Fighting

[Harveym02]

I have 2 boys, a year old with a 9 month old. They used to get on but now they are constantly all the time chasing and attacking each other. The cage is the right size and they have everything they need. It seems to only be when people are in the room. What should I do?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome and I am sorry to hear this.

First, could you give us a bit more information -

How long have they been together?
How long has this behaviour been going on?
You mention their cage is the right size, what are its actual measurements?
Do you have multiple of every item in the cage and do all hides have two exits?

Finally, you say attacking, are they actually properly fur ball fighting or is it just dominance behaviours (Chasing, mounting, rumbling)?
If they are actually furball fighting which has the potential or has already caused injuries, then they sadly need to be permanently separated as this means their bond has unfortunately failed.

Otherwise, your 9 month old is likely experiencing the 9 month hormone spike. Provided they are not actually fighting, then a few days separated to allow his hormones to settle and then a reintroduction on neutral territory will allow them to make the decision about their relationship. If they go back together happily, then it is likely just tensions caused by a hormone spike which has settled.
If they immediately go back to tense behaviours upon reintroduction then it is likely they no longer want to be together

 

[Harveym02]

Welcome and I am sorry to hear this.

First, could you give us a bit more information -

How long have they been together?
How long has this behaviour been going on?
You mention their cage is the right size, what are its actual measurements?
Do you have multiple of every item in the cage and do all hides have two exits?

Finally, you say attacking, are they actually properly fur ball fighting or is it just dominance behaviours (Chasing, mounting, rumbling)?
If they are actually furball fighting which has the potential or has already caused injuries, then they sadly need to be permanently separated as this means their bond has unfortunately failed.

Otherwise, your 9 month old is likely experiencing the 9 month hormone spike. Provided they are not actually fighting, then a few days separated to allow his hormones to settle and then a reintroduction on neutral territory will allow them to make the decision about their relationship. If they go back together happily, then it is likely just tensions caused by a hormone spike which has settled.
If they immediately go back to tense behaviours upon reintroduction then it is likely they no longer want to be together

The cage is 100cm×100cm. They've been together since the 9 month old was 9 weeks old. They were okay for a while but all of a sudden started fighting a month ago and hasn't stopped. They have 2 of everything and each hide has 2 ways out.

 

[Siikibam]

Hello and welcome. A useful guide on here is the one below on level of dominance behaviour. Have a read and see where they are. Hopefully it’s just a hormone spike and they’ll get through it
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Siikibam]

The cage is 100cm×100cm. They've been together since the 9 month old was 9 weeks old. They were okay for a while but all of a sudden started fighting a month ago and hasn't stopped. They have 2 of everything and each hide has 2 ways out.

When you say they’re fighting, what exactly are they doing and how are they both behaving?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Are they actually having fights?
Or
is it chasing, rumbling etc - dominance behaviours?
Are both their weights stable?
Is one becoming withdrawn?
Bullying can occur which is why I wonder this. If they aren’t full on fighting, but one is being overly dominant, preventing the other from eating and therefore that piggy is losing weight at the weekly weight checks, not letting the other rest etc, then you consider bullying as a possibility (which again, requires permanent separation If a temporary separation does not resolve the issue)
if you do need to separate them, then ensure each piggy has a minimum of 8 square feet

Their cage comes to 10 sq ft so does meet the minimum sizing for two boars.

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Bill & Ted]

Hello and welcome to the forum
So sorry your boys are unsettled.
Both your boars are young (teenagers) with many hormone spikes. It’s really about assessing if this is dominance behaviour (they are both wanting to be top dog and neither boys wanting to be the underling) or a personality clash where they actually aren’t keen on each other
If it’s very heated you could temporarily separate for 24 hours and then reintroduce in a completely neutral area, before completely cleaning out the cage. This can calm the situation and take the heat of out it, but equally you may find that they don’t actually want to spend anytime together

Good luck

 

[weepweeps]

I hope they settle down soon