URGENT ! Guinea pigs fighting

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abcdefarah

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Hi everyone,

I am panicking! We have had our boys (Albie and Zeb) about 2 months now, they are 4 month old Peruvian boars. Albie we got a week earlier than Zeb - since then, they have been living harmoniously. There was a bit of mounting when we first got them but other than that, they have been pretty good. Neither of them have really seemed dominant as I think they were just happy to be reunited as brothers. I don’t know where it has come from but randomly tonight, Zeb started to mount Albie and chase him around. They are trying to nip each other and it looks quite violent. It has been going on for a good7-8 minutes now and I’m afraid one of them will draw blood. It is really horrible to watch and I’m not sure if it is asserting of dominance or they are fighting? What do I do?!

I have taken a video but it won’t let me attach unfortunately.

Thank you in advance xx
 
I’m not an expert but I’m sure someone will be along soon.
Meanwhile - don’t panic.
There is no need to worry unless blood is drawn.

This may be nothing more than teenage hormones kicking in, but there are forum members who can help you better.
 
VickiA said:
Please have a good read of these threads I am going to link
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

It sounds like they are hitting a hormonal spike
How big is their cage?

If you want to upload a video you will need to upload it to FB or YouTube and then share the link here (we can’t accept videos directly).
Click to expand...

- thank you for your reply! Here is the YouTube link. They are starting to calm down now but are still
VickiA said:
Please have a good read of these threads I am going to link
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble

It sounds like they are hitting a hormonal spike
How big is their cage?

If you want to upload a video you will need to upload it to FB or YouTube and then share the link here (we can’t accept videos directly).
Click to expand...

- here is the YouTube link, it seems to have calmed down now but I don’t want to risk them in the same cage overnight. Thank you so much for your reply, I appreciate it x
 
David Piggie Lover said:
As @VickiA says pls look at the threads I hope it's just boys sorting themselves out.
Pls keep a good check on them.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your reply David, here is a youtube link of them -https://youtu.be/lk11sXq6EFw

They seemed to have stopped now but I’m still wary of keeping them in the same cage tonight.
 
Please don’t separate them as with boars you can’t keep separating and reintroducing - if you separate then that’s it permanently. Unless they have a full blown fight (and that is not a fight in the video) then you need to leave them to work it out unless someone gets injured or they are unable to eat or sleep without being pestered. This is normal boar behaviour at this age. please read carefully all the links I have given you.
Please remove any houses that are a cause of contention, and anything that does not have 2 exits. That way no one can get trapped. Make houses out of cardboard boxes and cut 2 entrances in them.
 
abcdefarah said:
Thank you so much for your reply David, here is a youtube link of them -https://youtu.be/lk11sXq6EFw

They seemed to have stopped now but I’m still wary of keeping them in the same cage tonight.
Click to expand...
You welcome.
I've had this myself and trust me my life be better if all my piggies get along.
Sometimes they don't and not wanting to be alarmist they can really hurt each other.
Keep a towel and gloves at close quarters if required
 
Merab's Slave said:
I’m not an expert but I’m sure someone will be along soon.
Meanwhile - don’t panic.
There is no need to worry unless blood is drawn.

This may be nothing more than teenage hormones kicking in, but there are forum members who can help you better.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your reply! They appear to have stopped thank god
 
VickiA said:
Please don’t separate them as with boars you can’t keep separating and reintroducing - if you separate then that’s it permanently. Unless they have a full blown fight (and that is not a fight in the video) then you need to leave them to work it out unless someone gets injured or they are unable to eat or sleep without being pestered. This is normal boar behaviour at this age. please read carefully all the links I have given you.
Please remove any houses that are a cause of contention, and anything that does not have 2 exits. That way no one can get trapped. Make houses out of cardboard boxes and cut 2 entrances in them.
Click to expand...
Yes I agree. This is 100% not fighting. The white and black piggie is displaying dominance behaviours to the grey one, which is completely normal behaviour. Please do not separate as then you will split their bond. There looked to me to be absolutely zero agression between them and the grey one was actually following after his friend so he wants to be with him.
 
Julie M said:
Yes I agree. This is 100% not fighting. The white and black piggie is displaying dominance behaviours to the grey one, which is completely normal behaviour. Please do not separate as then you will split their bond. There looked to me to be absolutely zero agression between them and the grey one was actually following after his friend so he wants to be with him.
Click to expand...

I agree. It looked like typical teenage boy behaviour to me. It sounded noisy. Up there was no squeaking , no serious aggression, just lots of humping and chasing.
 
