Guinea Pig Fight! Blood Drawn, NEED ADVICE

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Caviecrazy

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hey there! So, this is my first time owning guinea pigs, and I have two boys, Ron and Harry, both 9 months old, so I’ve had them for a while now. Yesterday they were in their playpen, and everything was fine, and then I had to put them back, so I removed all the hideys and decided to chill with them a little bit. They started chattering their teeth super loudly, yawning, and I was starting to get a little bit freaked out. Then they lunged at each other, and rolled around like they were one big fur ball. I grabbed my gloves and grabbed Ron, and took him back to the hutch, and then I took Harry back. My hutch has two floors, and you can close off the top from the bottom, and that’s what I did. Ron on top and Harry at the bottom. After about an hour, I opened it up and Harry came up. They chattered their teeth a little bit but seemed to be fine. Then I saw dried blood underneath Ron’s chin. I separated them once again, and decided to wait a night. In the morning I came downstairs, put food in the bowl, and opened it up again. Ron popcorned around the bottom floor for a while before going up. Harry moved so Ron could get past, and Ron began to eat. However they were doing light teeth chattering, and started yawning at each other. I was petrified, and I probably shouldn’t have done this, but I separated them again. My dad keeps telling me I’m being ridiculous and to just leave them alone for a while, and I want them to be together so badly, and I just really badly need advice on what to do. The blood isn’t much, just a few drops.
 
oh god I’m at work, my dad told me he opened it up, and I begged him to close it but he wouldn’t. There’s nothing I can do, I’m at work, I’m honestly scared of going home
 
Caviecrazy said:
Hey there! So, this is my first time owning guinea pigs, and I have two boys, Ron and Harry, both 9 months old, so I’ve had them for a while now. Yesterday they were in their playpen, and everything was fine, and then I had to put them back, so I removed all the hideys and decided to chill with them a little bit. They started chattering their teeth super loudly, yawning, and I was starting to get a little bit freaked out. Then they lunged at each other, and rolled around like they were one big fur ball. I grabbed my gloves and grabbed Ron, and took him back to the hutch, and then I took Harry back. My hutch has two floors, and you can close off the top from the bottom, and that’s what I did. Ron on top and Harry at the bottom. After about an hour, I opened it up and Harry came up. They chattered their teeth a little bit but seemed to be fine. Then I saw dried blood underneath Ron’s chin. I separated them once again, and decided to wait a night. In the morning I came downstairs, put food in the bowl, and opened it up again. Ron popcorned around the bottom floor for a while before going up. Harry moved so Ron could get past, and Ron began to eat. However they were doing light teeth chattering, and started yawning at each other. I was petrified, and I probably shouldn’t have done this, but I separated them again. My dad keeps telling me I’m being ridiculous and to just leave them alone for a while, and I want them to be together so badly, and I just really badly need advice on what to do. The blood isn’t much, just a few drops.
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Hi!

I am very sorry; it is always very upsetting when your boys have a serious fight! :(

Please separate. Your two boys are right in the thick of the teenage months. Leaving them together will only force more fights with increasingly severe bites as a cage doesn't give the under-boar any chance to move away, the way piggies would normally handle any confrontation.

Please take the time to read these very comprehensive guides here. They takes you through all the aspects of the tricky teenage months as well as your various options if things have gone haywire. Once boars have had a major fight and a fall-out, then they usually won't go back together; especially not after a serious bite to the head or rump. :(
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
Caviecrazy said:
oh god I’m at work, my dad told me he opened it up, and I begged him to close it but he wouldn’t. There’s nothing I can do, I’m at work, I’m honestly scared of going home
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Poor you! I guess that your dad will have to pay for any vet cost if there are more fights with deep bites - and take responsibility for all the unnecessary pain he is causing... :mal:
 
Wiebke said:
Poor you! I guess that your dad will have to pay for any vet cost if there are more fights with deep bites - and take responsibility for all the unnecessary pain he is causing... :mal:
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Yes I agree, thank you. If they get hurt I’ll tell him he has to pay for the vet. I’ve read those articles, but I’m so nervous, I keep thinking about coming home and finding one dead. I can’t come home until about 5 in the afternoon, so anything could happen and I’m not there.
 
Hi, could you send Wiebke reply to your dad, it might help confirm that they need to be separated. Thinking of you, must be awful worrying all day about your boys x
 
Abirose said:
Hi, could you send Wiebke reply to your dad, it might help confirm that they need to be separated. Thinking of you, must be awful worrying all day about your boys x
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Thank you, I will x
 
I’m so sorry your dad is being unhelpful when you’re trying hard to do everything right. I know that my pet ownership became a lot less stressful once I’d moved out of home (many years ago now!).

There’s not a lot you can do for today but hope and make it clear to your dad that he’s responsible for any injuries. Fingers crossed they will just avoid each other for the day. This evening, would you be able to do something like board up the bit where the ramp closes so your dad can’t easily just go in and open it? It’s lucky that you have a 2-level hutch so you can separate them relatively quickly and easily (if it weren’t for the interference!).
 
Dill&Pepper said:
I’m so sorry your dad is being unhelpful when you’re trying hard to do everything right. I know that my pet ownership became a lot less stressful once I’d moved out of home (many years ago now!).

There’s not a lot you can do for today but hope and make it clear to your dad that he’s responsible for any injuries. Fingers crossed they will just avoid each other for the day. This evening, would you be able to do something like board up the bit where the ramp closes so your dad can’t easily just go in and open it? It’s lucky that you have a 2-level hutch so you can separate them relatively quickly and easily (if it weren’t for the interference!).
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Fingers crossed. I’m hoping Ron just stays downstairs and doesn’t come up. I’ve already told my dad he’s responsible, but he doesn’t think anything’s going to happen. And I think I might have something. Do you have any advice for what to do next? Will I just let them each have their own floor? Get someone a buddy (though I really don’t have enough space for that)? While they were separated they were popcorning, eating veggies, munching on hay etc. So I don’t know what I should do after that
 
Cant understand why your dad being stubborn
They need separating urgent.
They not getting on sorry but hope it's ok.
You must be so worried.
 
