Crazy noises and chasing and running up houses

[woodstock]

So I originally bought a tri colored piggy whos name is Woodstock. I made him a 5x4 cage as per some pictures I saw online. I lurked around some forums and read some people saying that guinea pigs are happier when they're with other guinea pigs and they can't be alone for so long and so on. I'm gone most of the day, and a fair amount of the night as well due to my profession, I bought him for company, but it didn't occur to me that he needs company as well, I did not know they were social creatures like that.

So after reading some posts I decided it would be best to buy him a friend (another male named El Numero Dos, END for short). I quarantined them as per suggestions on the forums for 3 weeks. I then put them together in a neutral area with two bowls of food.

END was content to social with Woodstock right away. he did not waste any time with food, he went to investigate asap. Woodstock however was not having any of it. He chattered his teeth, he made wheeny noises, he jumped up and down and other behaviours.

Then I needed to go on a trip, so I packed the two of them up in a cage with a metal mesh separator in between and left them with my vet for 10 days. I figured when I got back that they should be sufficiently use to each other's scents and presence.

I got back and put them together in the big 5x4 cage and the same behaviour ensued. END would chase Woodstock, Woodstock would make crazy noises and chatter his teeth and then END would give up and go in one of the hidey houses.

This has been going on for two weeks now, I have not decided to separate them until tonight. END chased woodstock for a solid 10 minutes culminating in Woodstock making some noises I've never heard before and chattering his teeth so loud you could hear it from every room in the house. Woodstock then ran up this wood dome thing I have which is like a bunch of pieces of wood held together through the middle with metal wire. He stayed at the top of that thing until I took END out of the cage. As soon as I did that he went back down and is peacefully resting.


I wanted to give them some time apart to see if they miss each other or cry for each other.

I'm really not sure what to do at this point and I know this post has been long but I wanted to give the full history. I don't want to give END away, but I can't keep him in a little cage either. It's not fair.

I did not see them physically attack each other or draw blood. They are both quite young as far as I can tell, they are quite small compared to pictures I see online and as far as I was told they should be in the neighborhood of 5-6 months old.


Is there anything I can do to make them get along? Or is it just not possible?

 

[Glynis]

OH gosh!!
Have you tried the bath trick? bathe them both and then dry them off and put in neutral area..........see what happens, if still chattering and carrying on.....it maybe that they like to live alone :{
I'd have another go with introducing again, but be ready with a tea towel to throw on them if they try to have a go at each other :{
By the way welcome to the forum Hi from us all in OZ (aka Australia)
This time of day you wont get the gang from UK on as they're all asleep........... just us aussies and people from US and a few sleepy heads maybe from UK.
I'm sure in the morning you'll get some more lovely advice.
Good luck and i do hope you stay around, its a very friendly place

 

[Wiebke]

If they both are about 5-6 months old, they are both in their "hormonal" puberty and need lots of space at the moment and EVERYTHING in twos. Make sure that your huts have two exits as well.

Some chasing, rumbling, humping and chattering is normal, even protracted, especially after they have been separated and have to start right back at square one. If there are no real fights with blood, it might be worth trying to tough it out.

But you might like to wait until somebody with more experience with boars than me comes along.

There is a sticky thread at the top of this section about boars that you might find useful.

 

[boureki]

Hi, welcome to the forum

The responses you described are quite normal for introductions. The problem you have is, if you move them around a lot (for example, you introduced them, then they stayed at your vet's soon after, then they were moved back into your home) they will have to go through the whole rigmarole of re-establishing the pecking order over and over again. Unlike dogs, guineas are senstive wee souls and don't like changes of environment as they are prey animals and as such, moves are likely to stress them out.

Try and leave them be for as long as you can and avoid moving them, make sure you have two over EVERYTHING, water bottles, food bowls, hidey holes etc. Did you mean your C&C cage was 5x4 panels size? If so that's a fantastic size and space should not be an issue for them.

When you have to leave for days, can you get someone in to look after them a couple of times a day until you return rather than sending them away regularly? Once they have got used to each other they may settle in quite nicely, but everytime they have their environment changed coupled with their hormonal age, it's a big pressure on them to keep challenging each other and settle in.

There is a sticky thread at the top of the Behaviour board which may help you identify the behaviours shown. I find that with my Pepe & Leo when they start to get the dominance challenges going on I seperate them with grid meshes in their C&C cage so they can still interact and see each other for a few hours it usually does the trick.

Best of luck!