Aggression Help with bonded GPs and babies

[jaa2754]

I rescued two bonded Guinea pigs from the humane society for my daughter for Christmas. It was a mother and her baby. A week in I took them to the doctor and the mom was pregnant (confirmed other Guinea pig is a girl). The vet had told me that when she had her babies to take the other one out for awhile and so I did. I put the cages close together so they can all see each other. It’s been two weeks and I have made it a point to get the just the mom out and put her with her mate, but every time I do she runs at her mate and seems aggressive. Is it just because she is nursing and is being territorial for the babies sake? Even though they aren’t in there with them they are close. I have also tried putting them all together in a larger area, but when the babies run after the 2nd Guinea pig it seems to freak her out. I know I have a week or two before I can separate the babies from the mom, but I’m nervous that the two original Guinea pigs won’t get along anymore. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[bpatters]

There was no need to remove the other adult from the cage unless there's not enough room or she's the 1 in 10,000 sows who doesn't get along with other sow's pups. You'll have to do full reintroductions again, and you should probably wait now until the pups are weaned.

And don't listen to that vet about how to manage sows and babies.

 

[jaa2754]

There was no need to remove the other adult from the cage unless there's not enough room or she's the 1 in 10,000 sows who doesn't get along with other sow's pups. You'll have to do full reintroductions again, and you should probably wait now until the pups are weaned.

And don't listen to that vet about how to manage sows and babies.

Thank you so much for your response! It is so disappointing I was given the wrong advice! Now I am doubting everything she said. Just to confirm, the babies should be weaned at 4 weeks and need to be separated by gender at that time also so they don’t reproduce? Also, do you think I will be able to reestablish the bond between the two? Do you have any advice on how to do that when it’s time? I appreciate your help so much

 

[bpatters]

The mom will wean the babies, you don't have to worry about that.

But the males need to be separated from the females at 21 days of age, so they might not be weaned by then. But if not, don't worry about it, as they're fully capable of eating and drinking on their own.

See https://guinealynx.info/introductions.html for help on introductions.