3 males living together

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wardy484

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Hi guys,

I am new to the guinea pig scene but me and my girlfriend recently got our first guinea pigs. Awkwardly we ended up with 3 males. When we went to the shop there were 3 living in the cage together and we believe that they have been since birth. However I am not sure if they are all brothers.

We have only had them two days but I am just a little concerned that they might not get along. They pur a lot of seem to be doing a lot of actions that would be considered dominance behaviours. As I am new to this I am hopeful that they will be fine but I wanted to enquire.

I do believe that the cage we have may be 2 small for 3 males however they are still quite small and we will definitely look to get something bigger. We have the deep last 120 cage as it was the biggest 1 floor cage in the shop. I'm now thinking I'll have to make a bigger c&c cage however I don't know if it's a good idea to keep them together. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
First thing is to be certain they are sexed correctly but yes, boars can be dominant. The purring and humping behaviors are not critical and dominance can go on for weeks in a new environment.

The first thing to do is to definately change the cage to a cavy cage as soon as you can. Unfortunately, pet stores are horrible in information for even basics in Guinea Pig care and cages are absolutely not suitable (wasted a LOT of money on our first cages as a result and they sit in storage). You can get the measurements necessary and help through guineapigcages.com. Having their own space can be critical and make it easier in the dominance arena. I have three females together now (one pregnant for store mistake in sexing) and they are much happier and less dominant since the cage was made in the size I have with a loft. The kitchen areas are separate and three bowls with three water bottles between the two levels. I didn't let them enter until they were put in at the same time after keeping them out while changing it around and extending it. It really helped a lot.

Dominance is going to always happen ; especially amongst boars. Signs to watch out for more is hissing or any other aggressive behavior. Nipping is even ok if it doesn't go past that. Squealing will happen as well. It's important to remember that if one is in a corner and squealing, it doesn't necessarily mean they are hurt. It can be a sign of submission. Nose wars are also common for initial dominance.

When you are finished with the cage and liner, leave furniture out at first and try to not leave areas where one can be pushed into like huts, etc. or tight corners as this can actually provoke more dominant behavior.

About C&C Cages - C&C Cages for Guinea Pigs
size requirements and instructions.

If the aggression continues beyond this point, there are other things that can be done before separation as they were together at the onset but it really doesn't seem critical with yours and they do evenually tend to work it out themselves. Be aware it could be a couple weeks for them to settle completely.

Keep on with the information here as a new owner. The site is really a must for anyone learning new guinea pig care. Congrats.
 
If they are all boars, be prepared that you may end up separating them because 3 boys rarely work so you must have a plan B just in case. Although I am following someone from Netherlands who happened to successfully bond 3 boys. She originally have 2 boars and then one passed away around October last year. She then got 2 baby boars a few days after that and I believe the remaining boar just accepted the 2 new boars right away. Here's the FB page in case you are curious. https://www.facebook.com/Titorenogpigs/ Her videos of the guinea pigs are often shared around FB because they are so adorable!
 
You already know that there's a high chance of them falling out at some point, so always have a plan B that you can implement quickly if it goes wrong. However, there IS a chance they could make it, I have a trio of boars who have been together for over a year (since birth) they're great together. Groucho and Chicco are brothers and Little Dude is a month younger, and I think a cousin or half brother as they all look the same and came from the same herd. I have had some scares when their hormones are spiking, but they have loads of space, which I can't recommend highly enough. They also have separate bowls etc, although they just eat together and move as a group to the next bowl when one's empty. One, Groucho is a bit of an outsider, but he and Little Dude get on fine. Most of the squabbling is between Groucho and Chicco, with Little Dude spending most time with Chicco, but he just loves everyone. My cage is a 5x3 C&C with a loft. I hope you're another lucky one x
 
It’s a shame that a shop has again sold a trio of young boars. Sadly there’s nothing we can do about it but to be honest I wish that we could re-educate shops and breeders in this subject as we on the forum see what owners then have to deal with in the aftermath of a fall out.
The minimum recommended space for 3 piggies is 5 x 2. A 120 cage such as you have is the absolute minimum for 2 pigs so should not have been sold to you with 3 pigs. It simply isn’t big enough for 3 pigs of any description, let alone boars. It isn’t fit for the purpose it was sold to you for.

Boars need much more space than sows if they are to love harmoniously. Sadly all our experience tells us that a trio of young boars is most unlikely to make it into adulthood as a trio. Bullying and fall outs are almost inevitable and they will need to be split into a pair and a single. There are some very notable exceptions. Please note that the piggies in @anyar.dris story included a more mature boar which alters the dynamics completely. In the rescue we have a small herd of 4 boars who are permanent residents called the quad squad who are best of friends. However they were each fully mature before they were introduced. Young boars just cannot help themselves. They have surges of hormones that they cannot control. This leads to dominance and fighting.
Please read the following very carefully
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

Please add your location to your profile. It helps us tailor advice if we know what country and state/county you are in if we need to make local recommendations to you.
 
