Aggression Is this bullying?..New Mom! Please help!

[Vasundhara]

Hi!

It has been exactly 24 hours since I became Mom to two beautiful girls - Sakura and Caramel. This is my first time being a cavy Mom so I am feeling a little worried and anxious about the behaviour my girls are exhibiting!

They are both 58 days old and were well cared for by their owner. However, he is moving out of the country so had to put them up for adoption. Both of them used to live in a pretty big cage - 4 ft x 4 ft - so I bought it from the owner in the hope that it will make the transition easier on them. It has taken me one day to move the cage into my place during which they had to live in one of the store cages..

Sakura is clearly the more dominant one and has also been less scared when she sees me. I have had to cover their store cage with a translucent material so that they felt safe enough to eat. Otherwise they just stay huddled and frozen in one corner. I have heard Caramel whining a lot at regular intervals during the day so I thought it might be because she is afraid or nervous of the surroundings. However, right now while I was sitting across from the cage, I saw three instances where Sakura would approach Caramel and Caramel would start whining. I have been observing them for the past hour (they can't see me because of the material I have draped on their cage) and during this entire duration, Caramel has just been hunched in one corner while Sakura continues to explore. Sakura is not stopping Caramel from eating. Isaw both of them eating from the same bowl at the same time. However, Caramel then goes to her corner and every time Sakura approaches here, she starts whining.

I am feeling quite worried as to why this is happening... Is this bullying? It's not like Sakura is chasing her around. When they see me, they both huddle together. I am really worried about Caramel! Please..Are there any suggestions on what I can do or behaviour patterns I should watch out for? I will be taking them to the vet on Saturday!

 

[bpatters]

It's totally normal, and even to be expected when pigs have a change of living situation.

 

[Vasundhara]

Oh phew. I thought this was going to escalate into something more serious! Thanks a bunch

 

[Vasundhara]

Hi. I am still a little worried about the manner in which both of them continue to interact with each other. We had made two tunnels for them to run through and they like sleeping in separate ones and during the day they barely interact with each other. The only time they are together is when they are eating. More often than not, such situations result in Sakura chasing off Caramel. We have tried laying out two different bowls for them to eat from to avoid conflicts but they end up going for the same bowl. Then they both stare at each other, Caramel starts whining and then Sakura chases her off. Caramel sometimes makes what sounds like a chattering noise. This also happens if say Caramel is already eating and Sakura comes to the same bowl or if Sakura is eating and Caramel tries to approach the same bowl. While no blood has been drawn till now, I am worried that the situation might escalate. I am particularly worried because both of them have very different eating habits. When the veggies are given to them, Caramel eats a little bit, goes to her tunnel for about half an hour, then comes out again to eat, then goes back. She does not eat her share in one go. Sakura on the other hand keeps chomping all the lettuce and peppers that come in her way and often ends up eating some of Caramel's share. Do you think this behaviour is something I should be worried about and separate both of them? Or is this normal/something they will work out for themselves?
The lower part of Sakura's body has definitely become more rotund over the past few days and I can't figure out whether it is because she is pregnant or just because she is fat (I got her when she was 6 weeks old. The owner said that both of them were separated from their brothers at 2 weeks but I don't trust him). I have done the C ring check and didn't feel anything in the belly but I guess I could be wrong. When I first got her, she was not so scared of me and didn't mind being picked up. But she has definitely become more jittery and very averse to being picked up over the past few days. Both of them have also been scratching themselves a lot...I don't see any abrasions on their skin or lice but I do plan to take them to the vet on Wednesday. I know this should be in the Medical section but I just thought I would share it here in case any of it might explain their behaviour?

 

[bpatters]

It will make your posts much easier to read, and you'll get more responses, if you'll break them up into shorter paragraphs and double space between them.

The behavior sounds normal. Do not separate them unless actual blood is drawn. Nipping doesn't count.

See https://www.guineapigcages.com/foru...inea-pig-is-pregnant-And-how-far-along-is-she for pregnancy information.

 

[Vasundhara]

Thank you! Will keep these things in mind henceforth. Really appreciate all your help