Female Mounting

[m&k.murphy]

Hi friends,

My girls are approximately 3-4 months old now, and Regan has a habit of getting rather frisky with her sister. It first happened about 3 weeks ago and the behaviour lasted for 6 days. She is very aggressive with Bailey and will chase her for 30-40 minutes without pause, purring and attempting to mount her. The first time the behaviour presented I had her sexed again just to be sure. Today the behaviour has begun again. I read somewhere (my memory fails me as to where) that females can mount during heat periods, however I also know it can indicate hormonal problems. The girls have a medical check up scheduled for Thursday so I will mention it to our wonderful vet then, I was just wondering if anyone could shed some light for me.

She doesnt appear to be losing any hair, in fact the opposite. When I was grooming her yesterday I noticed her fur is thicker and longer than it was last week and she is looking really healthy - bright eyes, very attentive and keen. She does appear to have been eating and sleeping a little more in the past few days, as well as wrapping herself up in the towel that would be on top of their tent if they would leave it there!

I guess I'm just a little worried due to not having had the girls for very long and losing Angus so quickly after finding out he was ill. Do the behaviours I have described sound like anything that happens with some pigs during hormonal cycles as a regular occurence? This is also my first experience with female pigs, and Bailey never mounts and has had no fluctuations in terms of feeding/sleeping routines.

Are cysts the only problem which interferes with the hormonal side of things or are there other problems I should be aware of?

Any information or shared experiences would be much appreciated.

 

[rabbitsncavyluv]

Females mount each other usually when they are in heat, but also sometimes for dominance. Your sows are growing up too. That may be it. Usually adolescence affects boars more than sows.

3-4 months is a bit young for hormonal issues to pop up.

As long as there isn't blood shed and they have suitable amount of space to get away from each other, I wouldn't worry that much.

 

[m&k.murphy]

Ah, the dominance thing does make sense. Regan is definately the dominant pig in every aspect. Today I did a full cage clean out and reconstruction. For once I actually caught Bailey first to put her back. Regan is normally first back in because she doesnt run from me. I wonder if it was because Bailey got first dibs on the cage today that Regan is reasserting herself. hmm..

Thanks so much for your input.

 

[thalestral]

When it's down to hormonal problems too it usually does not stop - it's a continuous thing and it gets worse and worse. My Rosie for example cant live with any other pigs at the moment because of this, it just makes her way too aggressive.

It sounds like your girls heats are probably one after another as well which would make it drag on a little. Either way, you can look forward to the dominance tiffs being a regular occurrence until they're all grown up!

 

[clotho]

Hi there. I too think Regan is probably just in heat when you notice this behaviour. Make a note of when it happens and see if it's every few weeks consistently.

I also agree with thalestral in that if it's cysts, it will get worse and will be a constant thing in the later stages. However, I just wanted to mention that 3-4 months may not be the norm for hormonal issues, but they definately occur. I had a 4 month old sow with two ovarian cysts the size of my thumbs. I actually thought she was pregnant because her symptoms were not the typical ones for cysts. Unfortunately we lost her after her spay operation due to a blood clot. She is my second sow to have had the exact same pregnancy-like symptoms that indicated cysts. So don't panic, but when it's hormonal, don't just assume they are too young for cysts.

If you have a good vet, he/she can palpitate for cysts. If the hormonal behaviour lasts a short time and keeps recurring about every 16 days or so, then it's probably just her being in heat. It can't hurt to tell the vet and have her checked out anyways. If you don't already have a scale, please get one and weigh your girls once a week and keep track. Weight loss (or gain in the case of my girls) can be your first indication that something is wrong.

Good luck with her and please let us know how she does.

 

[m&k.murphy]

Regan is a very sexy girl! Since the day I brought her home if I rub her butt she purrs at me. Bailey does it sometimes, but rarely. Today for the first time Bailey has been strutting and purring around Regan too. She hasnt tried to mount yet, but its quite funny watching them circle eachother purring.

Regan doesnt want me touching her today which is extremely unlike her. She has also lost some fur, particularly around her crest (she's American Crested). Her crest is now almost as short as her abby sister's mohawk, and the "puffs" that come from behind her ears are down to very slim tendrils. I have marked this in my piggy diary, but I am aware that it could be Bailey has done some damage to the fur - seeings overnight she does appear to have livened up and be asserting herself more. She usually just runs.

