Aggressive male guinea pigs

[Catherine Higginson]

Hello everyone
We have 3 male guinea pigs. They are approximately 8 months olds. Initially they got on well, but after a few weeks they started fighting. Things became quite aggressive and they would tear each other's ears and draw blood. We have had to separate one of them, which is not ideal and we are concerned that he is lonely. They have a lot of space, many hiding places and plenty of food. We have approached the vet re neutering but this doesn't seem to be an option. Do any of you have any suggestions? Ideally we would like to reintroduce them, but if this is not advisable, perhaps we could get a 4th guinea pig to pair up with the lone pig. Thank you for any help you can offer.......

 

[Piggies&buns]

Sadly keeping three males together almost always ends up in fights. getting the character balance right between three boars is very hard and finding a functioning boar trio is so rare. Space is also an issue when it comes to even attempting a boar trio and most people will underestimate the size of cage needed. Boars work so much better in pairs. Please don’t attempt to reintroduce them again as it will end up in further fights. Your single boy will need to be bonded with another boar. Neutering won’t make any difference (it only prevents pregnancies, it doesn’t change behaviour and won’t make them like each other). if you were to get your lone boy neutered, you could bond him with a sow but you would need to keep the boar/sow pair in a completely separate room to your boar pair. your functioning boar pair cannot be anywhere near sow pheromones as it will cause those two boys to fight with each other.

the best way to find a new friend for your lone boy is via dating at a rescue centre. That way character compatibility can be assured before you bring home a fourth piggy. If you were to just go and buy another piggy for your lone boy, then you won’t know if they will like each other and you run the risk of a failed bonding and then you’d end up with two single piggies. Unfortunately with him being right in the middle of his teens, it is the hardest time to attempt bonding so it may take a while before a suitable single boar comes up in a rescue centre. In the meantime, keep him alongside your other pair so they can communicate through the boars - it will stop your single from being lonely.

ensure your boar pairs have a big enough cage - 6ft x 2ft is the required cage for two boys living together to have enough space and help prevent territorial issues

 

[Wiebke]

Hello everyone
We have 3 male guinea pigs. They are approximately 8 months olds. Initially they got on well, but after a few weeks they started fighting. Things became quite aggressive and they would tear each other's ears and draw blood. We have had to separate one of them, which is not ideal and we are concerned that he is lonely. They have a lot of space, many hiding places and plenty of food. We have approached the vet re neutering but this doesn't seem to be an option. Do any of you have any suggestions? Ideally we would like to reintroduce them, but if this is not advisable, perhaps we could get a 4th guinea pig to pair up with the lone pig. Thank you for any help you can offer.......

Hi and welcome

Unfortunately most teenage boar trios fail. Getting the personality balance just right to get a pair through teenage is just above 50%, but balancing three characters is generally too much when the big hormones set in the bond is under immense stress.
8 months is one of the trickier periods where the constant pushing of boundaries and temper can derail a fragile balance. Once they go after each other seriously, they won't go back together again.

Neutering boars won't solve the problem unless you want to bond your single boar with a sow 6 weeks after his op. They would have to live well away from your pair though.
Here is more information on what neutering does or doesn't: Neutered / De-sexed Boars And Neutering Operations: Myths, Facts and Post-op Care

All your options after a fall-out with their various pros and cons are in the last chapter of our comprehensive teenage thread: Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

PS: Please change your location from an actual place name that is not a larger city to your county for your own protection. We are a public place that can be seen by anybody without being a member. It also helps us more if we can place you roughly than having to spend time googling; especially as we are all doing this for free in our own free time. But since we have members and enquiries from literally all over the world, knowing which part your roughly in does help us when giving recommendations or being able to know which medical brand names (differ quite a bit between countries) or vet access you are dealing with. Thank you!

 

[Siikibam]

Also change your username. You have to contact admin for that.