VickiA said:
I agree. It looked like typical teenage boy behaviour to me. It sounded noisy. Up there was no squeaking , no serious aggression, just lots of humping and chasing.
Click to expand...
Yep........Boys.:doh: we love them but they're rascals sometimes
 
abcdefarah said:
Thank you so much for your reply David, here is a youtube link of them -https://youtu.be/lk11sXq6EFw

They seemed to have stopped now but I’m still wary of keeping them in the same cage tonight.
Click to expand...
cant get the link to work but I'm know those who have i fully respect their views.
 
Julie M said:
Yes I agree. This is 100% not fighting. The white and black piggie is displaying dominance behaviours to the grey one, which is completely normal behaviour. Please do not separate as then you will split their bond. There looked to me to be absolutely zero agression between them and the grey one was actually following after his friend so he wants to be with him.
Click to expand...
Right ok, thank you. We are new to guinea pigs so have no idea. Do you think we should keep them in this pen over night so they can sort it between themselves, or put them back in their cage (which is considerably smaller?) thank you again x
 
Julie M said:
Yes I agree. This is 100% not fighting. The white and black piggie is displaying dominance behaviours to the grey one, which is completely normal behaviour. Please do not separate as then you will split their bond. There looked to me to be absolutely zero agression between them and the grey one was actually following after his friend so he wants to be with him.
Click to expand...

thats reassuring to hear! Thank you. Do you think we should leave them in this pen overnight to figure it out or put them back in their cage (which is considerably smaller)?
 
abcdefarah said:
Right ok, thank you. We are new to guinea pigs so have no idea. Do you think we should keep them in this pen over night so they can sort it between themselves, or put them back in their cage (which is considerably smaller?) thank you again x
Click to expand...
I'd probably keep them in the pen for now and look into getting them in a bigger set up as they will need it enable them to have their own space. I've got hay at each end of my cage. C&c cages are great or I've seen people use outdoor runs with corex in the bottom as a base to protect flooring etc.
 
Julie M said:
I'd probably keep them in the pen for now and look into getting them in a bigger set up as they will need it enable them to have their own space. I've got hay at each end of my cage. C&c cages are great or I've seen people use outdoor runs with corex in the bottom as a base to protect flooring etc.
Click to expand...

Great yes, we are looking to get a c&c cage when we move into our new house. At the moment their cage is 1 metre in length (I understand this is small for two piggies) but as I’m not working, they are in this pen for most of the day. Thank you again for your help! They have calmed down now and are sleeping, they must be tired after all of that 😂
 
You could actually use the pen as a cage. You could make it rectangular or square to fit what space you have. I know homebase sells corex in large sheets for about £4 albeit it's the 2mm one (not really thick but does the job) it's called "floor protection sheets" designed to protect flooring when decorating etc. You can use duct tape to join sheets together and score and fold them to make a tray.
 
Good suggestion above. Another thing you could do is to place the pen at the door of the cage so they’d have 24/7 access to it.

Unfortunately it’s not really known about bots needing more space than sows or mixed pairs. A 2x5 is the minimum c&c you’ll need. But for now either keep them in the pen permanently or put it round the cage somehow so they’ve access all the time.

As said, it seems the other one is kind of being submissive and letting himself be humped. A fight would look entirely different. It’s. Tough time they’re going through with raging hormones, but stick it out and hopefully it will subside.

PS they do have a hormone spike at 7 months and another before 14 months, so just be prepared for a Repeat.
 
Siikibam said:
Good suggestion above. Another thing you could do is to place the pen at the door of the cage so they’d have 24/7 access to it.

Unfortunately it’s not really known about bots needing more space than sows or mixed pairs. A 2x5 is the minimum c&c you’ll need. But for now either keep them in the pen permanently or put it round the cage somehow so they’ve access all the time.

As said, it seems the other one is kind of being submissive and letting himself be humped. A fight would look entirely different. It’s. Tough time they’re going through with raging hormones, but stick it out and hopefully it will subside.

PS they do have a hormone spike at 7 months and another before 14 months, so just be prepared for a Repeat.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for your reply. I have gone down this morning and they seem back to their normal selves, it was hard to watch for the first time! But at least now we know what to expect and know that they aren’t fighting. Thank you again
 
It is hard to watch. For them it’s normal but for us who don’t understand piggy speak, it can be a difficult thing to observe. I remember the first time it happened with my boys. We were eating dinner and there was incessant chasing and mounting/humping. Top-pig would rest a minute or two then be back at it. This went on for at least some hour! But they made it through because their personalities match, and only one wants to be top-pig.
 
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