2 males 2 females

[Lovelypigys]

Hello I was just wondering if two neutered males could be housed with two females in a 20x4 sq foot cage? My oldest male bully’s the youngest, the youngest has never gotten hurt but I want him to be happier. I am NOT allowed to buy a 5th, to put just one boy with the two girls and buy another.
And I really do not want to seperate the females, they don’t snuggle and the older one chases the youngest, but the young girl goes to the older one when she feels threatened.
Any suggestions? Thank you

 

[Piggies&buns]

No I'm afraid you can’t. If you were to try to put two males in with any females it would cause the boys to fully fight and that would be the end of their relationship. You can only ever have one neutered boar in the cage with sow(s).

Could you explain a bit more about what is happening with the boys and answer some other questions -

How old are the boys?
How big is their cage?
Do all hides have two exits?
Is there multiple hides?
Are their weights stable?
What behaviours are you seeing for you to think he is being bullied?

Bullying is not something to confuse with dominance. Dominance is entirely normal and something boar pairs will do - chasing, mounting, rumbling - it isn’t a problem.
Bullying is a set of sustained behaviours which will break their bond. The piggy who is being bullied may lose weight through never being allowed to eat, and can become withdrawn and depressed.
If you suspect actual bullying (and not normal dominance), then you need to do do a trial separation and see if the bullied piggy is happier to be away. If so, then their bond is broken and two boys can’t share a cage together again.

Not snuggling together is normal, most piggies won’t snuggle together. This does not mean there is a problem. My eldest pair of boars have never snuggled together, they never go in the same hide, but they are well bonded.

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Lovelypigys]

No I, afraid you can’t. If you were to try to put two males in with any females it would cause the boys to fully fight and that would be the end of their relationship. You can only ever have one neutered boar in the cage with sow(s).

Could you explain a bit more about what is happening with the boys and answer some other questions -

How old are the boys?
How big is their cage?
Do all hides have two exits?
Is there multiple hides?
Are their weights stable?

Bullying is not something to confuse with dominance. Dominance is entirely normal and something boar pairs will do - chasing, mounting, rumbling - it isn’t a problem.
Bullying is a set of sustained behaviours which will break their bond. The piggy who is being bullied may lose weight through never being allowed to eat, and can become withdrawn and depressed.
If you suspect actual bullying (and not normal dominance), then you need to do do a trial separation and see if the bullied piggy is happier to be away. If so, then their bond is broken and two boys can’t share a cage together again.

Not snuggling together is normal, most piggies won’t snuggle together. This does not mean there is a problem. My pair of eldest boars have never snuggled together, they never go in the same hide, but they are well bonded.

Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

Thank you, the oldest boy is 3 And the youngest is 1. The cage is 14sq ft. The hides do not have to exits but when they did they would not use them. There are 2 hides and 2 pouches that they like. Their weights are stable.

The oldest chases the youngest so much so that at times he’s to afraid to come out of his hiding spot to eat or drink.

What would be the best solution do you think?

 

[Piggies&buns]

How long have they been together?
Are they in the same room as the girls?
If so, Have they always been in the same room as the girls?

You say he chases ‘at times’ - It’s so important to know that chasing happens but if it is relentless then that’s different. ‘At times’ could be entirely normal.
If his weight is stable then he is eating enough, so not being chased away from food constantly.

Use the guides I linked in in my first reply to determine what is happening and perhaps if you are worried then carry out a trial separation to test their bond. The ‘bonds in trouble’ guide I linked in above explains how to do a trial separation for a few days and then a neutral territory reintroduction to allow them to make their decision about whether they want to be together.

this guide may also help - Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

If there is not actual bullying occurring to the point that their bond is breaking down, then you don’t need to do anything. Dominance and chasing is always going to happen, and as long as it remains within mild and normal dominance, then there is no concern.

Should it turn out their bond is problematic, then the two boys would need to live in separate cages. The boys cages need to be side by side so they can still interact with each other through the bars for companionship.
You either then have three separate cages to keep the girls together but the boys apart; or as the boys are neutered, then split the girls and have one of the boys in with each girl (although I note you don’t want to do that) to remain with two cages.