Behavior

[Baby Joey's Mom]

My 2 1/2 year old and 7 week old are driving me crazy. They cry to be in the same side of the cage when I have the divider up...but when together my older boy will not keep his head out of the babies butt... I think he is searching/stealing poops!...sigh... The baby keeps running but when my older boy stops and leaves him alone - the baby continues to follow him. Should I keep them forever separate or will the older one head ever leave the babies bum :O(
frustrated

 

[NoVeil]

It sounds like normal behavior. As long as there is no fur flying, blood or screaming, I would let them work it out. When you take them apart, you wipe out any progress they made and they have to start all over again.

 

[Treen]

Have a look at this page https://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm#Introductions - it lists the introdcution behaviours that are perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Chasing and butt sniffing are two of those!

I know introdcutions can look frantic to us, but don't think about how it looks in human terms. They need to have investigate each other thoroughly and work out who's going to be boss, and there's often quite a commotion in the process.

It sounds to me like your two are doing pretty well together, and as NoVeil says, if you keep splitting them up they have to start from scratch the next day. Providing no one is getting hurt or seriously stressed (as in not eating for example) just leave them to it and they'll work it out. Good luck!

 

[Baby Joey's Mom]

Thank you :O)
I see my older one actually stealing poops right out of the babies bum.. I worry it could hurt the baby.. does it just look that way or do they really steal them right out of the others bum?

 

[CavyCrazyMom]

could it be a problem with the older ones poops? Maybe he has a vitamin problem or something?? Just a thought...

 

[Baby Joey's Mom]

He has C daily and veggies.. I don't give him much fruit because he is a bit over weight. He also is on oxbow pellets and oxbow timothy...if anyone has ideas on what he could be lacking I am open to it.. worried..

 

[mncavylover]

Sounds like they're fine. Kudos for the oxbow feed! (coughcoughkleenmama'shayisbettecoughcough) =) (broken link removed).