Caviecrazy said:
Fingers crossed. I’m hoping Ron just stays downstairs and doesn’t come up. I’ve already told my dad he’s responsible, but he doesn’t think anything’s going to happen. And I think I might have something. Do you have any advice for what to do next? Will I just let them each have their own floor? Get someone a buddy (though I really don’t have enough space for that)? While they were separated they were popcorning, eating veggies, munching on hay etc. So I don’t know what I should do after that
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Good to hear being separate they happy.
 
I don't mean to be rude but I hate it when stuff like this happens. Your Dad clearly knows nothing about Guinea Pigs or is overlooking their needs. He is being stubborn and putting the guinea pigs in danger. They may be animals but still can be hurt. It's ridiculous. They need separating ASAP

This must be horrible for you. Hope the two boars are ok.
Good luck x
 
Lillianlovesspiggies said:
I don't mean to be rude but I hate it when stuff like this happens. Your Dad clearly knows nothing about Guinea Pigs or is overlooking their needs. He is being stubborn and putting the guinea pigs in danger. They may be animals but still can be hurt. It's ridiculous. They need separating ASAP

This must be horrible for you. Hope the two boars are ok.
Good luck x
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Thank you x
 
so I got home, and neither was injured, they were eating together, they weren’t being aggressive. I’ve been watching them for the past hour and they seem to be fine. I’ve decided to separate them just for the night, but I don’t know what to do. Should I try and rebond them?
 
Caviecrazy said:
so I got home, and neither was injured, they were eating together, they weren’t being aggressive. I’ve been watching them for the past hour and they seem to be fine. I’ve decided to separate them just for the night, but I don’t know what to do. Should I try and rebond them?
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Tricky one.
 
Caviecrazy said:
so I got home, and neither was injured, they were eating together, they weren’t being aggressive. I’ve been watching them for the past hour and they seem to be fine. I’ve decided to separate them just for the night, but I don’t know what to do. Should I try and rebond them?
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This is the kind of situation where you have to feel your way; we can't see your boys and don't know what their normal relationship is.
A separation is the safe option out, but it comes at the cost that they may never get back together again. Leaving them together can work but it comes with the risk that the next time things flare up, they can get nastier because there is now some grudge between them...
You situation is kind of the in middle touch-and-go ground as you haven't had a full-on clear fall-out but something serious has clearly happened.

Please read the links in my first post; especially the second one about the teenage months.
 
Okay, so after considering everything, I decided to try and rebond them on neutral territory. At the start there was very light teeth chattering, but no lunges or yawning or loud teeth chattering. After a while, they ate side by side, and lay down together and took a nap! Ron also groomed himself beside Harry, which from all my research is good! They were outside for an hour, and nothing happened. Ive been watching them all day in the hutch, and they seem to be getting on WAY better than they were before. I’ve decided to separate them one last night, but if all goes well, I think they can start living together again! I’m doing a full hutch makeover. I’m switching to fleece, which I’ve been planning for a while, and we’re getting another food bowl, water bottle and hidey. We’re also getting two hay racks! I’ll update y’all on how it goes! Thanks so much for the love and support you’ve shown to me and my boys!
 
Hope everything is alright, you could try and bond them again but I have read that you should separate them just for a night and then try to reintroduce them, you should make sure they’re toys and everything are clean and that they’re not badly injured. If thee wounds seem bad then you should definitely take them to the vet! Hope it all goes well 😉 😕
 
Muffin&Gucci said:
Hope everything is alright, you could try and bond them again but I have read that you should separate them just for a night and then try to reintroduce them, you should make sure they’re toys and everything are clean and that they’re not badly injured. If there sounds seem bad then you should definitely take them to the vet! Hope it all goes well 😉 😕
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Thank you! When they fought I separated them for a full day and night, and they’ve been separated for the past two nights, but have spent the day together. Ron only had a little blood, it’s all gone now, so nothing to worry about. They’re eating and popcorning and don’t seem to have serious injuries. And I cleaned everything up, and I hope that when I start with fleece and put in new hideys and stimulation that they’ll be okay. Thank you!
 
Caviecrazy said:
Thank you! When they fought I separated them for a full day and night, and they’ve been separated for the past two nights, but have spent the day together. Ron only had a little blood, it’s all gone now, so nothing to worry about. They’re eating and popcorning and don’t seem to have serious injuries. And I cleaned everything up, and I hope that when I start with fleece and put in new hideys and stimulation that they’ll be okay. Thank you!
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If they are fighting over water and food then you could maybe add in another water bottle and hay rack or food bowl so they don’t need to fight over the same one, if you haven’t already.
 
Don't know if this would help, we were advised to do away with the food bowls, to help keep the peace with our newly adopted couple that is now in with our single youngster..these are sows of course, so we just scatter the pellets and veg about..doesn't look too great aesthetically, but no food dominance so far..and it all gets eaten..it may not work that way with boars though?
 
Leafy Lou said:
Don't know if this would help, we were advised to do away with the food bowls, to help keep the peace with our newly adopted couple that is now in with our single youngster..these are sows of course, so we just scatter the pellets and veg about..doesn't look too great aesthetically, but no food dominance so far..and it all gets eaten..it may not work that way with boars though?
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I might try that for a bit!
 
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