Broken bond! Advice please

[livvvvx_]

Hi.

So I have two pigs that I bought from a pet shop at 8 weeks old in June 2023. So I think they’re just coming up to about a year old.
2 days ago they had a BIG squabble which resulted in the quieter piggy being badly injured with a cut lip, and the other more confident piggy came out fine.
I have immediately separated them and they’re now in totally separate cages.
I spoke to Kavee recuse for advice and they have suggested to not put them in a split cage and instead put them in a two tier cage, as smelling and seeing eachother will cause them stress.
My more confident pig seems to be doing okay on his own, his usual self.
However my quieter pig (the injured) is definitely not as happy as he usually is, but I’m not sure if this is just because his lip must be abit sore. And maybe once it’s healed he will perk back up.

I’m basically asking what I should do in terms of a cage as I’ve seen lots of threads on here where people successfully keep pigs in the same cage with a mesh dividers. I am very concerned that my quieter pig will miss his brother tremendously.

I took him out to have a look at his lip and while I had him and went and sat by his brothers current cage, to see how they interacted through the bars. Confident pig didn’t seem interested and continued eating but quiet pig perked up and was reaching, wheeking, and looking for his brother.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CTWC]

I am by no means an expert however from my understanding they need to be able to see each other to get the companionship they need so a two storey cage will not provide the social interaction they need to thrive. Side by side grid cages would be my advice sorry they've fallen out its really sad when it happens although at around 12 months they could be having a final spike in their hormones

 

[Wiebke]

Hi.

So I have two pigs that I bought from a pet shop at 8 weeks old in June 2023. So I think they’re just coming up to about a year old.
2 days ago they had a BIG squabble which resulted in the quieter piggy being badly injured with a cut lip, and the other more confident piggy came out fine.
I have immediately separated them and they’re now in totally separate cages.
I spoke to Kavee recuse for advice and they have suggested to not put them in a split cage and instead put them in a two tier cage, as smelling and seeing eachother will cause them stress.
My more confident pig seems to be doing okay on his own, his usual self.
However my quieter pig (the injured) is definitely not as happy as he usually is, but I’m not sure if this is just because his lip must be abit sore. And maybe once it’s healed he will perk back up.

I’m basically asking what I should do in terms of a cage as I’ve seen lots of threads on here where people successfully keep pigs in the same cage with a mesh dividers. I am very concerned that my quieter pig will miss his brother tremendously.

I took him out to have a look at his lip and while I had him and went and sat by his brothers current cage, to see how they interacted through the bars. Confident pig didn’t seem interested and continued eating but quiet pig perked up and was reaching, wheeking, and looking for his brother.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi
I m sorry for the bad advice from Kavee; they don't have the depth of knowledge and long term owner experience unfortunately as they are a relatively new business outfit. This is outdated and no longer recommended.

Guinea pigs need full interaction through the bars because their communication and social interaction runs on several levels - via pheromones (scent), body language and vocalisation. Just vocalisation does not provide enough long term stimulation.

In our nearly 20 years of experience with dealing with fall-outs on a daily basis on this forum is that the overwhelming majority of fallen out boars are perfectly happy as direct neighbours. They are forming a 'can't life together but can't live apart' pair that still maintains a bond even though they aren't sharing a territory anymore and that will actually grieve for the loss of their mate. We have plenty of members with divided or adjoining cage set ups on this forum.

The injury to the mouth points at the uninjured boar being cornered with his mate ignoring any 'get out of my way' defensive lunging so the only way out is a frontal attack on the bully or a split second reaction to the aggressor making a move at the wrong moment. But it doesn't look like a real full on fighting bout.
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

The weeks around 8-10 months of age are another typical age where teenage boars go right up to the edge and wind each other up. Most pairs make it through this stage but occasionally things can sadly go haywire.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[livvvvx_]

Hi
I m sorry for the bad advice from Kavee; they don't have the depth of knowledge and long term owner experience unfortunately as they are a relatively new business outfit. This is outdated and no longer recommended.
Guinea pigs need full interaction through the bars because their communication and social interaction runs on several levels - via pheromones (scent), body language and vocalisation. Just vocalisation does not provide enough long term stimulation.

In our nearly 20 years of experience with dealing with fall-outs on a daily basis on this forum is that the overwhelming majority of fallen out boars are perfectly happy as direct neighbours. They are forming a 'can't life together but can't live apart' pair that still maintains a bond even though they aren't sharing a territory anymore and that will actually grieve for the loss of their mate. We have plenty of members with divided or adjoining cage set ups on this forum.

The injury to the mouth points at the uninjured boar being cornered with his mate ignoring any 'get out of my way' defensive lunging so the only way out is a frontal attack on the bully or a split second reaction to the aggressor making a move at the wrong moment.
" Biting" And What You Can Do (Biting, Tweaking, Nibbling and Nipping)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

The weeks around 8-10 months of age are another typical age where teenage boars go right up to the edge and wind each other up. Most pairs make it through this stage but occasionally things can sadly go haywire.
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

Thankyou for this advice, so in this case would you suggest a 6x2 c&c with a divider? I am just concerned that this leaves them with 3x2 each which is the minimum space, but that is all i can offer length wise

Due to it being hormonal, is it possible they could rebond in a neutral environment? or should I avoid attempting this?

 

[AidaB]

Our current 2 boy piggies live contentedly side by side, with a divide of grids.
They love to rumble at each other accross the divide and can often be seen having a snooze/power lie in next to the grids.

We have had this arrangement before too.
I hope it all works out for you.

Just seen your post, I think 2x3CC is the minimum for a single piggy. We have a wonky set up to fit our space and think our two have an equivalent of 2x4 CC.

 

[livvvvx_]

Our current 2 boy piggies live contentedly side by side, with a divide of grids.
They love to rumble at each other accross the divide and can often be seen having a snooze/power lie in next to the grids.

We have had this arrangement before too.
I hope it all works out for you.

Just seen your post, I think 2x3CC is the minimum for a single piggy. We have a wonky set up to fit our space and think our two have an equivalent of 2x4 CC.

Thankyou, i have measured my space again and i think (will have my partner check lol) and think i can do two 4x2s in an L shape so this will be much better for them