Hey! So me & my girlfriend rescued a guinea pig last year from a local SPCA. (His name is Felix). He was only 2 months old, and about a month after getting him we decided to get another. So we got Hammy, a 3 month old. We followed every step to introduce them, and only after a couple of days of figuring out their dominance, they were living together and have lived together in perfect harmony ever since. They decided Felix was the more dominant one, they loved each other but if any small (but almost playful) incident happened it was because of Felix. The worst it would get is just them chasing each other or growling (but not chattering teeth) for about 5 seconds then they'd move on. We thought of it as just brotherly love. They never bit each other, never got actually aggressive. It's been less than a year since we've had them, and every second has been perfect. So, we decided one more would complete our little family! We got a 3 month old named Blue. We knew it would be different because Hammy and Felix have A) bonded and known each other for so long and B) Blue is younger than them. So, we put them in a neutral space that has everything each of them need, and it was wonderful! Mild growling, a little bit of that butt sway thing, and Felix tried to mount him one or two times but only for a second. So we decided that was enough for a little while and put Hammy and Felix back in their own cage. Felix went CRAZY and started biting Hammy and ripped some of Hammy's hair out! they were full on brawling, teeth loudly chattering and they were like rolling in a ball fighting. So we separated them and now that they are in separate cages, Felix is biting onto the cage and shaking it so aggressively. I don't know what to do because i don't understand how they can live peacefully for so long but suddenly Felix is legitimately attacking Hammy. Meanwhile, Hammy and Blue are fine together, no aggression, they just go back and fourth trying to mount each other, which we think they just both are trying to show dominance, but not aggression. What do we do?
2 Male Guinea Pigs, 1 New Male! Help!
- Thread starter Alexis64
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Reenie
Adult Guinea Pig
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Oh dear. Unfortunately a trio of boars very rarely works and introducing another boar to an established pair can cause a rift in the existing bond. I think you need to separate Felix and keep him in a cage where he can still interact with the others. The bar biting will calm down over the next few days. You are fortunate in that the other two get on, as the worst case is when all three fall out and you end up with three singles. I will tag @Wiebke who is an expert in bonding in case I've missed anything. So sorry this has happened. This will talk you through bonding. Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
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Hi! I am very sorry. Please split Felix from the other two asap. Baby boar trios have a fall-out rate of around 90% once they hit the teenage months between 4-14 months old.
Please take the time to read this very detailed guide that talks you through all aspects and all options:
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
Okay thank you so much. We had Felix in a cage right next to Hammy and Blue. Hammy & blue are fine, just some humping here & there. But yesterday we decided to try to reintroduce Felix & Hammy (the original bonded pair) & now everything seems perfectly fine, we took them out to roam in the open room & all 3 of them behaved completely fine! I don’t know if it was just a crazy overwhelming experience for them or what but it seems okay.. should we still try to get them all to coexist or should we just settle to separating Felix?
Thank you. ! I really appreciate it. Everything seems to be okay.. we reintroduced them once Felix calmed down over night and they all seem perfectly fine! Nothing violent all day yet, the only thing is Hammy & Felix are both mounting Blue a lot & it’s making all of his hairs glued together because they are finishing the job if you get what I’m saying. I know that’s just them finding out a hierarchy but hopefully it ends soon! Should we still keep them together or still separate them?
The one thing you can't do is on and off with short meetings - that hugely destabilising. Guinea pigs DO NOT do play time; it is always bonding time.
If you want to keep them all together and risk it, then you do NOT separate again unless there is another hormone spike. Or you decide not to risk it. I can't make that decision for you as I am not there and not familiar with your piggies.
Okay, thank you for all of your help. They have all been together for 24 hours straight with no fighting at all. Like i said, just the humping and occasional swaying. I just hope the whole humping and "finishing" all over Blue stops soon.