Two New Skinnys Not Getting Along.

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Inez Cabrera

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Hello all!
My husband and I got a female skinny (Betsy) a little over a month ago. She's warmed up to us quite well and gets excited when we come around. My Chihuahua took her in and cuddles her when we give her floor time. We knew she would eventually need a companion so we just got another skinny a few days ago. Belle, is bigger and we think a little older than Betsy. We have two cages linked together but they have plenty of space. We put belle in the second cage so they could see each other for a day or so before meeting. When they first met it went ok for maybe a couple hours. After that they attempted to dominate each other as we expected. But by the next morning we found Betsy with lots of scratches. We separated them and only paired them under our supervision. A few days have gone by there are more scratches. No heavy bleeding but some scabbing. Betsy screams and runs from Belle. I feel so bad. I just want them to get along. How long will this last? Should I keep them separated? Let them fight it out? I didn't think the fighting would be like this. Anyone deal with this?
 
Have you seen the behaviour please? I ask because being as skinnies have no fur I feel they may be more likely to get accidental scratches as a result of one mounting the other, in which case it may be worth double-checking their nails for any sharpness.
However, if they are rearing up at each other or biting then it is unlikely that they will settle with each other, sadly.

Sometimes guinea pigs just do not accept each other, especially when both want to be the dominant pig. May I ask how old they are? It could be that they are going through their most hormonal period of time in their lives. Both boars and sows experience this, and can make bonding extra difficult. I have had young-adult pigs (and sub-adult) who have rejected each other, but then accepted each other several months or even a year down the line. However with mine I have had two groups and due to deaths have tried bonding with once-failed combinations of piggies and have had success a second-time around. Unfortunately with yours your pigs cannot be expected to wait it out for half a year or more on their own of the off-chance that a second go might work!

I suggest watching their behaviour very closely, if they are ONLY mounting and accidentally scratching then it may settle down or it may escalate. If they are teeth-chattering and trying to bite one another then it's time to separate. Please clean their scratches with saline. Sadly if they are hurting one another, even accidentally through mounting, this is likely to cause an increase of tension between them.
 
Inez Cabrera said:
Hello all!
My husband and I got a female skinny (Betsy) a little over a month ago. She's warmed up to us quite well and gets excited when we come around. My Chihuahua took her in and cuddles her when we give her floor time. We knew she would eventually need a companion so we just got another skinny a few days ago. Belle, is bigger and we think a little older than Betsy. We have two cages linked together but they have plenty of space. We put belle in the second cage so they could see each other for a day or so before meeting. When they first met it went ok for maybe a couple hours. After that they attempted to dominate each other as we expected. But by the next morning we found Betsy with lots of scratches. We separated them and only paired them under our supervision. A few days have gone by there are more scratches. No heavy bleeding but some scabbing. Betsy screams and runs from Belle. I feel so bad. I just want them to get along. How long will this last? Should I keep them separated? Let them fight it out? I didn't think the fighting would be like this. Anyone deal with this?
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Give them a bit more time. Because they are skinnies, the usual carefully judged dominance behaviours can injure the skin as it is not protected by hairs as with normal guinea pigs with which these behaviours have veolved over thousands of years, like nipping, swiping and chasing; mounting when in season etc. Things should eventually calm down, but the dominance phase can last around two weeks. Make sure that you have got only hideys with two exits and at least two of the same, hideys with more than one exit that cannot be blocked, bowls, bottles, access to hay that cannot be blocked. I find children's stools etc. very useful for the dominance phase; they come in handy on the lawn again.
@helen105281
Sow Behaviour
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Illustrated Bonding / Dominance Behaviours And Dynamics
 
I see this post was made awhile ago, but since this was/is such an issue for me and my skinny pigs, I had to respond in case you still need advice. It took me about three weeks to feel comfortable housing my two young female skinny pigs together, and they've only been housed together for a little over 24 hours. The first two intros were pretty ugly (their flesh is so fragile), but a couple of ideas people gave me helped.

First change I made was reintroducing them in a VERY large space in the livingroom, which neither pig had been in at all. The space really helped with the submissive piggy being more comfortable with the dom one. I put my dogs outside, covered the floor with some well-used fleece blankets neither pig had smelled before, and gave them a pile of hay.

I gave them a bath together today. It probably wasn't even a minute long, but it was traumatizing enough that they huddled together peaceably, and afterward they both smelled like the critter shampoo. This really helped.

The final key seems to be space. When I put the girls in a single habitat they fought with squeals, still. Luckily (ha ha) I had the supplies to create a double habitat, and now they have loads of space. In fact, they have about 25 square feet of space. With all the space, the submissive piggy is much better at dealing with the dominant behavior of the other pig.
 
Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for your tips and advice. I did try a few things and after some effort we are finally getting somewhere. We bought another enclosure for the girls that is between theirs. Three all together, but the middle one has toys and plenty of space. We took them out and let them run around the living room. Our dogs were very curious so we let them sniff. The girls loved it. Running around and being licked the the dogs gave them different scents I think and there were no issues. There was a little scuffle when it came to feeding time. Our smallest dog, a 4 pound Chihuahua came to the rescue. She got between them and her mother instinct must have kicked in. A little growl and the scuffle was over. Now when we bring them out she is in there with the girls and monitors the feeding. They popcorn and play for a bit while she lays there watching. No issues since. We do keep them under supervision when they are with our dogs and the extra enclosure helped. Hopefully all stays well.
 
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