S
Sashe
Hi all,
I'm having a problem with my two male guinea pigs. I got them when they were babies in December last year. I was worried about having two males together from my experience with other rodents but was assured that as they were brothers this would not be a problem. They had some minor squabbles over the bed area/food bowl etc but most of the time got along really well. However, a couple of months ago I could hear a really loud squealing coming from their hutch in the back garden and noticed that one brother was mounting the other, who was getting really distressed. My partner and I took them out of the hutch and held them separately for a while, thinking that this might act as a cool-down period but when we put them back into the hutch the same thing happened again within seconds. I couldn't leave them together with one of them squealing so much and clearly in a lot of discomfort so I brought one inside and put him in an indoor cage overnight, thinking it might just be a one-off. But since then I have tried several times to put them back together, both in the home and on neutral territory and the same thing always happens. They are ok while distracted by a treat or for the first few minutes but then they both become very aggressive and circle eachother, chattering their teeth together and fighting. None has actually bitten the other yet but I'm certain that they could do some damage to one another if I wasn't there to stop it.
I have spoken to the vet about the situation and he suggested having them both castrated, as this problem only seems to have started since they came into maturity. Just wondered if anybody else had tried this and whether anyone has had any success with it in a similar situation. I really don't want to put my boys through the ordeal of surgery if it won't make any difference, especially with the risks of anaesthetics, but also they are social animals and I don't want them to be alone for the rest of their lives.
Should I try the castration thing or just accept the situation and house them separately but close to one another? Will the fact they have been separated for a while now make putting them back together harder?
Please help if you can as I don't know what to do
Thanks
Sashe x
I'm having a problem with my two male guinea pigs. I got them when they were babies in December last year. I was worried about having two males together from my experience with other rodents but was assured that as they were brothers this would not be a problem. They had some minor squabbles over the bed area/food bowl etc but most of the time got along really well. However, a couple of months ago I could hear a really loud squealing coming from their hutch in the back garden and noticed that one brother was mounting the other, who was getting really distressed. My partner and I took them out of the hutch and held them separately for a while, thinking that this might act as a cool-down period but when we put them back into the hutch the same thing happened again within seconds. I couldn't leave them together with one of them squealing so much and clearly in a lot of discomfort so I brought one inside and put him in an indoor cage overnight, thinking it might just be a one-off. But since then I have tried several times to put them back together, both in the home and on neutral territory and the same thing always happens. They are ok while distracted by a treat or for the first few minutes but then they both become very aggressive and circle eachother, chattering their teeth together and fighting. None has actually bitten the other yet but I'm certain that they could do some damage to one another if I wasn't there to stop it.
I have spoken to the vet about the situation and he suggested having them both castrated, as this problem only seems to have started since they came into maturity. Just wondered if anybody else had tried this and whether anyone has had any success with it in a similar situation. I really don't want to put my boys through the ordeal of surgery if it won't make any difference, especially with the risks of anaesthetics, but also they are social animals and I don't want them to be alone for the rest of their lives.
Should I try the castration thing or just accept the situation and house them separately but close to one another? Will the fact they have been separated for a while now make putting them back together harder?
Please help if you can as I don't know what to do
Thanks
Sashe x