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Aggression aggressive guinea pigs and making them more friendly~

miss.lyonice

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I just adopted the lovely ZuZu into our family today and she is not sitting well with the over piggies. She is very dominant and chase around Mars and Poppy a lot. They've even started chattering their teeth. Which can't be a good sign. She seems to do well on her own caged separately, but I know guinea pigs get lonely. She attacks Mars and Poppy pretty aggressively. Even when they aren't really bothering her. I have a few questions really. so Let me list them:

-is there ANY way I can make her less aggressive toward Mars and Poppy?

-does she need more time?

-will she be okay housed alone?

-what type of guinea pig (gender,age range, etc) would be a good match for her, if she can't get along with Mars and Poppy

-when they're being aggressive, at what point should you separate them?
 

CavyTV

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-How long has it been? In what ways is Zuzu aggressive, other than the teeth chattering?

-Yes, I think so. Teeth chattering is normal and it happens all the time. It's just their way of communicating with others when they feel upset about something. As long as there's no blood and nobody's being blocked from the food and thus losing significant weight, I would leave them be.

-If she's next to the other pigs' cage I think she should be alright. She'll be able to smell, see, and hear them and maybe even touch noses with them through the grids if she wants. However, I think it would be great if you could pair her up with another piggie if you can. If you can get her friend, get her one.

-You could try any piggie. However, a baby pig would probably be a smarter option if she truly is overly dominant. You can also try a neutered male. If you go to an all-guinea pig shelter they could tell you who's dominant, who's submissive, who gets along with everyone, etc.

-When blood is drawn.
 

bpatters

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How did you introduce them? And did you thoroughly clean the cage so that it smelled nothing like any pig before you put them all in there?
 

miss.lyonice

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I introduced them on the floor during floor time. The minute they ate the veggies I put down, she started lunging at them
 

miss.lyonice

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I know to separate them if blood is drawn, but, isn't it stressful on the piggies to be constantly fighting and chasing eachother around. I've never seen them so stressed out.
 

CavyTV

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What may look scary and stressful to you might not be so scary and stressful for the pigs. They know how to play the "Introductions Game"; it sounds like Zuzu is just trying to show the other two that she wants to be boss. I've had my two boys lunge at each other many times during introductions, and even after that. As long as there's no blood, I see no reason to separate. I let them work things out... and they do. They calm down over time. If I were you, I'd give the pigs more time. If you notice any bullying like if someone is chasing another into a hidey and won't let them come out, or if one won't let another eat and that other pig is losing a significant amount of weight because of it, then I would consider separating. You should also separate if blood is drawn, of course, like I said before. If it's just a little bite on the nose and/or it can heal by itself, I'd still leave them be.
I've made the mistake of separating my boys when Flynn only had a tiny scab on his nose. Unless it's an injury that cannot heal by itself, don't separate.

Also, how big is your cage? Come to think of it... that could be the problem. You also wanna make sure there's 2 of everything, especially 2 separate feeding areas, preferably on opposite ends of the cage.
 

miss.lyonice

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my cage is 2x6. But I'm up upgrading it (next-weekish?) to be 2x8 with a loft. I never introduced them in the cage though.
 

lissie

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They take a while to settle down. Since you just introduced them, let them sort things out. Chasing, nipping are all normal dominance behavior. Once they know who's the boss, they'll calm down.
 
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