Cage mate bullying

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amyfw

Post   » Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:29 am


Hi all,

I have two Guinea pigs. A 4 year old intact female and her 3 1/2 yo. Neutered son.

Recently, in the last year I noticed that the boar is becoming more aggressive and bullying towards his mother. He blocks her from the food and doesn't let her use certain hides huts.

To handle this, I doubled their cage size from 8 sqft to 16 Sqft but this seems to have increased Instead of decreasing even though they now have much more space.

There have even been times I have heard her screaming and run in to see him all puffed up and mounting her (even though he's neutered ) and they have woken me in the night with shrieks or weird sounds (almost like a squeaking fan) that stop once I turn on a light.

I have no idea why this is happening. I had the boar seen by a vet to make sure he was medically ok. I thought pain or illness might be a cause of the aggression but this does not seem to be the case.

I want to make sure that both pigs are happy and healthy. I am worried the boar will hurt his mama or that he is upset and thus acting out. I also worry because mama is very passive and lets him dominate although I am glad she does not fight back because then a real fight might break out.

Any suggestions? I am now feeding them separately so that they both can eat and not fight over food (not that they ever have or should be but I noticed the boar has blocked his mom from eating for 3 days now) and they have plenty of hideys and toys in their cage and space to get away from each other.

I need suggestions on why this is increasing and what to do.

Thanks.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:15 pm


Do you have multiple food bowls and water bottles in the cage? That may help. Also consider draping a large piece of fringed fleece across the cage to visually cut up the space. May sure she can't be cornered.

amyfw

Post   » Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:58 pm


Yes, I have multiple water bottles and huts and fleece mats for snoozing and have food in many areas. I also have the fleece draped on top to supply cover. Any idea why a male would become more aggressive with time, especially as the cage gets larger? Have you heard of that before?

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PooksiedAnimals
Supporting my GL Habit

Post   » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:32 pm


In cases of sudden bullying, I start watching the weight and overall health of the guinea pigs. I've seen some pigs become aggressive when they don't feel well. I've seen sick pigs get bullied as the well ones try to "expel" it from the herd.

amyfw

Post   » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:53 pm


That's what I worry about too. I have had both checked out. The female does have ovarian cysts but we were advised not to try to spray her but rather leave them and drain if they get too big. I hope that's not the reason he is being so mean to her. I feel terribly for her although he has always been sort of a snot to his own mama this is getting to be too much.

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