I Really Don't Think My Guinea Pigs Like Each Other.

[Sakano]

So my guinea pigs have recently started to fight and pester each other every day. They used to do it only occasionally. They don't seem to have any positive interactions. Either they go to their own separate corners of the cage or they fight. Sometimes they stand next to each other to eat, but that's about it.

I feel bad because people always say that guinea pigs like to have a companion to play with, but they don't really play together.

 

[Jesse's pigs]

What sex are your piggies? How long have you had them? How old are they?If they are sows it cold be they are in season and just going through a rough patch and if boars they could be going through the hormone months and working out who is dominant. I wouldn't separate unless there is blood or a piggy could come to harm. However if you want to know if they have bonded separate them and see what behaviour they show. If they are chewing at the boars or looking for the other piggy it shows they have bonded and if not I would leave them separate. Some piggies bond with each other but never have that cute cuddly relationship - but it doesn't mean they aren't friends.

 

[Lady Kelly]

When you say fight what do you mean? We often have new members coming on here mentioning usual dominance behaviours as evidence of fighting so it might just be piggy behaviour rather than fighting.

This is a good thread that explains behaviours and when it might be concerning:
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[Wiebke]

So my guinea pigs have recently started to fight and pester each other every day. They used to do it only occasionally. They don't seem to have any positive interactions. Either they go to their own separate corners of the cage or they fight. Sometimes they stand next to each other to eat, but that's about it.

I feel bad because people always say that guinea pigs like to have a companion to play with, but they don't really play together.

Hi and welcome!

How old are your piggies and how long have you had them?

Piggies go through a more hormonal teenage phase between 4-14 months of age; it is more pronounced in boars, but even sows can get rather squabbly during that time.
https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk...ying-fighting-fall-outs-and-what-next.127295/

Piggies are a lot like humans when it comes to company - they are not lovey-dovey all the time, and the cute playful baby months last only for a few weeks. Instead their relationships are constantly evolving, but the vast majority of piggies are really becoming fast bored and depressed without having any interaction with others, like humans do, too. Guinea pigs do not necessarily play with each other, unless they are babies. But they need each other for social interaction and constant stimulation. That is a completely different kettle of fish!

Sadly, all the online videos and pictures give you a very distorted vision as they only represent a sugar-coated version of reality. Guinea pigs are not natural born animated cuddly toys; they are fascinating prey animals with a far more differentiated social life than previously assumed as recent research is showing.

The vast majority of guinea pigs are shop-bought babies that are chosen for looks and not character compatibility or mutual liking. Once they stop being cute babies they quickly lose their attraction and all too often end up on the growing heap of no longer wanted pets because they have become a challenge and chore...
Take the challenge on the chin and try to see your piggies as what they truly are; there is a fascinating, but very different world emerging when you try to see them as animals in their own right with their own social behaviours and personalities. It can be a challenge, but it is one you can grow with and that gives you another layer to your perception of the world.

 

[Sakano]

When you say fight what do you mean? We often have new members coming on here mentioning usual dominance behaviours as evidence of fighting so it might just be piggy behaviour rather than fighting.

This is a good thread that explains behaviours and when it might be concerning:
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

It seems like they chatter their teeth at each other and get in each other's faces a lot as of late. Yesterday it escalated into a fight (though no one got hurt, they just chased each other around for hours.)

Piggies are a lot like humans when it comes to company - they are not lovey-dovey all the time, and the cute playful baby months last only for a few weeks. Instead their relationships are constantly evolving, but the vast majority of piggies are really becoming fast bored and depressed without having any interaction with others, like humans do, too. Guinea pigs do not necessarily play with each other, unless they are babies. But they need each other for social interaction and constant stimulation. That is a completely different kettle of fish!

Well that's good. I would have felt a bit sad, knowing they were missing out on having playmates.

 

[Wiebke]

It seems like they chatter their teeth at each other and get in each other's faces a lot as of late. Yesterday it escalated into a fight (though no one got hurt, they just chased each other around for hours.)



Well that's good. I would have felt a bit sad, knowing they were missing out on having playmates.

Keep an eye on your boys. Please read the link I have given you in my previous post carefully, so you know what to do when things get tense again. Teenage boars are always a difficult time to get through; you have to constantly assess their bond.