Aggressive boys with broken bond.

[Lauren22]

Hi,
I adopted two male guinea pigs from pets at home. Apparently they were 5 weeks old on adoption, one was very small about 300g.
Both got on until four months and then a massive of fur, whirl winding and I had to split them up.
Since then I can't have them together or with other guinea pigs otherwise they draw blood and bully. They are both as bad as each other, neither guinea pig knows when to give up when it comes to dominance behaviours.
I question myself daily am I doing the right thing for them by having them on their own.
If anyone has any help with stimulation ideas or just reassurance that I'm doing the right thing that would be great.
(4x4 c&c cage with two of everything)
Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear of their fight. Sadly once the hormones hit, incompatibility can come to light. They are both dominant and just can’t make that work.

They are perfectly fine living side by side, and will be happier that way. They don’t want to share territory with each other but they require the interaction with each other between the bars.

While they can live their whole lives just as neighbours and do not need to live with another piggy, I did just want to mention they it is not the case that they can never be with another pig. You simply have to find the right new friend for them and then a bond with another piggy will be perfectly successful. Whether that is another boar (can be tricky bonding teen boars) or neutering them both and finding them each a sow.

I had Dexter and popcorn as a bonded pair. They were together for 6 years.
I also had Wilbur and Hugo as a pair. They were just 18 weeks old (having been together for only 9 weeks) when they had their bond breaking fight. They were separated at the time the fight in November 2022 and lived as neighbours to each other until June 2024.
In March 2024, Dexter sadly died. So I then had three single boars.
In June 2024 I decided to try to bond 6 year old Popcorn with 19 month old Wilbur and it was a success. Popcorn wanted companionship and was happy to let Wilbur be the dominant.

 

[weepweeps]

I’m sorry they have decided that they don’t want to live together anymore.

 

[Lauren22]

I’m sorry to hear of their fight. Sadly once the hormones hit, incompatibility can come to light. They are both dominant and just can’t make that work.

They are perfectly fine living side by side, and will be happier that way. They don’t want to share territory with each other but they require the interaction with each other between the bars.

While they can live their whole lives just as neighbours and do not need to live with another piggy, I did just want to mention they it is not the case that they can never be with another pig. You simply have to find the right new friend for them and then a bond with another piggy will be perfectly successful. Whether that is another boar (can be tricky bonding teen boars) or neutering them both and finding them each a sow.

I had Dexter and popcorn as a bonded pair. They were together for 6 years.
I also had Wilbur and Hugo as a pair. They were just 18 weeks old (having been together for only 9 weeks) when they had their bond breaking fight. They were separated at the time the fight in November 2022 and lived as neighbours to each other until June 2024.
In March 2024, Dexter sadly died. So I then had three single boars.
In June 2024 I decided to try to bond 6 year old Popcorn with 19 month old Wilbur and it was a success. Popcorn wanted companionship and was happy to let Wilbur be the dominant.

This has made me feel much more relaxed thank you.
I was thinking about getting them both neutered to see if this has any effect on their behaviour.
Plus they are still young so I'm hoping a lot of it is still hormones

 

[Piggies&buns]

This has made me feel much more relaxed thank you.
I was thinking about getting them both neutered to see if this has any effect on their behaviour.
Plus they are still young so I'm hoping a lot of it is still hormones

Neutering does not and will not change behaviour - it doesn’t work on piggies like it does other animals. It will not make two piggies like each other and it will not calm them down.
Their behaviour towards each other is due to character incompatibility - they are both dominant rather than one dominant and one submissive. Yes, hormones are in play but even without them being hormonal these two piggies will not get on as they simply don’t like each other. Even if you neuter them, you will still never be able to put these two back together.

All neutering does is prevent pregnancy, so if they are going to remain alone or if you want to bond them with another boar then there is no need to neuter them.
If you plan to neuter them and get them a sow each, then please ensure you wait for six weeks after they are neutered to become infertile before bonding with their respective sows.

Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care