I keep piggy diaries for both of them so I am monitoring all aspects of their behaviour. We currently don't have a kitchen scale - mainly because I leave it up to Mike to do the shopping and he keeps forgetting. I will be sure to go with him on my next day off and ensure that we get one as I have been intending to make weight part of my documentation. Thanks for the reminder Clotho!

Our vet is wonderful, we are lucky enough to have a zoo vet in a neighbouring town, who is widely experienced in many many species, including cavies. She even sent us a personal card from herself (not the clinic) when Angus passed. I will definately be following all of this up with her on Thursday and I thank you all so much for your input. I will keep updating you as we progress.

 

[m&k.murphy]

This just in, Bailey just had her first mount attempt. They're so funny I could watch them all day. Looks like Regan might have a run for dominance now, she's had her own way for too many weeks!

 

[m&k.murphy]

I finally got the girls in for their health check up, having had to postpone it twice. The vet gave them a thorough going over, including looking for evidence of cysts and we mostly have the all clear. She couldn't find anything in that area to be concerned about and confirmed our thoughts on the dominance theme, saying to keep an eye on them for any serious fighting that could lead to injury.

We did discover that Bailey has a heart murmur. Because she is extremely active and doesn't show any signs of being affected by it at this time, the vet suggested we bring her back in at about 6 months of age to check up and see if it is a "youth issue" which will resolve itself or if we need to take further steps. In the meantime I'm just keeping my diaries so I can observe if she begins to slow etc.

In summary, at this point we seem to have two very healthy and happy young sows!

 

[clotho]

Hi there! I just noticed that we are both in Ontario!!

I have no experience with heart problems in guinea pigs, so I"m wondering what exactly a heart murmur in a guinea pig means? Is it really something that can just go away? Should there not be meds of some type given - or at least more tests run to see if there is a heart problem?

Mum on guinealynx is very knowledgeable on heart problems in guinea pigs - perhaps you might want to contact her or post on guinealynx to get some opinions?

If it were my piggie, I think I would want her on some meds for her heart or at least get more tests run to discover the extent of the problem. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I'd check it out to be sure if I were you.

Good luck with her!!

 

[m&k.murphy]

A heart murmur is where the blood flows irregularly through the heart. You can hear when you listen to the heart a "whooshing" sound, usually on one side. (I have my own stetho - was a nurse in Australia before I moved to your wonderful country!) I am reading through the heart murmur results of my search on the forum at the moment. Bailey's is very quiet at the moment and not affecting her activity levels. Human babies, as well as many animals can have a slight murmur which resolves if they are able to overcome and maintain activity levels. The heart is a muscle and can be worked out If it gets worse or if she has trouble with activity I will surely get her back there ASAP though.

I'm not too worried about having to wait a couple of months, especially because I can listen to her heart myself. Ironically she is actually the more active of our two pigs. I shall pop over to GL and share notes with Mum though, thanks!

 

[thalestral]

I have a pig with a heart murmur and I'd very much advise getting x-rays done to see how her heart is doing. My Rosie is on heart meds now are a very scary experience when vets delayed giving her the medication we knew she needed.

I wrote an entry about our experiences here: https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/about-guinea-pigs/29485-rosie-heart-pig.html

It might be helpful to read over to see if your girl sounds like a heart pig

 

[m&k.murphy]

Thanks thalestral,
I actually read your post first thing when I came back from the vets! I also found some info on GL forums including a video which has the hooting sound on it. Although I cant post on GL as I dont have a server based email, only web based.

Actually none of the info I've found on heart pigs sounds even remotely like Bailey. She's a bundle of energy, doesnt have any problems breathing, eats really well, has a great nature (hasnt shown any signs of aggression or moodiness). The vet spoke with us for about half an hour after the exam about signs to watch for and things to take into consideration, and appears to have covered everything I've found on this site and GL put together so I'm quite confident with her. The murmur is also very very quiet, almost undetectable at this point. I found your post really helpful to put into perspective in terms of real piggie activities and the raw information .

If she develops any symptoms, or if the murmur gets louder, we will take her straight back in. In any case if it is still there, even if its still quiet with no symptoms, in two months when we take her back she will get all of the testing and treatment money can buy.

 

[thalestral]

Ah, that's excellent - I'm glad she's doing so well! And also, your vet sounds awesome