Fighting Boars....

[Newtothis]

Hi,

We recently got a pair of guinea pigs (brothers) from a pet shop. They were born in October, and have been living together in the same cage as a third brother since they were born. We have had them since February 1st, so it's been over three weeks now.

The first couple of days were calm as they huddled together in the hideyhouse really scared of this new place, but then started to venture out of the hideyhouse when noone was around. But the have started to fight a lot... One has balled spots with no fur, and the other one has scratchmarks... first I saw the marks with scabs on, and then now I noticed new fresh marks - so it seems to be an occurring thing.

They are both still really scared of us - but one lets me catch it and cuddle it for a short while ( I only hold it for a few minutes so I won't scare it too much, but at the same time try to show him that I am not dangerous in any way), but the other one is really really scared and has started to chatter its teeth at me.

I am really unsure what to do, and how to handle them when they are so scared - and fighting eachother as well. The fighting has gone on for three weeks now, and doesn't seem to be dieing down.. more the opposite.

How much fighting should be tolerated before it might be a good idea to separate them and maybe get them new partners? They are both trying to dominate eachother and neither wants to be the submissing one..

They eat and poop a lot, so seems to be healthy in everyway..

 

[Wiebke]

Hi,

We recently got a pair of guinea pigs (brothers) from a pet shop. They were born in October, and have been living together in the same cage as a third brother since they were born. We have had them since February 1st, so it's been over three weeks now.

The first couple of days were calm as they huddled together in the hideyhouse really scared of this new place, but then started to venture out of the hideyhouse when noone was around. But the have started to fight a lot... One has balled spots with no fur, and the other one has scratchmarks... first I saw the marks with scabs on, and then now I noticed new fresh marks - so it seems to be an occurring thing.

They are both still really scared of us - but one lets me catch it and cuddle it for a short while ( I only hold it for a few minutes so I won't scare it too much, but at the same time try to show him that I am not dangerous in any way), but the other one is really really scared and has started to chatter its teeth at me.

I am really unsure what to do, and how to handle them when they are so scared - and fighting eachother as well. The fighting has gone on for three weeks now, and doesn't seem to be dieing down.. more the opposite.

How much fighting should be tolerated before it might be a good idea to separate them and maybe get them new partners? They are both trying to dominate eachother and neither wants to be the submissing one..

They eat and poop a lot, so seems to be healthy in everyway..

Hi and welcome!

Your boys are in the middle of their teenage hormones.

Please take the time to read these detailed guides with lots of tips, too many to list here. You will find them very helpful.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

How Do I Settle Shy New Guinea Pigs?
How To Understand Guinea Pig Instincts And Speak Piggy Body Language
How To Pick Up And Weigh Your Guinea Pig

All the best! The guides should help you to understand and judge what is going on and to make friends with your piggies by avoiding predator behaviour and using guinea pig behaviours to make friends with them. Boars during the teenage months, especially when the testosterone is coursing at its highest, are usually not quite as keen on cuddling as the are at other times in their lives.

 

[Newtothis]

Thank you for your response. But will this fighting keep on until beyond this hormone phase? This is a year from now......as they are 4-5 months old now.. can I expect this kind of behaviour for that long?

I have read through the guides - and are following the advice of non-predator behaviour and hope the pigs will be less afraid as time goes on..
Maybe the "cozy on lap" trick will work here.

 

[Swissgreys]

How big is their cage and do they have 2 of everything (hideys, water bottles, food dishes, etc)?
Boars need a lot of space, and being too cramped and having to compete for resources can cause them to fight.

Did you read the information in the links above?
If they are fighting and drawing blood then you need to seriously consider separating them.
Just because they are brothers does not mean that are more likely to get on than 2 unrelated guinea pigs unfortunately.

And it might sound silly but have you actually seen them fighting?
I only ask because the sores and scabs could also be caused by various skin conditions, and it would be a shame to separate them if they weren't actually fighting.

If they are fighting but you feel it isn't serious and there is still a chance they will settle down and bond, I wouldn't get them out for lap time for a few days, but instead give them a chance to sort out their own relationship first.

 

[Skittypigs]

Hi,

We recently got a pair of guinea pigs (brothers) from a pet shop. They were born in October, and have been living together in the same cage as a third brother since they were born. We have had them since February 1st, so it's been over three weeks now.

The first couple of days were calm as they huddled together in the hideyhouse really scared of this new place, but then started to venture out of the hideyhouse when noone was around. But the have started to fight a lot... One has balled spots with no fur, and the other one has scratchmarks... first I saw the marks with scabs on, and then now I noticed new fresh marks - so it seems to be an occurring thing.

