daughter bullying mom?

[Pikaia]

I posted yesterday about Chichi (the mom) having small poops. At first I thought it was Tia- but I actually watched them both poop and Tia had a normal, good sized poop and Chichi had several small poops.

I am afraid that Tia is bullying her mom. The reason I say this is because #1- Chichi's poop are about half the size of her daughter's. I have also watched them and it seems like Tia is in charge and there were a few times when Chichi came down to eat and Tia was in her face. They do not fight. No missing fur. I did notice that last night Chichi had something on her back. It didn't smell like pee, but I have no clue as to what it is. It has dried and I gave them a dust bath last night, which didn't seem to help much.

Tonight, I let Tia out for playtime and kept Chichi in the cage to see how she would behave without Tia around. She went into her fleece hidey house-- which she NEVER does, only Tia goes in there.

I don't know what is going on. I weighed them tonight and I am going to continue weighing everyday.

Tia is 402 g and she is almost 4 months.
Chichi is 468 g and it 1.5 years old.

Can mom/daughter duos have dominance problems? What would you guys do in this situation? Am I just looking into this too much?

Thanks

 

[Pikaia]

Anybody? This must either be a really tough or really stupid question.

 

[Chintastic!]

Do you have multile food/water bottles? Sometimes one will be "claim" it as their own and not let the other one use it. Have you tried cutting the whiskers back on the daughter? or at least cut them to about the same length? Im just suggesting because I know whiskers and dominance go hand in hand. You may have to seperate them if this keeps happening. Id be a little concerned with moms weight.

Hopefully someone with more experience with family relationships can comment.

Good Luck

 

[Pikaia]

Thanks Chintastic!

I am getting another water bottle for the top level tonight. I have put some pellets and hay up there. Chichi likes go up there and I thought she might like to eat and have some peace up there. LOL.

I read about cutting of the whiskers on this forum before. I didn't know if you could do it for females too. Makes sense. I may consider doing that as a last resort before seperating them. This couldn't do any harm, right? I never compared Tia and Chichi's whiskers.

Yes, I am concerned about Chichi's weight. When I got her she was pregnant, so I really don't know what her normal weight would be.

 

[button]

Two of my boys are father and son, and have always lived together. Until Button got to 3 and half years old, then suddenly he was the same. Started off getting in Dessie's face all the time and pushing him out of the way of the food etc, then overnight he turned into a right little monster!
He started chasing his dad and pulling his hair out all the time, and Dessie was really panicky, he couldn't calm down and relax while Button was there.
I seperated them temporairily, for like an hour here and there just to give them space, but it didn't work. I had to seperate them permanent.
Now they live at seperate side of the room but still chirp happily to each other and have playtime together, happy chins now they have their own space

 

[Pikaia]

Thanks Button. I don't want to seperate them, but I will do what is best. It is weird because up until about a week or two ago, Chichi and Tia were happily eating together. I haven't seen this since then. Chichi behaves so timidly. She just lets Tia steal treats, sticks and food away from her. This morning, I gave Chichi a chinny cookie- Tia got a stick on the upper level and as soon as she came down and spotted Chichi.. She ran over and tried to grab the treat. Luckily, Chichi was done..

I am borrowing a video camera (I'm so obsessed) from a friend and I am going to record them over night. I want to see how they behave. I know Chichi is eating and drinking somewhat... but I have haven't actually seen her take a drink in about two weeks.

Oh, and then last night, I was actually hand feeding Chichi pellets on top of her house. She would NOT come down and eat.. really worried about her...

I did get the extra water bottle the other night. So far, it doesn't look like anyone has touched it.

 

[Chubi32]

I just wanted to let you know I have the same kind of problem you do with your girls.. I don't think mine are as bad but I had to get a second food dish because the daughter wouldn't let mama eat without kacking at each other. They don't seem to care about the water bottle or the wheel but the food dish the daughter would get mad. Daughter sometimes kacks at mama when they're sharing their hay bowl but for the most part mama just ignores her. The daughter also steals mamas treats like yours does.. my Mama is a little timid too. I've been just assuming that it was just the daughter being bratty but I'm going to see what others say as I'm curious as well.

 

[pita839]

I hope things work out for Chichi and Tia. I have a mother and daughter that I had to permanently separate because the mother would chase the daughter. It was sad because I have pictures of them sleeping together. At first when it happened, I would separate them for a few hours but it would start all over. Not wanting to risk an injury if I wasn't home, I made the decision to separate them. Mom is the bigger chin and is going on 8 yrs old. I can't even let them out to play at the same time because she will still chase her. I just wanted to share my experience. I know you don't want to separate them, but that might not be an option if things don't improve. Keep us updated on how things are going.

 

[Snickers]

I am having the same problem where daughter is starting to chase the mom and dad. Just to let everyone know the dad is neutered. The daughter is around 2 years old. I was re-doing cages and took out the wheel. I am pretty sure putting the wheel back will make things go smoothly again.

 

[Pikaia]

The last couple days, things seem to have improved. Last night and today, Chichi was drinking out of both water bottles and eating hay on the top level as well as eating pellets/hay on the lower level. I hope this keeps up! I wonder if maybe they had an understanding.... mom/daughter talk. LOL