hi, fighting guinea advice please x

[kimstra]

Firstly I'd like to say hello I'm hoping to get dome desperately needed advice (now for my life story sorry) I had a rabbit (trixie) then a friend needed to rehome her 2 guineas (toddler and norris) everyone lived happy together for a few weeks then trixie and norris started fighting so I immediately went out and got a new hutch and took the guineas out, a few days later toddler gave birth to 2 babies, 1 sadly didnt make it but the other (spud) I gave to my bro, any way to cut a longer story short we had to have spud back so I put him/her in the guinea hutch! All has been well untill tonight, I have never seen to animals scrap like norris and spud were! And again its happened just before toddler is due to give birth! I went out about midnight and she was tweeting like a bird, then the 2 started fighting, but norris looked like he was trying to mate an already pregnant toddler?! I have taken spud out and put him in another hutch (making up a bed at 1am in the rain is no fun lol) but hes fretting!
After that long story my questions are.... why have tgey started fighting, can spud go back in after toddlers had the babies or is it possible for spud to be housed with trixie the rabbit (dwarf rabbit) I cant stand the thought of spud being lonely, hence tge reason I am awake at this time of night
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks for reading
Kim xx

 

[Julesie]

Sorry, I just want to make sure I got this right.

Norris and Toddler, male and female(?) guinea pigs were housed with a rabbit, Trixie?

Norris and Trixie then started to fight? Meanwhile Toddler was pregnant?

Toddler then gave birth to two piggies, one which sadly didn't make it and the other, Spud, I am guessing is a male was then put back in with the two piggies and now Spud and Norris are fighting?

If I have got this right, and forgive me if I got it wrong, I will advice you.

Basically you need to immediately seperate Spud and Norris from Toddler. Norris then either needs to be neutered and then put back in with Toddler or you need to try and bond him and Spud in a seperate cage from Toddler. Guinea pig males can, very young, get their mothers pregnant so the reason the two are fighting is because they both want the female. This will result in bloodshed and both boys getting hurt. You also need to seperate mummy piggy from the two boys immediately as she can get pregnant straight away. As soon as a guinea pig gives birth she can immediately get pregnant again and this is unfair on poor mummy piggie.

Guinea pigs should not be caged with rabbits because as you saw they can fight and a rabbit can accidentally kill a guinea pig. They also have different dietry needs and rabbits can pass a certain disease (I cannot remember which, sorry. I am sure someone more knowledgable in rabbits can tell you) onto guinea pigs that can also kill them.

Basically, what you need to do is either boar date little spud, or if your female gives birth to another boy, have those two as cage mates. Or you need to put Spud with his father. Toddler needs to either be homed with just one male neutered guinea pig or housed with a sow guinea pig.

Please don't put any of them with the rabbit and please separate the boys from the girls.

I hope I've helped. =) It will stop all fighting.

 

[klee]

Firstly I'd like to say hello I'm hoping to get dome desperately needed advice (now for my life story sorry) I had a rabbit (trixie) then a friend needed to rehome her 2 guineas (toddler and norris) everyone lived happy together for a few weeks then trixie and norris started fighting so I immediately went out and got a new hutch and took the guineas out, a few days later toddler gave birth to 2 babies, 1 sadly didnt make it but the other (spud) I gave to my bro, any way to cut a longer story short we had to have spud back so I put him/her in the guinea hutch! All has been well untill tonight, I have never seen to animals scrap like norris and spud were! And again its happened just before toddler is due to give birth! I went out about midnight and she was tweeting like a bird, then the 2 started fighting, but norris looked like he was trying to mate an already pregnant toddler?! I have taken spud out and put him in another hutch (making up a bed at 1am in the rain is no fun lol) but hes fretting!
After that long story my questions are.... why have tgey started fighting, can spud go back in after toddlers had the babies or is it possible for spud to be housed with trixie the rabbit (dwarf rabbit) I cant stand the thought of spud being lonely, hence tge reason I am awake at this time of night
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks for reading
Kim xx

Firstly you need to separate Norris if he is still with Toddler when she gives birth she is likely to become pregnant again. As this is her (at least) 2nd back-to-back pregnancy it will have taken a lot out of her little body. As you've seen g.pig pregnancies can often result in stillborns.

How old is Spud? Can you post A clear picture of his/her bits if you are unsure and we can help to sex spud. Untol you are certain on Spuds sex, I wouldn't put him/her with either mum and dad. Guinea pigs can breed at a very early age so if spud is a boy and is kept with mum he will make her pregnant once she has given birth and if Spud is a girl, her dad could make her pregnant- so it is really important to get Spud sexed.

I wouldn't keep any of the guinea pigs with Trixie, as you have seen rabbits can injure pigs, as well as having different food needs. They need to live with their own kind. Where avout are you based? A rescue may be able to help you find an appropriate friend for each of your pigs.

Hope that helps.

 

[kimstra]

Yep you got it all right julesie Thankyou both so much both answers are so helpful! Unfortunately I was a little bit silly when getting toddler and norris and didnt read up on them! (I'm a dog person) I just thought I was helping out too little guys that needed help! Spud was born on 4th june! I feel horrid because I just went out to see them all and spud seems to be fretting alot : what I will do is take spud down tge vet because they do free sexing, then if male I will keep him seperate, then I will get norris nuetered as you say its not good for toddlers body, now I know they wont go in with trixie, wow I think dogs are easier lol I live in northwich so I will do a search for suitable buddies when I got norris and toddler I was told they were both females!

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! You have already been given good advice.

Please open a thread for Toddler in our pregnancy section for some solid information re. all aspects of pregnancy, birth and baby/mummy care (including diet and when you need to see the vet), and knowledgeable support. As Toddler is back-to-back pregnant, she is at an increased risk of complications. We can also help you to sex your piggies in that section.

Please remove all boars; sows come into season within hours of giving birth; baby boars can make babies from 3 weeks onwards and baby sows can become pregnant from 4 weeks onwards. Because of the long pregnancies and advanced large babies, guinea pigs have a much higher risk of birthing complications; they are also non-stop breeding machines for that reason.

Also be aware that any neutered boar will need a six week post operation wait until he is safe to go with sows again (I have the accidental baby from an over 5 weeks post op boar - not one of mine - to prove that particular point). You can have Norris neutered as soon as possible, preferably by a piggy savvy vet (there is an excellent one in Telford) in order to minimise the not inconsiderable risk of post op complications. That way, he can join Toddler and any sow babies once he is safe.
Here is our map of recommended piggy savvy vets: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=204458758673513849635.0004e111354a528da0dbb&msa=0

If I were you, I would wait with getting more piggies right now, as you will have to factor in any babies of Toddler's - the litters tend to get larger with later pregnancies. If you are aware that she is pregnant again, she will be in the last third of her pregnancy and not far from giving birth.
Your closest recommendable and safe to use rescues are The Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent and the RSPCA in Walsall (who sadly don't offer boar dating).
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msid=209994852075231951564.0004b8fd9391b4257d8eb&msa=0

 

[kimstra]

I went out last night and got a new hutch so norris has been seperated from a pregnant toddler and spud is in his little cage (I have a very unhappy fiance that agreed to 1 rabbit hutch and now has 3 guinea and 1 rabbit hutch in our garden hee hee) so hopefully they at least are living in a happy camp now! Toddler seems hapoy enough but I'm tempted to bring her inside for a few days so I can keep a close eye on her or is it best to leave her where she seems happy? As soon as I get home from work I will open a thread for her and try upload some pics
Thanks again everyone for your great advice, x