Help with my teenagers..!

[Tim Orr]

Hi all, great to be here at a source of so much information. Although this is probably well covered already, we need a little bit of emotional support and guidance, so I am choosing to put up a new tread and hope to get some direct info.

we adopted two boys 5 days ago. They were for adoption locally, are we believe about 5-6months old and are not related,

The lady we got them from had only had them for about 2 months and had bought them together from a reputable pet store. She had said they were well bonded and had them housed as a pair.

Once we got them home, day 1, 2 and 3 were fine. They seemed to get on good, sharing house, shelter and food. They did lap time together and seemed very close.

However, yesterday the fighting began. It seems to be instigated by one in particular, but soon turns into a spinning whirl of teeth, claws and horrible angry noises between the two. This even happen during lap time..!

I have had Guinea pigs most of my life, but always female or lone male. So I have never had to deal with this before.

As I have to leave them alone at times, I have had to separate them into separate cages. This is not the way I wanted it, but I can’t trust them while I am out.

I have just ordered a much bigger cage for them in hope that the space will help. However I am genuinely nervous of what I have got myself into.

Any help or support would be greatly appreciate.
thanks
Tim
ps. Not sure if its important, but they are both different breeds. One is smooth short hair, the other is a rough hair.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry for your situation.

When piggies move to a new environment they go into a period of re-establishing their relationship. For most piggies, if they are wanting to be together, then this will be a short lived period that will work out fine. However, for some piggies, it can bring underlying issues in their relationship, and when coupled with the fact that yours are hitting their teens now to a head and can result in the failing of their relationship. The fact you mention they were originally pet shop piggies draws me to think that they were simply put together for sale with no real regard for their compatibility (the most vital component of a successful relationship). Unfortunately we see this happen with pet shop piggies, they are initially ok but they hit their teens and it falls apart.

If they have had a full on fight, and by your description it sounds like it, then their relationship is most likely over and they will need to live in separate cages as neighbours. Giving them a bigger cage at this point may not solve anything - it Won’t heal any troubles in their relationship, and as mentioned, a new territory will cause further dominance.
You could attempt a neutral territory reintroduction when they’ve calmed down in a few days if you wish but if the fight was as bad as you describe, then I personally would not try and instead they Will need to live as neighbours. Each piggy will need their own cage measuring 120x60cm and to be side by side so they can interact through the bars for companionship.
It’s very sad when a relationship ends but sadly it does happen.

I’ll add in some guides below with further information
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

their breed and the fact they aren’t related is not relevant to the success of a bond - its all about character compatibility and mutual liking and I’m afraid if they don’t have that then things don’t work out.

 

[Tim Orr]

Thanks so much for you reply, thoughts and advice. Looks like we may have ended up with two pets rather than a pair. That’s ok, we can manage. It is a shame however as I would love them to keep each other company. We will try and set up there cages so that they can see, smell and hear each other.
In time do you think we can keep trying to see if they bond, by giving them a little bit of time together maybe each day. I also don’t want them to get stressed?
Thanks again.
I’m reading more and more here.
Who thought guinea pig life could be so complicated..!

 

[Piggies&buns]

Thanks so much for you reply, thoughts and advice. Looks like we may have ended up with two pets rather than a pair. That’s ok, we can manage. It is a shame however as I would love them to keep each other company. We will try and set up there cages so that they can see, smell and hear each other.
In time do you think we can keep trying to see if they bond, by giving them a little bit of time together maybe each day. I also don’t want them to get stressed?
Thanks again.
I’m reading more and more here.
Who thought guinea pig life could be so complicated..!

as their cages need to be next to each other, they will still keep each other company. They won’t get lonely provided they can see, hear and smell each other.

I'm afraid you can’t give them time together each day. If they don’t like each other enough to live together, then they cannot have any physical interaction. Boars need to be either permanently together or permanently apart
Piggies don’t do these kind of play dates. To them each meeting is a full on bonding session, added in with somebody they don’t like each, to then have it all cut short to be separated. They are likely to have an almost immediate fight if you put them back together. It’s very stressful for them. You will need to let them have floor time separately.

the social interactions and structures of guinea pigs is a complex one!