Guinea Pigs Are Not Getting Along ;[

[hoopacoop]

Hello, lets start by introducing my situation. I got my first guinea pig/ first pet on January of 2015. He lived alone for a few months and got very comfortable with us. Later on in the year my family decided to go on vacation, so we wanted to get another guinea pig so the first guinea pig wouldn't be depressed/bored. (The two guinea pigs are male).2 months before we would go on vacation, I introduced the guinea pigs to each other, they got along just fine. The second guinea pig would literally always follow the first (dominate) guinea pig.(while we were on vacation we had someone that would feed them and clean the cage). When we got back, they were still alright, and would act like there normal self. The reason I had the mention this is because they were GREAT together, they would never fight. Now, they "fight" each time they are put together. The reason I say "fight", is because I don't know if its fighting or not. Example: The dominant one usually chases the other one and mounts him, which forces the other one to fight back. And the second guinea pig really does FIGHT. I had them out, just roaming while I watch them. They stopped and watched each other, the first guinea pig yawned while the white one jumped and attacked him. Right after that event, I knew they had to be seperated. The question I want to ask is, : Will it ever be possible for them to be back together? They used to be fine together.

I think It's because I got them while they were first "kids". Now that they are adults they may be fighting for dominance? I just want to know If there is a rehabilitation thing I can do or not.

Thanks, hoopacoop.

 

[Brittany Unrein]

How old exactly is each pig? I have four males and do they just fine. If they are rumblestrutting (walking/ swaying while rumbling) and circling and mounting is purely a dominance thing. If they fight and don't draw blood there is still hope. Around 3-4 months to a year piggies go through adolescence and this can cause a shift in dominance. My pigs display signs of dominance everyday but they also get along fine and even sleep and eat together. Please elaborate on what happens when they "fight".

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[MerryPip]

How old are they? It sounds a bit like they were ok when they were young and now they are hitting their hormonal teenage years things are getting a bit heated.

Mounting is a normal part of dominance behaviour and isn't itself something to worry about but actual aggression is. Here's a few links that might help you make more sense of their behaviour.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Boars: A guide to successful companionship.

They might learn to work it out but if they are at the point of injuring each other then it is unlikely to work long term. Guinea pig friendships are based on personality, just like with people so it can be tricky to find the right partner for someone, especially boys. Make sure you have as much space as possible for them and two of everything so they don't argue over the food/water/hidey etc. Once separated it gets much harder to reintroduce them and they may then be better off finding their own friend, either another boar or with a sow after being neutered.

I know rescues are not as common in lots of the US but that's one of the reasons we recommend boar dating, because then your guinea pig can take some time to meet prospective new partners before finding the one that suits best. It helps avoid situations like this but I know it's not always possible.

 

[hoopacoop]

First of all, thanks you both for responding. I don't know exactly how old they are, but I do know when I got them from the pet store (Big mistake). I got them from the petstore over one year ago, and they were still kids/babies. The way they fight is, they usually just do what you said. rumble strutting, swaying side to side, but at a certain point the more dominant one begins to yawn (and I know that is a sign of aggresion), At that point I usually seperate them because I know the strength of the younger guinea pig. And sometimes the more dominant one runs away? I'm not to sure what that is about (probably fear). There is a certain time of the day where I feed and get them togethter, they are usually distracted by food, until the food ends. should I just keep doing that and wait for results? thanks for the advice, the two of you . It helped alot.

If nothing is to happen, it will be alright because in the end, they do have a divider where they can sniff,see,and hear each other.

 

[MerryPip]

Separating and then putting them together for play or food will cause them more stress. That way, each time they meet they need to work out the dominance thing all over again so it is really stressful for them both and is likely to end in fights.

Either decide to try re-bonding them or decide to keep them separately and then stick to it. If you want to try re-introducing then this thread might help but from what you say it doesn't sound overly hopeful to me.
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

It sounds like it may be better being separate and at least being able to see and hear each other through the bars. Sometimes boars get to a 'can't live with you, can't live without you' type scenario where they love to chat through the bars but can't tolerate sharing a cage.

 

[hoopacoop]

Separating and then putting them together for play or food will cause them more stress. That way, each time they meet they need to work out the dominance thing all over again so it is really stressful for them both and is likely to end in fights.

Either decide to try re-bonding them or decide to keep them separately and then stick to it. If you want to try re-introducing then this thread might help but from what you say it doesn't sound overly hopeful to me.
Introducing And Re-introducing Guinea Pigs

It sounds like it may be better being separate and at least being able to see and hear each other through the bars. Sometimes boars get to a 'can't live with you, can't live without you' type scenario where they love to chat through the bars but can't tolerate sharing a cage.

thanks I will try the rebonding, but if that doesnt work they will be seperated. Thank you both for the advice and have a great rest of the day.

 

[hoopacoop]

One more thing before I think this thread is officially over is that the pigs usually bite the divider of the cage to get to eachother. Just wanted to mention that ;l

 

[Freela]

When you say you put them together, does that mean that you are separating them sometimes and putting them together sometimes? This will cause them to go through a dominance struggle each time they meet. Once you separate them, they pretty much start from scratch the next time. I think your best bet is to follow advice on the sticky for boar bonding and see how it goes and either let them work it out (however long it takes) or separate them if things turn ugly. Putting pigs together for 'play dates' is hard on them, they don't understand the concept of a visit like humans do and it's stressful to continually have to try to sort the hierarchy out over and over and over again.

 

[hoopacoop]

When you say you put them together, does that mean that you are separating them sometimes and putting them together sometimes? This will cause them to go through a dominance struggle each time they meet. Once you separate them, they pretty much start from scratch the next time. I think your best bet is to follow advice on the sticky for boar bonding and see how it goes and either let them work it out (however long it takes) or separate them if things turn ugly. Putting pigs together for 'play dates' is hard on them, they don't understand the concept of a visit like humans do and it's stressful to continually have to try to sort the hierarchy out over and over and over again.

thanks i'll update you guys in 2 weeks

 

[Wiebke]

One more thing before I think this thread is officially over is that the pigs usually bite the divider of the cage to get to eachother. Just wanted to mention that ;l

Boars are quite territorial; once you have separated for a while, they will generally prefer to have their own territory even though they happily interact with each other through the bars.
This link will hopefully give you all the necessary information: Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?