Fighting Brothers

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Cat&ThePiggies

Cat&ThePiggies

Adult Guinea Pig
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Think I'm going to have to separate two of my boys, Fry and Nibbler. I noticed Nibbler had lost some weight but he was otherwise healthy. Took him to the vet just to be sure. After sitting and watching them all evening, I realised that his brother is being a big bully and chases him away from the food. They don't seem to be getting on but they haven't actually had a full on fight and drawn blood.

At a bit of a loss what to do! :(
 
hi how old are your boys? do you have 2 food bowls? when you feed vege's can you not scatter them around so they both get some? that might be a start or feed nibbler extra on your lap?
 
Yes make sure they have two food bowls, two veg piles etc as this can cause fights.

How big is your cage?
 
Separation would be a very last resort and only if they have actually had a fight and drawn blood. Make sure food is not in a corner where one pig can keep the other away from. I would have two bowls in this circumstance and scatter veggies around. xx
 
I have too agree with everyone else. The chances are very high they have hit the dreaded hormones. Make sure they have lots of space and as everyone else has said 2 of everything, so that he can't stop him eating.

If Nib, is still losing weight and unable to behave like a normal pig in his cage then at this point you may have to consider separation, as Bullying can be just as bad as fighting but I would give them a chance to sort it out, with the aid of giving them 2 of everything to avoid squabbles.
 
I agree, try everything first, because once you have separated it is very very difficult to get them back together again. x
 
They have two of everything and I've been making sure Nibbler gets alone time to eat but it still hasn't improved things. I've noticed Fry is getting increasingly aggressive and it's going to end in disaster. Nibbler really doesn't seem very happy at all. Don't suppose anyone would be if they were getting chased away from their food and bullied by there brother. Their cage is big, can't remember the exact dimensions. They are just over 1 and a half now.

I've been speaking to Laura from The Guinea Pig Helpline as I'm at my wits end with worrying about Nibbler.

I've tried pretty much everything and I'm afraid it's got to the point that for Nibbler's sake, I'm going to have to separate them. As their cage is big enough, I'm just going to split it, so they can still see each other and talk to each other in the hope they don't get lonely.
 
Think I'm going to leave making a decision for a few days and monitor the situation closely. Nibbler's weight has gone up a bit, he's now 915g so is back in the normal range and is a gain of 58g since Sunday, which is progress.

Fry has always been the dominant one but I think he's getting ideas above his stations!

I'm going to keep up with feeding Nibbler some extra when he comes out for cuddles or taking Fry out for cuddles and leaving Nibbler to eat in peace and see how things go.

It's been stressing me out so much as I love my piggies and just want whats best for them.
 
Have you tried giving them floor time too? I used to give Harvey time out when Artie was ill, and Harvey took advantage of this, I put Artie and Harvey in their indoor run and used garden mesh to sperate the two but they could still see each other, and left them for fifteen minutes for floor time and rest time!

In that time I cleaned down their hutch and put fresh bedding down (lots and lots of hay), in that time Harvey would cool off and i'd put them back into the hutch. I'd really recommend lots of hay, and to scatter the food around veggies and pellets so they have to forage for it, this keeps their minds occupied in finding the food and not squabbling over a pile of it :)

If you can cardboard boxs are good, two entrances in each hidey so one cant get bullied into a corner, and it's a safe haven for him to get some peace too. Cardboard boxes also keep piggies amused!

You could also try bathing both of them, and steralising the cage top to bottom and rearranging their furniture so everythings new and exciting, they'll be too busy exploring to start arguing!

Good luck hope they resolve their differences soon :)

Forgot to add, when I took poorly Artie out for cuddle time I'd feed him porriage oats and extra veggies to keep his weight up :)
 
AudioHeart said:
Have you tried giving them floor time too? I used to give Harvey time out when Artie was ill, and Harvey took advantage of this, I put Artie and Harvey in their indoor run and used garden mesh to sperate the two but they could still see each other, and left them for fifteen minutes for floor time and rest time!

In that time I cleaned down their hutch and put fresh bedding down (lots and lots of hay), in that time Harvey would cool off and i'd put them back into the hutch. I'd really recommend lots of hay, and to scatter the food around veggies and pellets so they have to forage for it, this keeps their minds occupied in finding the food and not squabbling over a pile of it :)

If you can cardboard boxs are good, two entrances in each hidey so one cant get bullied into a corner, and it's a safe haven for him to get some peace too. Cardboard boxes also keep piggies amused!

You could also try bathing both of them, and steralising the cage top to bottom and rearranging their furniture so everythings new and exciting, they'll be too busy exploring to start arguing!

Good luck hope they resolve their differences soon :)

Forgot to add, when I took poorly Artie out for cuddle time I'd feed him porriage oats and extra veggies to keep his weight up :)
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Yeah, they get to run about on the floor or on the sofa, depending if they are out with just me or both of us as we don't have a decent size pen at the moment. Will be getting one once I've been paid.

They are kept on fleece so all their hay is in a tray as it's an absolute nightmare getting hay off fleece. I put their veg in different places around the cage, like in their wooden block and on their wooden stick thing. So they have to search for it.

They regularly have cardboard boxes, well until they've chewed them to pieces. Nibbler also hides under the wooden stick hidey thing. Which he can easily get out of.

I think I'll try bathing them. Their whole cage was scrubbed last weekend and all their toys and pigloos. I also rearrange their cage pretty much every day when I'm sweeping up their poops.

Ah, never thought of trying porridge oats. What ones what you recommend?

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Never had issues like this and it's strange how that after nearly a year and a half, they've decided to fall out. Only time will tell and I really don't want to have to separate them, so I'm going to try everything I can to help the situation.
 
Ughhh boys, eh? They certainly keep you on your toes! :) I really hope they calm down soon for you, its horrible watching them squabble! Your doing a fab job so far, giving them the best it's just boys they like to add a bit of drama to your life :)) The bath might help bond them again too, and I use supermarket own brand (asdas own) which is cheaper than the branded ones and is just as good! good luck, will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! :)
 
AudioHeart said:
Ughhh boys, eh? They certainly keep you on your toes! :) I really hope they calm down soon for you, its horrible watching them squabble! Your doing a fab job so far, giving them the best it's just boys they like to add a bit of drama to your life :)) The bath might help bond them again too, and I use supermarket own brand (asdas own) which is cheaper than the branded ones and is just as good! good luck, will be keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! :)
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Haha boys are pests....I reckon they take after their daddy (human one). He's a big pest lol.

Yeah, fingers crossed they calm down and stop squabbling. My younger piggies need a bath, so think I'll bath them all this weekend.

Ok, think I'll get some porridge oats when I got to do the food shopping. I want my chubby Nibbler back! He makes such a good radiator when he's chubby lol.
 
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