Do I Have To Separate?

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

Elizabeth Greer

New Born Pup
Joined
Feb 3, 2016
Messages
8
Reaction score
3
Points
95
Location
Yorkshire, UK
Hi there, I'm after advice please! I recently bought two Guinea pigs as my daughters first pets. I love G pigs and had 6 girl g pigs when I was younger. I went to a lady to buy 2 girls, as I believed boys would fight. She told me this was not the case, so I ended up coming away with two boys. She told me they were brothers, they may be, but they do look completely different ... One smooth haired, one frizzy and slightly bigger. Anyway, they were 8 weeks when we got them and they're now 12 weeks. Having read this forum, I guess it will come as no surprise that they are starting to fight. They are caged indoors, but in our cellar, so I don't see or hear them unless I'm down there. My daughters love them, they are very tame and are handled twice a day for cuddles. But when they are on the sofa, they start to fight if they enter each other's space, e.g. Snuggle in same towel, or in tube. They are becoming more aggressive to each other, raising up, showing teeth and going for each other. It's awful to watch. I've not seen them bite each other, or any marks on them. Although, I've never seen this happen in the cage, I can only assume it does? Do I need to separate them? I've bought the biggest cage I could, but don't have the space to have 2 cages, so it leaves me with a problem of what to do if they really don't like each other. The cage will also not be big enough for two of every thing once they get bigger. I feel very anxious about it all and wish I'd stuck to my guns and got girls, as pairing boys can work, but it's much more of a challenge and has a greater risk that it won't work. I see an article on here says that brothers won't work as a pair, so I'm panicking ... Any advice please!
 
I wouldn't separate unless there is blood drawn as once ou have separated, it is much, much harder to re-bond them.

SOme of these links might help a little but your boys are at the age where they are at their most hormonal, as teenagers and are throwing their weight around. It can take time for dominance to settle but making sure they have as much space as physically possible, and two of everything (hideys, food bowls, water bottles etc) can help avoid arguments and make sure no-one is excluded from eating etc.

Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.

Sometimes you just have to let them work it out but make sure you check them over regularly as if they aren't in sight most of the time injuries can get missed, so make sure you get them out for lap time and give them a good check over, particularly, heads, ears, around the rear end and on the back of the neck.

I'm sure some others will have different opinions...
 
Thank you. I've read all the links, but only after I'd bought the boars! I wish I'd researched it all before hand , but didn't think I needed to as I went to get girls! I guess I'll just have to hold my nerve. I just feel really disappointed that this experience has been so traumatic all because the lady said oh yes, boys get on great! Thanks for you advice X
 
Elizabeth Greer said:
Hi there, I'm after advice please! I recently bought two Guinea pigs as my daughters first pets. I love G pigs and had 6 girl g pigs when I was younger. I went to a lady to buy 2 girls, as I believed boys would fight. She told me this was not the case, so I ended up coming away with two boys. She told me they were brothers, they may be, but they do look completely different ... One smooth haired, one frizzy and slightly bigger. Anyway, they were 8 weeks when we got them and they're now 12 weeks. Having read this forum, I guess it will come as no surprise that they are starting to fight. They are caged indoors, but in our cellar, so I don't see or hear them unless I'm down there. My daughters love them, they are very tame and are handled twice a day for cuddles. But when they are on the sofa, they start to fight if they enter each other's space, e.g. Snuggle in same towel, or in tube. They are becoming more aggressive to each other, raising up, showing teeth and going for each other. It's awful to watch. I've not seen them bite each other, or any marks on them. Although, I've never seen this happen in the cage, I can only assume it does? Do I need to separate them? I've bought the biggest cage I could, but don't have the space to have 2 cages, so it leaves me with a problem of what to do if they really don't like each other. The cage will also not be big enough for two of every thing once they get bigger. I feel very anxious about it all and wish I'd stuck to my guns and got girls, as pairing boys can work, but it's much more of a challenge and has a greater risk that it won't work. I see an article on here says that brothers won't work as a pair, so I'm panicking ... Any advice please!
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome!

Could you please tell us how big your current cage is actually?
Cage Size Guide

It would also help us a lot if you please added your country, state/province or UK county to your details, so we can tailor any recommendations to what is actually doable for you so we can work out the best way forward. Click on your username on the top bar, then go to personal details and scroll down to location.

It is sadly a persistent breeder myth that litter brothers won't fight and that non-related boars will, so many boars get sold as "brothers". However, litter mates can be different breeds and sizes, so you cannot just go by looks. I have triplet girls who all a different combination of three breeds. Anyway, it is down to how dominant the two boars are and whether they will mesh or not as they grow up.
Any new territory can trigger upsets and hormonal boys can be very possessive.

At the moment, I would not yet separate, but you certainly need to keep you eye on them.

