4 Pigs To 3, 1 Dominates And Fights The Other

[Greeny]

We originally had 2 guinea pigs, Punky and Scribbles. A cat managed to free Scribbles over night and it got him.

We decided to get 3 more piggies Benny, Flash and Biscuit. They were all bought young from the pet store and they seemed to be fine and get along mostly. Benny was having a health problem the vet wasn't able to diagnose (I will explain and ask for opinions in another thread) he eventually had to be humanely euphonized to spare his suffering. To add to the sad outcome Biscuit has started to become the dominant of the 3 and has taken a disliking to Punky although I have seen him snap at Flash a couple of times.

I was trying to move Punky back and get Biscuit into the pet carrier but in passing Biscuit attacked Punky and I ended up having biscuit hanging from a knuckle on the back of my hand for a couple of seconds while he wriggled with anger teeth fully inserted. From then on as we have found that Punky has some bites on him we have separated Biscuit from Punky and Flashy. They seem to get on well but the problem is Biscuit who doesn't have a pig to bond with.

Option 1, we have bought a hutch which we plan to put a mesh partician up so that he can still see the other 2 for company but he won't be able to interact fully. I know he gets lonely because when in the outdoor run when I go back out after a little while he runs around wheeking (not fully but in an unsettled way) for a minute then settles back in the carrier ready to go indoors and put near the other 2 again.

Option 2, we try bonding techniques to see if they help. This is only an option if we know that Punky's previous bites have healed.

Option 3, find another piggie that gets along with Biscuit although my girlfriend at the moment is against getting another piggy

Option 4, rehome biscuit

Could do with some advice and second opinions.

Thanks a lot

 

[piggyfan]

Hello there. With boars two work best and a trio is very unstable so it is no suprise there was a fall out. I would not try bonding them again as this is very unlikely to work. The best thing to do is keep Biscuit apart from the pair but he will need his own friend. With guinea pigs you cannot just buy one and hope it will get along with another. They need to be right for each other and this is best done through boar dating. This is by going to a recommended rescue and letting the piggy choose their own friend then bonding will be done under supervision. If you decide not to get Biscuit a friend then I would give him to a rescue as guinea pigs are social animals and need company of their own kind.