Sarahjones81
New Born Pup
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2016
- Messages
- 4
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
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Advice would be very much appreciated as I'm new to guinea pigs and am having some teething problems.
So this is my second week of being the proud owner of two adults males. I wanted to rehome unwanted pets so bought my boys from Gumtree.
I am told they are no more than a year old, they have been well fed but have not had much interaction, as the previous owner (who bought them for her son who quickly lost interest) had rottweilers and so had to keep the guinea pigs in an upstairs room. They came in a rabbit 100 cage (1 meter) and have never been let out of the cage. They are still in this while I'm waiting for my c&c 6 2 cage to be delivered as I think the cage is far too small for them both.
Here's my problems
1. The biggest dominant guinea pig seems to stop the other from coming out for food, he doesn't bite him but chases him back in and makes the chattering noise. So the smaller one spends most of his time in the bedding area. They do cuddle up together so dont appear to hate each other but the larger is in control of when the smaller can eat. He comes out a lot while the smaller is rarely out.
2. I've been putting my hands in the cage a lot and hand feeding veg to get them used to me and I've been having cuddles with each of them in turn every evening. The smaller can be a bit nippy but usually only if I put my hand in front of his mouth, and he sometimes throws his head up to push you off if you stroke him. They've been having floor time every evening in my living room which they have loved but the last 3 days I've built a very large 4 meter run on my patio so have been putting them out there during the day. I have plenty hiding places for them and food water etc but the trouble is the smaller won't come out at all, not even for food and when I brought him in tonight he was very skittish. He made the chattering sound at me when I picked him up and after I put him in his cage he became more than nippy, he was literally jumping and trying to spin to bite me when I tried to touch him. I fed him his veg on his own before putting the larger one back in the cage and they appear fine together cuddled up but the larger lays near the entrance and controls if the smaller can come out.
Have I done too much too soon? I'm worried the smaller one has become nasty and don't I know how to rectify the behaviour
Sorry for the long winded explanation, I'm hoping someone can help me give these little fellas the happy lives they deserve x
So this is my second week of being the proud owner of two adults males. I wanted to rehome unwanted pets so bought my boys from Gumtree.
I am told they are no more than a year old, they have been well fed but have not had much interaction, as the previous owner (who bought them for her son who quickly lost interest) had rottweilers and so had to keep the guinea pigs in an upstairs room. They came in a rabbit 100 cage (1 meter) and have never been let out of the cage. They are still in this while I'm waiting for my c&c 6 2 cage to be delivered as I think the cage is far too small for them both.
Here's my problems
1. The biggest dominant guinea pig seems to stop the other from coming out for food, he doesn't bite him but chases him back in and makes the chattering noise. So the smaller one spends most of his time in the bedding area. They do cuddle up together so dont appear to hate each other but the larger is in control of when the smaller can eat. He comes out a lot while the smaller is rarely out.
2. I've been putting my hands in the cage a lot and hand feeding veg to get them used to me and I've been having cuddles with each of them in turn every evening. The smaller can be a bit nippy but usually only if I put my hand in front of his mouth, and he sometimes throws his head up to push you off if you stroke him. They've been having floor time every evening in my living room which they have loved but the last 3 days I've built a very large 4 meter run on my patio so have been putting them out there during the day. I have plenty hiding places for them and food water etc but the trouble is the smaller won't come out at all, not even for food and when I brought him in tonight he was very skittish. He made the chattering sound at me when I picked him up and after I put him in his cage he became more than nippy, he was literally jumping and trying to spin to bite me when I tried to touch him. I fed him his veg on his own before putting the larger one back in the cage and they appear fine together cuddled up but the larger lays near the entrance and controls if the smaller can come out.
Have I done too much too soon? I'm worried the smaller one has become nasty and don't I know how to rectify the behaviour
Sorry for the long winded explanation, I'm hoping someone can help me give these little fellas the happy lives they deserve x
Hello and 
to the forum! You are doing all the right things with your two boys. Have they got two of everything in their cage? Two water bottles, hay racks, food bowls, etc.. Guinea pigs are not well known for biting people. It can be a sign that something is wrong, and he is in pain. I should get him along to your vet as soon as possible. As they are only just a year old, they are still subject to their hormones , so you will see dominance displays and rumble strutting. They are just sorting out their hierarchy. Leave them to it as long as they do not actually come to blows and draw blood. Then they will have to be separated. I hope everything turns out all right.
. Thanks for the advise, I will take him to the vet this week and hopefully get to the bottom of why he's suddenly turned nasty x
