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urgent advice please - are they going to fight?

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Craig David

Craig David

Teenage Guinea Pig
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iv jsut put the boys back in their cage they have been in the run allday. they are both loudly chattering their teeth at eachother iv never heard them do this, craig is starting to look scared and running away from david, david has also been yawning and showing his teeth also getting on his hind legs I'm a bit concerned as iv never seen them do this. They keep squaring up to eachother.

my boyfriend has suggested we keep one in the pen tonight but i dont know if its a good idea splitting them up? any thoughts would be useful, they have been at it now for the past ten mins or so and i feel a bit sorry for craig.
 
I would advise against separating them unless blood is drawn, have a towel at the ready just incase. Believe me I've been exactly were you are and it is easier said than done :(.

Hopefully they will settle.
 
JoanneG111 said:
I would advise against separating them unless blood is drawn, have a towel at the ready just incase. Believe me I've been exactly were you are and it is easier said than done :(.

Hopefully they will settle.
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thanks joanne, david seems to of claimed the hidey that craig normally sits in but poor craig is just lay down next to his foodbowl on a plastic ledge he looks really sad. i dont know whether to put the pigloo as craig will sit in the pigloo but dont want that to start a fight either. Its quiet in their now but i could cry for craig what a shame. I'm waiting for my c&c cage to come and I'm hoping this will give them some more space as the cage they are in now isnt so big, although i do put them in the run a lot. aaw poor craig
 
I don't know if this would apply to boars, but all my experience with male rats would advise you to add the other house/hidey - that way they each have a place to get away from the other and it should minimise territoriality...

Good luck - hopefully it'll have all blown over by the time I've posted this :)

m x
 
It's a good idea to have 2 hideys, food bowls etc, boys are a nightmare. Aslong as Craig does not become withdrawn it should be fine.

Hopefully you can get there new cage built soon the sooner the better, to give them more space.
 
Don't panic, leave them be and see what they're like tommorrow. Last year I had to split up a pair, but only when the bully boy, had kept the other boy away from the food, and they had a massive fight which resulted in some nasty injuries. They were both the same age and came into their teenage hormones together, it wasn't pretty.

I will add though, that if they are showing signs now of disagreement, you really need to buy 2 of everything and give them as much space as possible.

I've just come in from the pub and really hope I'm typing legibly.

Oh to add I have a pair of boys now who have been out this afternoon with no problems, who I previously thought were extremely stable and the little boy has surprised me by trying to establish his dominance with his much older cage mate, it must be something in the air.

Wait and see what tommorrow morning brings.
 
thanks guys they have got 2 hideys in there but craig wont go in the hidey iv got in there now its normally were david sleeps. However, david has obviously changed his mind and wants to go in the other one. However if i put the pigloo in craig seems to like the pigloo.

David has just come out and is eating some food but craig has gone back into the hidey yikkkkeees i hope david doesnt kick off again. i want go bed but i feel like i cant. i can sense an atmosphere lol.

i think we have established who the dominant one is now.

ill get 2 of everything tomorrow and ill get them in the pen first thing in the morning to give them some space.
 
plan B - maybe a cardboard box that you can rip a piggie sized hole into both ends of nstead of a closed-ended pigloo - that way Craig can hide, but if David approaches in a mood he can't corner Craig as he'll just be able to dash out the backdoor!

m x
 
mugwump said:
plan B - maybe a cardboard box that you can rip a piggie sized hole into both ends of nstead of a closed-ended pigloo - that way Craig can hide, but if David approaches in a mood he can't corner Craig as he'll just be able to dash out the backdoor!

m x
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thats a good idea, i havent got a cardboard box though at the moment and they have just been scrappping again.

Iv cleaned the cage and changed the bedding to megasorb today. iv also not put hay on the floor because of Davids eye injury I'm wondering if this isnt helping.
 
That's a good idea, I wouldn't worry to much aslong, as Craig backs down it should be fine, but I would advise checking them ragually for bites, as they can missed under the fur, most common places behind ears, on rump and I had one on the side of a pig which isn't as common I don't think.

They will hopefully calm down... Spring is in the air or hormones :)).
 
Are they actually fighting? or just facing each other off?

Defensive tactics are in order, big pile of veggies to distract them. Then see how they are when their bellies are full.
 
slackalice2k said:
Are they actually fighting? or just facing each other off?

