Julezfm39
Junior Guinea Pig
Good morning!
I hope everyone and their piggy families are well!
I'm asking for help with some housing and bonding issues. We have 8 guinea pigs, all male, all under 1 year old - 2 piggies have just turned 1 in March. They are all indoors and have the run of the lounge daily, taking it in turn to come out. I'm desperately trying to find a housing solution though. So here's the issue (please bear with me as it's quite complex);
Freddy and Max live in a 10 sq ft cage. These are my oldest two. Freddy is very calm but Max is very feisty and has been persecuting Freddy lately and initiating fights with him. I'm sure Freddy must be fed up as he has a very loving nature.
Cocoa and Caramel live together in a Midwest habitat cage. They fought a lot when we got them in June 2019 but they started to get along better after a few weeks, though Cocoa will often climb on Caramel in a show of dominance. They do still get along okay though.
Benjy and Nugget are about 9 months old and get along fine. Benjy in particular is very chilled. They live in the same size cage (10 sq ft). They are my happiest pair! Bliss!
I then gave in to my kids and got Fluffy and Snowy about 6 months ago. Fluffy is very chilled, but Snowy is really aggressive and dominant. Even though they were happy at first, Snowy turned on Fluffy one day and I had to separate them as the fight caused an injury to Fluffy's eye which took weeks to heal up, with many trips to the vet. I only had 2 smaller cages and had to put one in each. Snowy went mad, biting the cage bars non-stop and I had to let him out. So he is kind of like a 'free piggy.' One day he sneaked into Cocoa and Caramel's cage and really bonded with Caramel. The two of them ended up spending more time together in that cage and Cocoa was pretty much forced out by Snowy.
SO.... Cocoa is now in the single cage but it's open and he runs around a lot. Same for Fluffy. Fluffy and Cocoa do not get on though! I can't close these 2 small cages as they are too small for them to live in. They just go in their own little cage to rest and eat.
I do need to find a cost-effective solution for:
a) Cocoa, now on his own - pretty much
b) Fluffy, on his own
Possibly a C&C cage for Cocoa and Fluffy with a separator in the middle so that they still can touch noses? A C&C cage for Snowy, Fluffy, Cocoa AND Caramel but with dividers? Freddy and Benjy, my most chilled two, do get on but I am not going to separate Benjy from Nugget as they are happy together. Nugget is a lot more lively though.
It's such a conundrum but I need to get it fixed as right now, I am constantly cleaning up poop from the carpet as Snowy, Cocoa, Fluffy and Caramel have the run of the lounge! I would prefer to buy the C&C and correx together if possible... maybe too restrictive though.
Thanks for your help.
Julia
PS please don't judge me on the number of piggies we have - just helpful suggestions please!
I hope everyone and their piggy families are well!
I'm asking for help with some housing and bonding issues. We have 8 guinea pigs, all male, all under 1 year old - 2 piggies have just turned 1 in March. They are all indoors and have the run of the lounge daily, taking it in turn to come out. I'm desperately trying to find a housing solution though. So here's the issue (please bear with me as it's quite complex);
Freddy and Max live in a 10 sq ft cage. These are my oldest two. Freddy is very calm but Max is very feisty and has been persecuting Freddy lately and initiating fights with him. I'm sure Freddy must be fed up as he has a very loving nature.
Cocoa and Caramel live together in a Midwest habitat cage. They fought a lot when we got them in June 2019 but they started to get along better after a few weeks, though Cocoa will often climb on Caramel in a show of dominance. They do still get along okay though.
Benjy and Nugget are about 9 months old and get along fine. Benjy in particular is very chilled. They live in the same size cage (10 sq ft). They are my happiest pair! Bliss!
I then gave in to my kids and got Fluffy and Snowy about 6 months ago. Fluffy is very chilled, but Snowy is really aggressive and dominant. Even though they were happy at first, Snowy turned on Fluffy one day and I had to separate them as the fight caused an injury to Fluffy's eye which took weeks to heal up, with many trips to the vet. I only had 2 smaller cages and had to put one in each. Snowy went mad, biting the cage bars non-stop and I had to let him out. So he is kind of like a 'free piggy.' One day he sneaked into Cocoa and Caramel's cage and really bonded with Caramel. The two of them ended up spending more time together in that cage and Cocoa was pretty much forced out by Snowy.
SO.... Cocoa is now in the single cage but it's open and he runs around a lot. Same for Fluffy. Fluffy and Cocoa do not get on though! I can't close these 2 small cages as they are too small for them to live in. They just go in their own little cage to rest and eat.
I do need to find a cost-effective solution for:
a) Cocoa, now on his own - pretty much
b) Fluffy, on his own
Possibly a C&C cage for Cocoa and Fluffy with a separator in the middle so that they still can touch noses? A C&C cage for Snowy, Fluffy, Cocoa AND Caramel but with dividers? Freddy and Benjy, my most chilled two, do get on but I am not going to separate Benjy from Nugget as they are happy together. Nugget is a lot more lively though.
It's such a conundrum but I need to get it fixed as right now, I am constantly cleaning up poop from the carpet as Snowy, Cocoa, Fluffy and Caramel have the run of the lounge! I would prefer to buy the C&C and correx together if possible... maybe too restrictive though.
Thanks for your help.
Julia
PS please don't judge me on the number of piggies we have - just helpful suggestions please!
