Guinea pigs fighting

[JHale2]

Hello, this is my first time posting. I hope you are all staying safe out there.
We have started having issues with our two male pigs fighting. For a bit of context, they are both fairly young but also different ages. Sadly we lost our old statesmen Toulouse in November at the age of 6. At which point we bought Gilbert who is a baby Rex, who we had no issues bonding with out still living pig, Pal. Unfortunately, disaster struck and we lost Pal to cancer at the start of March. At this point we got Fred who is an Abyssinian.
We had no problems bonding the pair and they got along fine for about a months and a half. But now that Fred is full sized they have started fighting with aggressive chattering and lunging. We have seen no blood but it seems like a matter of time. They have a large playpen and two of everything.
The real kicker is, now they are separated they just scream for each other and bite the adjoining bars. But then when they are together they fight.
Could this be a temporary issue due to having two young males, one 3 months and the other 7 months. We don’t want to get rid of one of them but I also don’t want to be responsible for them hurting each other.

sorry for the long post but any help would be really appreciated!

Thanks

 

[RachelLaura2012]

Hello and welcome!

I’ll start off by saying I’m no where near as experienced as a lot of people on this forum, but I also have 2 boats who are desperate to be around each other but don’t get along when they are. My two constantly bite the bars of their cages and cry for each other, often sleeping next to each other through the bars! The second they’re together however, they chatter, lunge, and once drew blood. I keep my two separate in 3x3 + 1x2 cages (downstairs and upstairs respectively) next to each other and they seem perfectly fine. Personally I wouldn’t try to bond your pigs again, at least until they’re both older and have both gone through their troublesome months. If hormones are to blame, you might have more luck bonding them past the 1 year old mark?

In terms of giving one pig up, is there no way you can give them separate spaces to live in? My boys love perfectly healthy & happy, enriched lives living next door to each other. We originally got a 2nd pig because our 1st (Dwight) seemed lonely, and even though they don’t get along he (and his brother Jimmy) seems happier than ever. If you have the space, I’d recommend giving them separate spaces and trying to re-bond when their hormones have calmed.

Like I said at the start, I’m hardly an expert but these are questions I’ve had myself in the past so I hope I’ve helped a little - either way, I hope someone with more knowledge and experience can help you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

They are both teenagers (your youngest just coming into his teens) and this is the hardest time for piggies and their relationship. Your youngest will be experiencing the start of hormones levels rising.

A successful bond comes entirely down to character compatibility and the teens are the test of that and even though the introductions went fine, there is no guarantee they will come through their teens and be able to remain living together - if they argue over dominance and neither backs down to being submissive, then it won’t work between them.

As you have separated them, you can give them some time to cool down and attempt a neutral territory reintroduction. But it is a risk that may not be worth taking dependent upon their behaviour to this point - we can only go on your description but if you feel things are bad enough that it is only a matter of time, then it’s likely best not to even attempt it. If they lunge and are aggressive to each other upon reintroduction then their relationship won’t work and they must live permanently apart from now onwards.

They can live alongside each other in adjoining cages as that provides company for them both. You would need to see how they reacted to that though

I’ll add in some guides below which will give you some useful information on what is happening and where to go from here

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Bonds In Trouble
Cage Size Guide