Defensive tactics are in order, big pile of veggies to distract them. Then see how they are when their bellies are full.
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I got the impression, they are just squaring up, I just ment to check for bite marks in future, as I missed them on my pig.
 
i have had to seperate them they davids been lunging at craig and craigs teeth are chattering like mad iv never heard a noise like it. Iv pulled craig out the cage, dont really know what to do now. i cant leave them both together like that, it looks like they are ready for eating eachother.
 
iv had to put craig back as iv now realised that i havent got two water bottles or two bowls. as soon as iv put craig back in his teeth are chattering again. iv turned the lights out and walked out. iv put david some hay on the floor which i felt reluctant to do because of his eye injury.

i cant sit up with them all night iv got to be up early tomorrow. so should i just leave them and hope for the best?

i
 
Craig David said:
i have had to seperate them they davids been lunging at craig and craigs teeth are chattering like mad iv never heard a noise like it. Iv pulled craig out the cage, dont really know what to do now. i cant leave them both together like that, it looks like they are ready for eating eachother.
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Can you put them both in the run with lots of veggies?!
 
JoanneG111 said:
Can you put them both in the run with lots of veggies?!
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do you think i should do that. iv turned all lights off just nipped to the loo, come back downstairs and they are both stood on the floor now. iv turned light off so its pitch black in there and i can just hear little squeaks now. should i give it ten more mins?

o this is awful.
 
i went to bed and left them to it. iv been dreaming about guinea pigs allnight lol.Came down this morning, they are acting ok (touch wood). I'm going to check them for cuts in a bit.
 
Glad to hear the night seems to have passed fairly uneventfully.
Touchwood it was just a flash in the pan and has all sorted itself out now :)

Hope it carries on as this morning has started and not as yesterday ended!

m x
 
If you haven't got room for 2 hideys in the cage then you could just have 2 chubes instead. This is what I did for my girls who were getting antsy in the cage together until i could move them into their c & c. It calmed everything down because they had the same and could get away from each other quickly if needed.
Good luck. x
 
thanks people for your support.

Iv noticed a little scab on craigs ear but its got all dry skin round it so I'm reluctant to think its from last night. What can i put on it to heal it? Could it be the start of a fungal grrrrr.

They are both in the pen now. I feel like a full time mum lol.
 
Have you tried the distraction techniques yet? Piles of veg and things to crawl into, through, under, lots of hay in boxes... anything else to focus on basically apart from trying to take each other's faces off:{

DO they scrap less in the run - in which case the C&C thing might resolve it if you can fingure a way of modifying their current living quarters... like maybe bringing the run indoors and laying a towel under it.. something like that...?

I do hope this passes :(

Fingers crossed

m x
 
when they had a scrap today they was in the run but i havent heard them scrap at all until last night happened. Iv been out and bought two of everything (bowls, water, hayrack) iv got a big chube i intervened last night with some carrots and they both sat eating the carrot so that works.

i think i will keep them in hte run until i get my cc cage, fingers crossed it works. i just want to tell them both off haha but they dont understnad.xx
 
Just keep trying to distract them as best as you can, and hopefully, things will die down again.

If you do not succeed, at least you have done your very, very best!

PS: The CCT (Cambridge Cavy Trust) has started recommending dog appeasing pheromones for scrappy boars. Perhaps that is worth looking into? You should be able to get them from your vets or over the internet. Do not go for cat ones; they are not good for guinea pigs.
 
Wiebke said:
Just keep trying to distract them as best as you can, and hopefully, things will die down again.

If you do not succeed, at least you have done your very, very best!

PS: The CCT (Cambridge Cavy Trust) has started recommending dog appeasing pheromones for scrappy boars. Perhaps that is worth looking into? You should be able to get them from your vets or over the internet. Do not go for cat ones; they are not good for guinea pigs.
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thanks wiebke ill look into this i think. ill try anything to stop them scrapping.do they generally stop fighting when they get older? or will this be a permanent thing?
 
iv just had a look on the pets at home website they have got the dog appeasing pheromone plug ins going to get on i think. 30 quid is a bit steep though isnt it for 4 weeks use x
 
it sounds to me that they are fighting whenever you put them back into the cage or run, could they just be showing whos dominent and everytime you put them into a different enviroment then they have to sort out who is boss again and mabe they are getting a little frustrated? x
 
I don't have any experience with boars myself, but my sister has two brothers and they still fight from time to time, they are 2. Their fighting has never drawn blood, it's just a lot of rumbling, mounting and nudging. She has a two level cage and locks it down when they get a bit out of hand, leaving a pig on each floor still able to smell each other and no one has to really move out and then come back if you know what I mean! She opens the door to the ramp and lets them together again after an hour or so. They make up and are best of friends again after this short break. I really don't know if what my sister does is the best solution, but it hasn't appeared to harm their relationship because aside from these occasional crazy spells they sleep and eat together like the best of friends. I do think separating them at any time should be the last resort, keeping them close is important because they do need time to sort this out between them.
 
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