Is there a way that you can insert a mezzanine shelf of some sort into the cage to create more space and some way for the boys to get away from each other? Like a barbecue rack you can cable tie to the bars or a piece of wood you can have cut to size so it goes between the bars?
 
Elizabeth Greer said:
Thank you. I've read all the links, but only after I'd bought the boars! I wish I'd researched it all before hand , but didn't think I needed to as I went to get girls! I guess I'll just have to hold my nerve. I just feel really disappointed that this experience has been so traumatic all because the lady said oh yes, boys get on great! Thanks for you advice X
Click to expand...

Boys CAN get on great but unfortunately not always. Like people, successful relationships are based on personality and there is no guarantee that too siblings, or any other two piggies will definitely get on unless they are a good match character-wise. Similarly girls also like a compatible character for a friend. I have had boys for years and only experienced two major fall outs that needed separation: one was a trio - usually a bad idea, the other was a very dominant young male who just wound my more submissive male up to the point he couldn't take any more and had an almighty bust up. I have had many other pairings which have been brilliant but all have been done with a lot of thought and consideration for the piggies involved and picking personalities which work well together. Then you can have a really happy, stable pair of boys.

Unfortunately most people selling guinea pigs aren't interested in that and so we end up in situations when we go along to a store or wherever and pick any two out of the group that we fancy and then expect them to get along. There is a lot of bad advice around out there I'm afraid. We wouldn't pick our husband/wife by walking into a bar and walking back out with the first person that caught our eye and then live happily for 50 years in a tiny bed-sit without ever arguing so we shouldn't expect our guinea pigs to either :( Sadly this means there are a lot of single boars out there because 'boars will always fight so never keep them together' or because teenage hormones and incompatible personalities cause issues.

Hopefully your two boys can work out their differences but if things get really heated and you do need to separate then think carefully about your options after that.
 
The cage is 4ft by 2ft and I'm from the UK. The mezzanine level is a great idea, Thankyou ! I'll try this and I'll also start to make the cage more interesting. Do you think getting them out each day to handle them is making it worse?
 
Hello again, sorry I've now seen a scratch, with dry blood, on one of the boars nose. Does this mean they now need separating ? Thanks x
 
To be honest I don't know. If it was me, I wouldn't yet, I would check them for any other bites but if there was no more then keep a very close eye them. If anything else occurs aggression wise then I might consider separating but I know others may think differently....

It's sounding a little bit like these guys are not going to settle down :( but it might be worth giving them a little longer before making a decision. Once they are apart it gets much more difficult to try re-introducing them.
 
Oh no - this must really be stressing you out. I have 2 boys who came from the same litter - I was under the same misconception that because they are brothers that they would get on together - luckily I have not had any problems but when I realised my mistake I did as much as I could to make their hormonal months as easy for them as possible. I am again lucky that my boys are indoors and are able to freerange in the house so have loads of room - I think this is one of the most important things - as much space as you can give them so they can get away from each other. Do you have room in the cellar to give them floor time in a large pen so they can get out of the cage for a while. Could you rig something up that is collapsible so does not need to be there all the time, then you could place 2 of everything in there - hideys, bottles, bowls etc and most importantly a huge pile of distracting hay! Also, when having lap time I wouldn't try to cuddle both of them at the same time because you are forcing them to be close to eat other when they don't want to be. My boys do love each other but they aren't snuggly with each other and they do get cross if I make them stay close to each other.

With regards to the scratch on the nose - I would keep a very close eye on them but not separate yet as you cant be sure if the scratch was done by the other one and if it was intentional. I thought Toby had scratched Barney on the nose once and started panicking about having to separate but when I sat and watched them I discovered that Barney was bar-chewing and had done the damage himself.

Is there anyway you can bring the cage into the main part of the house so you can keep a closer eye on them?
 
Thankyou so much for this reply. I makes me feel so much calmer! I've now brought the cage into the dining room for a while, so i can keep a close eye on them and have decided, just to bite the bullet and get another cage and connect the two, so they are still together but have more space! It will mean there's not much room left in cellar, but I can see they need more space! I'll hold my nerve and hope they settle! Thanks for all responses xx
 
Elizabeth Greer said:
Thankyou so much for this reply. I makes me feel so much calmer! I've now brought the cage into the dining room for a while, so i can keep a close eye on them and have decided, just to bite the bullet and get another cage and connect the two, so they are still together but have more space! It will mean there's not much room left in cellar, but I can see they need more space! I'll hold my nerve and hope they settle! Thanks for all responses xx
Click to expand...

I would at the moment avoid anything that could stress them out even further. Sorry for all the upset; it is always a very anxious time when things are teetering on the edge. Swipe wounds are not yet considered serious enough to warrant a separation.

Thank you for adding your location and cage size. That is going to help us a lot in case things don't go right, as we can help you with local options, products and recommendations.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top