Guinea pigs fight only when in playpen?

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TomJerry

TomJerry

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My two guinea pigs Tom and Jerry get on really well with each other in their hutch, but when they're outside in the playpen they chatter their teeth at each other and chase each other. The last time they were out I had to put my hand in front of Tom to stop him going for Jerry, which left me with mark, that was bleeding- he bit right through my jumper :| they are about 1 and a half years old and both male. I hope you guys can help because I feel so bad as I haven't had them in the run for a few days because I'm really worried about them fighting :(

them
 
This is probably down to the fact that the run is a new environment to them, and so they feel it's a place they have to fight for dominance over it.

I wouldn't put your hand in next time, the best thing to do would be to watch them and if any real biting and fights happen have a towel on hand to throw over them so you can separate without hurting yourself as they can cause alot of damage with those little nashers !
 
Thankyou both.. I'm going to keep putting them in there. They're ok for like the first 10 minutes then they start fighting :|. When they start fighting, should I put them back in their hutch or just leave them to it? (obviously I'll take them out if they start biting each other).. If they do that, should I seperate them?

I've heard about not splitting them up unless blood is drawn.. I'm just worried incase they continue fighting in the hutch, but when I've put them back before, after like, 15 minutes, they're ok again - I think it may just be them fighting over dominance with it being a new area..

Ah.. Boys will be boys rolleyes
 
The behaviour is typical dominance behaviour - the hierarchy needs to be re-established in new territory. Please leave them to it unless there is highly aggressive behviour or outright fights; if you separate straight away, they will never sort themselves out and will start right back in square one each time you put them back in there. As your boys are getting on in their hutch, there is really no great risk at all of them falling out in the pen, especially as they are both mature adults whose hormones have nicely settled down. But since you have never seen dominance behaviour, it looks much more threatening to you than it actually is!
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949
 
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