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Urgent help needed - blood drawn

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Subsonica

Subsonica

Junior Guinea Pig
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My 2 boys have lived together fine since I got them in November, apart from the odd squabble as boys tend to do. We've just finished cleaning them out, and put them back in as we normally would, and the usual dominance arguments happen. Then they fought for the first time and both guinea pigs have been hurt. Fry has a gash under his chin and Hermes has blood coming from somewhere on his cheek (he has really thick fur so can't get a proper look).

I'm really stressed now, as I don't have the means to separate them into different cages, as my only other cage has my 2 girls in it. I'm sitting here covered in blood with Hermes in my lap, whilst Fry is with my other half downstairs. Can someone please give me some advice, I am at a complete loss. Thanks! 8...
 
I dont know much about guineas yet but i just wanted to say how frightening that must be for you.

hope someone can help soon and that your piggies get over their fight
 
hi, I'm really not that experiance with fighting (my two boars got on really well), but I hope someone helps you out xx
 
Hello I am sorry to say that once blood has been drawn it is very unlikely the boys will tolerate each other again. I would not put them together again.
 
Hi!

Please separate your boys asap. Sadly, boars will usually not go back with each other once they have been in a serious fight with bites and blood drawn. I am sorry, it is such a shock and it can leave you very upset when the big hormones strike.

If necessary, have the wounds seen by a vet. Disinfect them with some saline solution (1tsp of salt dissolved in 1 pint of boiled, cooled water) to prevent any infections or abscesses down the line.

If you feel that you want to give your boys a second chance; here are tips for reintroductions. But please plan on what to do if things don't work out.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38562
http://www.susieandpigs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/optionsmenu.htm
 
I have to agree, once blood is drawn it is highly unlikely that they will get along again. You say you have two girls too, are they close by, maybe the boys have caught the scent of the girls and this can but not always cause problems. Do you have any way of seperating their cage off?
 
I know they can't be put back together again, which is why I'm here for help.

Basically, I had 2 cages: 1 C&C cage that the girls were already living in when I got the boys, and the girls old ferplast 120 cage, which I was using as a temporary cage for them until we could build a 2nd cage on top of the girls one. Of course, the ferplast was disenfected and thoroughly cleaned to make sure there were no signs of the girls in there.

The idea was that we would turn the girls cage into 2 stacked 2x5 cages, by taking away the storage underneath it and the stupidly large kitchen/2nd level etc. We just finished dismantling our hard work today (the 5x1 kitchen area with hayloft and ramp etc) when this happened.

I am literally sitting here with one of them in my lap because I don't have any other way of separating them.
 
Have you got any grids left over from the C & C cage to make a small temporary cage for one of them until you can make a permanent one? Failing that if you have a plastic storage box that's fairly large I would pop some newspaper & hay into it for one of them, use a spare grid or two for a lid, or find something that will let plenty of air through to place on top for the time being until you can get a new cage. I am sorry what a shame that's happened, maybe one of them got a whiff of the girls?
 
Could you clean out and swap them into the C+C at all? Do you have more grids to alter it? So sorry that this has happened, it is stressful when fights occur. Maybe if you have a pet carrier you could put one of them in, not for hours of course, but until you have an action plan.
 
Have you got the C&C grids already?

You can always divide a 2x5 grid cage. Alternatively, a 2x2 grid fleece enclosure or even a cardboard box with some plastic at the bottom, a towel and a fleece on top, will do as temporary accommodation.

Or you can even use two grids to divide your ferplast, like I did when Ceri didn't accept new arrival Heulwen for a couple of days.
68cefbf8.jpg


Long term, you can either have both boys living side by side, or you could think about having them neutered and living with one of your girls each, depending on your girls' age.
 
This is the temporary pen I use when I take piggies with me to my MIL's:
82f92537.jpg


Plastic cupboard liner, an old beach towel and cheap fleece will do!
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I really appreciate it.

I feel like such a fool though, thinking about it, I had put a fleece blanket over the top of one end of the cage where the plastic upper level was so that one of them could still feel safe if they wanted to escape there. Thinking back, I may have used the blanket previously as a canopy over the girls hay loft. mallethead

I will use some grids to separate them for now until I can figure something out.
 
I made an in door run using 8 cooling racks and some cable ties for my girls whilst they are indoors, this could be a quick option you could create by going to Tesco/asda tonight. Cost me £9
Hope you work it out.

edit: infact thats what you can see in my icon.
 
Do you still have the bedding from cleaning the cage out? This sounds more stress induced aggression (fear aggression) rather than a full on falling out due to hormones and it would be worth a go at getting them back together.

If you can make the new set up smell familiar - using pee'd on fleeces/beds, hay trays that still smell of the both of them then you have a chance that they will still accept each other (and not the one that smells of girlies).

I'd have a quick go tonight and if they start getting aggressive at all split them again and try again in the morning - they should be calmer, a bit bored and lonely by then.

HTH

Suzy x
 
Thanks Suzy. I had a closer look at the battle wounds, and they actually seem more like scratches, so I think they probably caught each other with their claws when they had their little scuffle. It was probably just the sight of the blood that made me panic. I gave them a bit of time to cool off, took away the silly blanket that had covered the girls haybox (I still can't believe I did this without thinking), and put a bit of the old hay etc in. They've been back together for a couple of hours now, bit of the usual teeth chattering, but as always they calmed down when they got their veggie supper. They quite happily stood side by side to eat it, and are both now in the shelter chilling, albeit on opposite sides, but they've always done that.

We'll be keeping a close eye on them and carrying on with our cage plans, at least then we will be able to give them more personal space, and it will make it easier to just divide the cage if it comes to it, even if it's just till they pass this horrible adolescent stage (they're about 5-6 months).
 
Nope it's no good. They seemed fine when we went to bed, but we were woken by some loud banging downstairs, which could only be them fighting again. We went down to find them fronting up to each other, chins up, teeth chattering etc. Fry was taken out and we made a quick pen to put him in for the night.

I think my best option will be to rehome one of them and when the new cage is ready, maybe take the remaining boy dating to pick his own friend. Either that or have him neutered to go in with my girls, but I think the former will be easier to pull off as my girls are already bonded and I would hate to upset the balance.
 
I'm at my wits end now (see my post in the rescue/rehoming section). I've used grids to separate them in the ferplast cage, making sure that each side has pretty much the same in it, and they are still fronting up to each other, chattering teeth, and trying to chew each others noses through the grids. Still really worried about it, because Hermes is whining too so it's probably causing him a lot of stress. :(
 
Get a piece of cardboard & slot it between a doubled up grid & separate them that way, so they can't see or chew each other until you can rehouse them separately. I'm sorry they aren't getting on :( It may be worth bathing them together, then putting them into a spotlessly cleaned out cage afterwards for one last try, the bathing together is supposed to help them bond, it may be worth a try as a last resort though.
 
Give them at least a day or two to cool down without seeing each other (and being able to wind up each other) before trying again!

Bathe them (to wash off any excess smell of testosterone that could start them off again) and do so on neutral ground first without any hideys or toys they can get possessive over. A big pile of hay in the middle can help. According to Suzy, a humping toy may help to draw off fire.

I am glad that the wounds were not too serious on closer inspection, but don't rush things right now when tempers are frayed.
 
Thanks all for your help. We made the decision to rehome Fry so that both piggies can go on without being wound up and constantly on edge. He's going to live with a friend, so at least I know he will be cared for and loved. ;)
 
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