They are both still really scared of us - but one lets me catch it and cuddle it for a short while ( I only hold it for a few minutes so I won't scare it too much, but at the same time try to show him that I am not dangerous in any way), but the other one is really really scared and has started to chatter its teeth at me.

I am really unsure what to do, and how to handle them when they are so scared - and fighting eachother as well. The fighting has gone on for three weeks now, and doesn't seem to be dieing down.. more the opposite.

How much fighting should be tolerated before it might be a good idea to separate them and maybe get them new partners? They are both trying to dominate eachother and neither wants to be the submissing one..

They eat and poop a lot, so seems to be healthy in everyway..

After a death unsettling my boys (4 now 3) I had to separate, like you I noticed a couple of scab marks and in a short space of time 1 of them had scabs all over his rump, hormones or not it's got to be a miserable life for the one taking the bullying . It's a hard decision, I ended up getting another and splitting into 2 pairs. Hope you get sorted, just be aware if scabbing gets bad it takes ages to heal. Mine only has little bits left but it has taken weeks to sort.

 

[Newtothis]

How big is their cage and do they have 2 of everything (hideys, water bottles, food dishes, etc)?
Boars need a lot of space, and being too cramped and having to compete for resources can cause them to fight.

Did you read the information in the links above?
If they are fighting and drawing blood then you need to seriously consider separating them.
Just because they are brothers does not mean that are more likely to get on than 2 unrelated guinea pigs unfortunately.

And it might sound silly but have you actually seen them fighting?
I only ask because the sores and scabs could also be caused by various skin conditions, and it would be a shame to separate them if they weren't actually fighting.

If they are fighting but you feel it isn't serious and there is still a chance they will settle down and bond, I wouldn't get them out for lap time for a few days, but instead give them a chance to sort out their own relationship first.

I have seen them "nipping" at eachother, and loudly "badgering" eachother with squeals and some chasing. They move really quick so am not sure if the nipping causes any damage or if that just causes the bald spots. I have tried to inspect the skin for any lice or other things that may irritate the skin, but cannot see anything (live lice or eggs).

The pet shop told us to put them in a scary situation to make them huddle together in fear to force a stronger bond.. but that just feels wrong to me.. Anyway they are still scared of us, so I don't see the point in scaring them more... they do huddle together for safety, and seem to tolerate eachother for hours... but then they fight again. So not sure how bad it is... but as they both have signs of fighting on their skin (one with bald spots, and one with bloody scratches) it does seem serious. They have two hideyhouses, and I usually provide food in two trays, and the hayarea is big enough to get to from more than one angle.

The cage is 120cm x 70cm.

Suppose we just have to keep watching them and hope the fighting wears off..... I was hoping it was a dominating issue, and that they would sort it out soon.. but none of them seem to be willing to be the submissing one.. We have talked to the pet shop, and can trade them in if we want to.. but it doesn't feel right at the moment.

 

[Tiamolly123]

I think the pet shop is talking twaddle, so ignore there advice, I'm a bit confused have you got 4 males in one cage.

 

[Newtothis]

I think the pet shop is talking twaddle, so ignore there advice, I'm a bit confused have you got 4 males in one cage.

No - just two. They are 4 months old. Two brothers.

 

[Skittypigs]

I have seen them "nipping" at eachother, and loudly "badgering" eachother with squeals and some chasing. They move really quick so am not sure if the nipping causes any damage or if that just causes the bald spots. I have tried to inspect the skin for any lice or other things that may irritate the skin, but cannot see anything (live lice or eggs).

The pet shop told us to put them in a scary situation to make them huddle together in fear to force a stronger bond.. but that just feels wrong to me.. Anyway they are still scared of us, so I don't see the point in scaring them more... they do huddle together for safety, and seem to tolerate eachother for hours... but then they fight again. So not sure how bad it is... but as they both have signs of fighting on their skin (one with bald spots, and one with bloody scratches) it does seem serious. They have two hideyhouses, and I usually provide food in two trays, and the hayarea is big enough to get to from more than one angle.

The cage is 120cm x 70cm.

Suppose we just have to keep watching them and hope the fighting wears off..... I was hoping it was a dominating issue, and that they would sort it out soon.. but none of them seem to be willing to be the submissing one.. We have talked to the pet shop, and can trade them in if we want to.. but it doesn't feel right at the moment.

Each pair live in a 2x5 c and c cage and yes there are 2 food, water, hay bag, hidey or igloo, it's really helped, I would say the bond between them is not really strong yet. They aren't fighting, enjoy time together but have plenty of room to have their own space as well. It works .