Will They Work It Out?

[autumne]

About two weeks ago, I bought 2 guinea pigs, Parker and Joey. They seemed to be doing fine, but sadly, Parker passed away soon. I purchased 2 more recently -Parker II and Diggie- and I'm having trouble telling if they are getting along with Joey. They have had a lot of floor time and they are coming up to each other and chatting and running around but they kept coming back to each other and nothing aggressive occured. When I put them back in the cage, Joey starts purring/growling and chasing the other two around. Diggie will occasionally snip and fight back but then they will all stop and play. I'm very confused and I really want them to become brothers but I don't want to put any of them to harm. Please help, I'm willing to answer any questions.

 

[Lady Kelly]

Unfortunately it is highly rare that boar trios will work out in the long run. If you are lucky it will, semi lucky you will end up with a pair and a solo but worst case scenario you could end up with three single males who will not live together. I recommend having a good read through our behaviour and bonding guide. This can be found in the guinea pig guides in the top bar. This should allow you to identify normal dominance behaviour and aggression so you know if and when to separate

 

[Piggy mum]

My 3 boys got along fine until I moved house, then one of them declared war on another and started biting and drawing blood. I now have a pair of boys and a solo boy. The solo boy has access to the others through bars and it seems to work well. Fingers crossed for you that you can find a solution.

 

[Cuddles With Cavies]

As others have said, trios of boys rarely work out so it may be an idea to think about keeping them as a pair and a solo or getting one more boy and having two pairs.

Have you made sure the cage has been completely cleaned and disinfected to remove the smells of Joey and Parker? If not, Diggie may be feeling very insecure that his in somebody else’s territory and feel the need to assert his dominance more. This may be why they get along find when they’re out of the cage and on neutral ground but not inside the cage.