chewing cage

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ew3lsh

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hi,
i have two male guinea pigs who are my whole life. one is called snoop and the other cookie, i had a previous one called oreo was unfortunately passed. so that snoop had a friend, i got cookie. they are still separated as they’re not fully bonded. recently i noticed that they’re chewing the cage to get to each other, normally id take that as a good sign, but there not fully bonded and have small bickering whenever they’re together in the cage. my cage is a 3x4 so its not below minimum (if upgrading the cage size will fix it, ill do so.) i dont know what to do as i cant stay awake to make sure they down break the cage wall down to get to each other. if theres anything i can do to ensure this doesn’t continue happening besides the upgrade please help! they have hay 24/7 so i dont think its about teeth.
 
Please can you explain what you mean by a small bickering when they are together?
Piggies are either bonded and can be together in the same cage; or the bonding failed, they are not bonded and must never share a cage.

If you tried to bond them properly in neutral territory and they displayed normal dominance such as mounting, chasing, rumbling then that is not bickering. Normal dominance is what they need to do to form and maintain a bond. It is never a reason to separate.
If it was just normal dominance and they did like each other then you can put them together on neutral territory and bond them. You hav to just ride out normal dominance and not intervene.

If they had a full fight or if tensions were raised enough that a fight was likely to break out then they do need to be kept separated. They are not bonded and will not bond at all if they don’t like each other.

Chewing bars can be attention seeking or it can be territorial. In piggies who do not like each other, it is not a sign that they want to be together for a positive reason.

Changing cage size will not stop bar chewing, and will not fix attention seeking or territorial behaviours. Generally speaking you can’t stop bar chewing - many of us have tried and failed! You can try to ignore it and not give in to them if it’s attention seeking.
The reason you would need to change their cage size for separated piggies is if each half of the cage is not big enough (single piggies each needing a minimum of a 2x3).

You should secure the bars with cable ties so they can’t break it down. You do not want them to be able to wander into each others half of the cage as that will be seen as a territory invasion and can start a fight
 
thank you, there’s never been a fight break out, however due to illnesses prior they are also kept separated when one has been ill and it’s been advised from the vet, so the bonding process has been a lot longer than anticipated. the bickering besides dominance has been the occasional lunging from one of them that never breaks into anything else. currently they seem to still be establishing a hierarchy, if the bond fails i’ll of course keep them separated. i bond them in a neutral territory like a playpen, or sometimes i’ll put them in the bath when I'm cleaning their cage (with supervision) and they always seem okay, it’s only ever when they’re in the cage together whilst I'm setting up the border.
the cage biting does stop when i allow them to switch sides after a deep clean to give them more enrichment, so I'm not sure if that means it is attention seeking, it also stops if i let them out the cage for a little while.
 
Ok so if you are putting them together and then separating them or if they are not in the same cage at all times then they are not bonding at all and they are not sorting out a hierarchy. The repeated separations mean you are ending the bonding over and over again so they never get through the process which takes two full weeks of being together at all times. Repeated introduction and separation can cause enough stress that they refuse each others company at all.
They have to be together permanently for bonding to happen.
What you should not do is put them together and then separate them - they either need to be permanently together or permanently apart. Repeated reintroduction and separation causes them a lot of stress and actually stops them from bonding.

While you haven’t said what illness your piggy has/had, We actually never recommend medical separations because it can permanently ruin a bond and they are usually futile.
Also, if they were together at the point one got ill then I’d it was something contagious then the other has already been exposed anyway, making separation pointless.
If it isn’t something contagious then separation isn’t needed and causes stress when it is done.

It does sound like the biting is attention seeking if they stop when you give them something else to do.
We would not recommend that you switch their cage sides but would recommend lots of enrichment within the cage
 
okay thank you, they were separated for a while at the start as before i got cookie, snoop had a uri so i kept them in different cages. my vet recommended separation after snoops stitches were damaged after having his leg removed from it being broken. they were together permanently for 5 days in total and there was never any fighting, but there were some lunging.
by keeping them permanently together, does that mean in the same cage without there being a border?
 
Ah I see.

Yes I do mean being together without the divider between them. Currently they are not bonded and don’t have a hierarchy (5 days together wasn’t enough for them to have fully established a relationship) so you will need to go through the proper neutral territory process and bond them. Bonding is a one time thing seen to conclusion on that one day.

If the bonding in neutral territory is successful then you move them to the cage together without divider at the end of bonding day. You do not separate them at any point after successful introduction.

If the bonding is not successful (if there is any aggression or fighting) then they will need to then remain permanently separated and never put back together in the same space to physically interact again.

If he isn’t yet recovered enough from the stitches then do not put them together at all until you are able to see the bonding through properly.

Lunging is a defensive behaviour and may mean a piggy is feeling on edge.

Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated Bonding Dynamics and Behaviours
 
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