reading the introductions pages for shaking up their cage. The info will also help if you decide to get another guinea pig.
https://www.guinealynx.info/introductions.html
Hoping you get advice from members here. Right now I don't have guinea pigs.
What I think about is making the cage more interesting, hiding food, mixing things up, so they also have the environment to deal with. It might bring them closer. You might even get some ideas from reading the introductions pages for shaking up their cage. The info will also help if you decide to get another guinea pig.
https://www.guinealynx.info/introductions.html
It really is a delicate situation. If you decide to get a new companion for the girls, do it sooner than later before they get too accustomed to being just the two of them. The longer you wait, the harder the pairing can be. Not in every case but it's something to think about. Also be prepared for a failed pairing with a separate cage. There are several ways this can wind up. Best case, everyone gets along. You could wind up with one single pig and a pair. Or worst case you could wind up with 3 singles. It sounds to me from what you said about Basil, she might be happy in her own cage if you can't get the trio reestablished. Regardless of what route you go, giving them all extra love and attention will be invaluable. Good luck.
Thank you both for the input. In the last few days, things seem to have shifted. Basil has given up her dominant position and cries if Pfeffer gets too close. From what I can tell, Pfeffer's not attacking her, just trying to poke her with her nose, and Basil starts crying. I've seen them eat together okay, it's just when Pfeffer actively goes near her, then sometimes Basil cries and runs away. I have not heard any chattering for a few days now. Going to monitor them a little more and try to figure this out.
Another update. So it seems Pfeffer is being a bully, just very sneaky about it. She casually walks up and lays down next to Basil, then suddenly goes after and chases her without warning. Basil was getting visibly stressed and just looked downright miserable, so I divided the cage and Basil seems sooo much better.
They seem okay for floor time, but in the cage Pfeffer goes right back to her old tricks. I think between Ginger's passing, Basil's recovery, and Pfeffer being in a bratty teen phase, it's created a perfect storm for disater. Hopefully, I can get them through this to a point where I can reintroduce them, because I feel bad having them stuck with the smaller cage space. Pfeffer is, of course, the only one annoyed by this current set up and occasionally tries to pull the divider down, but for the moment I need to let Basil focus on getting back to 100% Any suggestions going forward would be appreciated.
They seem okay for floor time, but in the cage Pfeffer goes right back to her old tricks. I think between Ginger's passing, Basil's recovery, and Pfeffer being in a bratty teen phase, it's created a perfect storm for disater. Hopefully, I can get them through this to a point where I can reintroduce them, because I feel bad having them stuck with the smaller cage space. Pfeffer is, of course, the only one annoyed by this current set up and occasionally tries to pull the divider down, but for the moment I need to let Basil focus on getting back to 100% Any suggestions going forward would be appreciated.
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