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the helpful posts. I have ordered some grids to build a bigger cage with so hopefully I should be able to extend their home in the next few days; I appreciate they're still settling in, but might it help in the mean time to try and give them floor time as this would be an easy to way to provide extra space?

I'd hate to see them fighting and falling out. How would I gauge if / when they need splitting up?

@VickiA Thanks for those links. I'll give them a read when I get home from work. I've updated my location too.
 
wardy484 said:
Hi Guys,

Thanks for the helpful posts. I have ordered some grids to build a bigger cage with so hopefully I should be able to extend their home in the next few days; I appreciate they're still settling in, but might it help in the mean time to try and give them floor time as this would be an easy to way to provide extra space?

I'd hate to see them fighting and falling out. How would I gauge if / when they need splitting up?

@VickiA Thanks for those links. I'll give them a read when I get home from work. I've updated my location too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for updating your location - makes it easier to recommend vets/rescues close to you if needed at any time.
As for knowing when to separate, have a read of the links later. They will help you to understand the behaviour you are witnessing. If matters escalate at any point and blood is drawn in a fight then that is the time to separate.
 
Okay I will do. If they were to fight though, obviously it's not great for them to be alone or become a burden on a rescue. Would it be better to separate one out into a cage of it's own close the others so that it's kind of got company, rather than hoping that a rescue can rehome it or is it more important that they have company? I'd hate for them to be unhappy because we made a silly mistake purchasing them together.
 
wardy484 said:
Okay I will do. If they were to fight though, obviously it's not great for them to be alone or become a burden on a rescue. Would it be better to separate one out into a cage of it's own close the others so that it's kind of got company, rather than hoping that a rescue can rehome it or is it more important that they have company? I'd hate for them to be unhappy because we made a silly mistake purchasing them together.
Click to expand...

The mistake in purchasing 3 baby boars is not yours. The blame lies entirely with irresponsible pet shops! Unless you know about piggies there’s no way you’d know about the pitfalls of having 3 juvenile boars in one extremely undersized cage. Please don’t whatever you do feel at fault or that we are critical of you. We just see this so often.

It may all work out if you have one dominant and 2 submissive boars but the likelihood (and this is where our experience as a forum, experienced keepers and many of us from helping out at rescues) is that at some point you will have a big bust up. So having a plan B is always a good idea.

In the short term one boar can often live alongside (within sight/earshot of ) the other pair, but long term he will need company of his own. If that happens you need to decide whether you are going to neuter him and find a sow to pair him with or whether you decide to surrender him to a rescue. Boar dating may be an option if he is older or very submissive. My experience in rescue is that boar dating only works with older boars. So most young boars surrendered to the rescue I am associated with are neutered and paired with sows.

Sorry not to be more optimistic. I just think it’s best to be up front.
 
wardy484 said:
Hi guys,

I am new to the guinea pig scene but me and my girlfriend recently got our first guinea pigs. Awkwardly we ended up with 3 males. When we went to the shop there were 3 living in the cage together and we believe that they have been since birth. However I am not sure if they are all brothers.

We have only had them two days but I am just a little concerned that they might not get along. They pur a lot of seem to be doing a lot of actions that would be considered dominance behaviours. As I am new to this I am hopeful that they will be fine but I wanted to enquire.

I do believe that the cage we have may be 2 small for 3 males however they are still quite small and we will definitely look to get something bigger. We have the deep last 120 cage as it was the biggest 1 floor cage in the shop. I'm now thinking I'll have to make a bigger c&c cage however I don't know if it's a good idea to keep them together. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi there, I have two boars. One of them outlived a female and another male I had. When I got the younger boar they had their Hieriarchy going on, but I didn't interfere unless I heard teeth chattering. Squealing is good it usually means they are happy, depending on th level of sqeak. It's good to just let the boars work it out, and it's great that you have a bigger habitat for them as well. I started with a huge cage for 2 of them, then just recently bought another, more open cage with furniture, at least two hiding places for each boar, and plenty of food and water to keep them happy. Since moving them to the new Vet recommended Lined easy to clean open cage, they have been happier and I havent't heard any teeth chattering or other disturbing behaviours. I wanted to introduce a female, but I thought that that would cause more fighting than the furniture or other items in their cage. Of course the younger boar [Spirit] will try to chase the older boar Leonard out of every hiding place, but once they get settled, it's fine. Just observe them and make adjustments here and there to help them have positive experiences together, such as feeding them treats at the same time or having them eat Hay together in one spot etc. You will eventually become part of the heirarchy as well, and most times the piggies will view YOU as the alpha. HOPE THAT HELPS!
 
Thanks for the advice. We've changed the cage up a bit, added a few more hiding spots, and individual food bowls. With plans to add their own of everything once I build a C&C cage, which hopefully I should be doing Thursday. They seem a lot happier with extra hideys to run around.
 
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