Separating guinea pigs?

[karaelizabeth]

Hi, I've got 2 male guinea pigs who I adopted from a friend 2 years ago and they are both 3. They have been together their whole lives as far as I'm aware.
I have had many issues with they're behaviour in terms of fighting in which Jamie seems to attack/bully Percy. Previously I considered separating them however due to no blood being drawn and my research I thought it'd be better not to.
They fight daily and recently Percy developed an eye issue which could have been caused by a scratch. I have 4 by 3 c&c cage and I am able to separate it directly down the middle. I wondered if anyone had any advice or experience of a similar situation before I separate them permanently.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

You do not need to have nor should you wait for blood to be drawn before separating where there is evidence their bond is not a happy one.

Bullying (behaviours which go beyond normal dominance) may never result in blood being drawn (it might do, but by the time that happens then it is because the pig who is being bullied has had enough and cannot take it any longer) but if bullying is occurring then those piggies should not be kept together.

I’ve added some guides below but if you are seeing tension beyond dominance every day then they most definitely need to be separated.

Jamie will be upset by the separation but it is not him you watch. If Percy appears happier to be away from Jamie then that is your answer - Percy was being bullied and is better off away from him

Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

I had to separate two of my boys - they had an almighty fight when they were teenagers and have now side by side for 2.5 years now (one having been briefly bonded with one of my other piggies when he lost his cagemate).

 

[RescueBoyMum]

Hi, although some advice tells us not to separate unless blood has been drawn, I have separated multiple times when I’ve seen that one of the pigs is very unhappy and there seems to be no compatability. It’s really disappointing but it’s for the best. (Funnily enough, naughty Pudding is always the one who makes the other unhappy… )

I’ve also had boy pairs who have fought and bitten each other - one of my boys who’s no longer here was bitten by his first friend and months later by his second (he bit them both too!) and his bite became infected on both occasions, needing antibiotics. I also don’t like it when they are very snappy at each others’ face - I have seen a few eye injuries in rescue so I want to avoid this.

As a result of all this behaviour, I currently have 2 pairs and 4 singles. This time last week, I had managed to bond 2 of the singles and they were happy. But come Tuesday, there was extreme chasing and one was very unhappy and frightened! Photo of naughty Pudding and Bruno (aka Hairy Pudding) for tax…

 

[karaelizabeth]

Hi, although some advice tells us not to separate unless blood has been drawn, I have separated multiple times when I’ve seen that one of the pigs is very unhappy and there seems to be no compatability. It’s really disappointing but it’s for the best. (Funnily enough, naughty Pudding is always the one who makes the other unhappy… )

I’ve also had boy pairs who have fought and bitten each other - one of my boys who’s no longer here was bitten by his first friend and months later by his second (he bit them both too!) and his bite became infected on both occasions, needing antibiotics. I also don’t like it when they are very snappy at each others’ face - I have seen a few eye injuries in rescue so I want to avoid this.

As a result of all this behaviour, I currently have 2 pairs and 4 singles. This time last week, I had managed to bond 2 of the singles and they were happy. But come Tuesday, there was extreme chasing and one was very unhappy and frightened! Photo of naughty Pudding and Bruno (aka Hairy Pudding) for tax…

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Thank you for your response! I separated them this morning and Percy already seems happier. I just needed reassurance that I was doing the right thing by keeping them apart.
(Pudding and Bruno are so cute!)