Please Help, At The End Of My Tether

Fweeper

Fweeper

Junior Guinea Pig
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As some of you may have read in my past threads, I have two boars who were together from birth. I had to separate them after they very nearly killed eachother in a fight and up until now, they'd lived very happily in a split cage where they could see eachother but not get at eachother.

Tonight, something changed. I have no idea what, but they were furiously attacking the barrier between them, full lunging and screaming. I had no option to put them in separate cages, in different rooms because they were both just SO wound up even being in the same room was making them worse and I feared them doing serious damage on the cage bars.

I have no idea what to do. I've done everything I possibly can for these boys but nothing is working. I can't seem to win with them and I'm on the brink of surrendering them to a rescue because it's just horrific to see them constantly so upset. I don't know how to make it better for them, it's awful. Please help?
 
Could you put a divider between the two cages? How old are your boys now?
 
@Wiebke I had a cardboard divider between them today, they tore it down and essentially went at it and eachother through the bars. Honestly, I worried they were going to cause themselves harm trying to get through it. They're somewhere in the region of 18 months ish? I'm not really sure, they're definitely over a year old, they were a rescue and no one's really sure how old they were when I took them on.
 
What is the cage like? If it's a c&c, I've seen "walls of silence" made with correx and zipties so the piggies can't take it down or see each other. 8 or 9 inches high would probably do the trick? They're for sale as a kit here in the US, maybe there's something similar available commercially in the UK. If not it wouldn't be hard or expensive to make

Screenshot_20170916-121604.webp
 
@NatalieGee It's not a C&C, but I might be able to do something similar. Do they actually stop the pigs getting angry with the other side's occupants? I can split them and make two cages if I need to, but obviously they're not getting any contact at all then, which isn't ideal, so I'm hoping someone's been through this before!
 
Did you just have some cardboard between them without a firm divider or are they in different cages? They need solid bars/grid between them; ideally with a solid surface. I cable tie correx between my contentious boars and also cable tie the grids, so my antsy boys can't get out to cause any mayhem.

(PS: I only have neutered boars, but they can still take strong exception to each other, especially when a new boy comes on the block!)
 
@Wiebke They have a modular cage with bars between them, covered with cardboard in an attempt to get the aggression down a little bit. They've always had a solid barrier since I split them, but they were throwing themselves at it in full lunges and screaming tonight. There was nothing that would distract them, so I put them in different rooms because even two separate cages wasn't calming them while they could hear eachother.

I am honestly thinking they'd be better elsewhere because for all I got them out of a disgusting home before, nothing I do seems to help in making them happy. I am out of ideas and they are just so unhappy.
 
Fweeper said:
@Wiebke They have a modular cage with bars between them, covered with cardboard in an attempt to get the aggression down a little bit. They've always had a solid barrier since I split them, but they were throwing themselves at it in full lunges and screaming tonight. There was nothing that would distract them, so I put them in different rooms because even two separate cages wasn't calming them while they could hear eachother.

I am honestly thinking they'd be better elsewhere because for all I got them out of a disgusting home before, nothing I do seems to help in making them happy. I am out of ideas and they are just so unhappy.
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If you are really unhappy perhaps you could speak to one of our recommended rescues and see whether they can help you work out a solution that gives both your boys and you a chance, and that means that you do not necessarily have to give up both boys. That really sounds a bit extreme. :(
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@Wiebke I love those pigs with everything, but I'm all out of money, ideas and hope. I just don't know what to do anymore, I don't WANT to give them up, but what can I do? They can't be together, they can't be apart, I'm honestly a bit of a wreck today over this and I'm not known for being an over emotional person. This is genuinely the end of my tether.
 
Could one go to the rescue and the other be bonded by said rescue to another guinea pig?

It must be heart breaking to see them at each other like that.
 
@flowerfairy I have to say, it genuinely is just that. I knew I would have issues with them, their babyhood was not great, but I thought I'd won the battle with their mental states tbh. It was awful to see I still had a way to go.

I sat down with my husband and we discussed it, neither one of us could choose between the boy we nursed through several surgeries and serious illness, or the one we cuddled all night while he cried for his missing brother. They're very special little boys, both of them and I don't think I could make that choice between them. I don't think either of them would take to another pig either, and this is where my problem lies. They've both encountered other pigs at the vets and immediately thrown fits over them. They're not social and they're very jittery (even for a pig), they've loathed every other animal and person they've ever met barring me, my husband and ONE of the vets nurses. I guess they're pretty traumatised by their babyhood and early life, they wouldn't be easy to rehome and honestly, I think I'm just going to have to get a grip here and find a way to keep them. I think I just needed to hear that other people had dealt with similar things and that I could do it? Probably stupid, I know.
 
A lovely rescue near us, wheek and squeak, had a guinea pig that could not live with others. They kept her next to a group and she was fine.

Perhaps your much loved boys would tolerate living in the same room, not too close but still able to communicate?
 
@flowerfairy Thank you, it's really nice to hear that other people have found a way. Maybe I could keep them in stacked cages or something so they can hear but not see and get angry with eachother. It's a plan, at least!
 
When I had my boys and girls separated before I put them all together when the boys had been neutered, I had the girls in the hutch above the boys so they could hear and smell each other but couldn't see each other. Everyone was fine with this arrangement. The only way is to try it and see if it will work. Hopefully it'll be your solution! Let us all know how you get on.
 
@Betsy Thank you for that, honestly, hearing that it can be done is helping me immensely. I'm going to try a full divide down the middle of the split cage tomorrow, and if that fails, stacked cages, I think.
 
At least your boys will know then that they are not alone even if they don't get on after their traumatic start to life. Why do people treat animals so badly? They are helpless creatures who only need a bit of love and it is so rewarding to see all your your tlc given back.
 
@Betsy That's what I'm hoping for now, really. For them to know their brother is still there, but not get irritated by him.

I know, it's beyond me too. For all the heartbreak, the tiny moments of success have been wonderful. I just have to find a way to make them a bit more lasting.
 
Perhaps a nice baby safe soft toy each would go down well. I saw some cute toy rats on the ikea website ...
 
Thank you so much for all the support, everyone. I spent a pretty rough couple of days attempting to get them calm, and they're currently back in the split cage. I put up a 'wall of silence' across part of the dividing bars, that seems to have helped and give them some space at least, and I'll try the soft toy idea too. If nothing else, this has cemented the knowledge that they'd never be able to rehomed elsewhere, they're very much problem pigs, sadly. I'm going to do my best for them regardless, so I'll keep you all updated. Again, thank you, you've all really helped through this hot mess.
 
Good for you taking on problem piggies and keeping them in their forever home. So many other people would just abandon them again.
 
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