MargaretB
Adult Guinea Pig
Some of you will know that Hamish & Dougal have been living separately, side by side since they had a fight and Hamish got a nasty abscess. Well, Hamish is all healed up and tonight I decided to put them both in the run and see what happens.
It started well. After Hamish gave Dougal a quick greeting, they settled down side by side to eat a pile of Timothy hay.
In the last few minutes there has been quite a bit of rumblestrutting, some following the leader, with Dougal being the leader and a couple of facing up to each other, where I have nearly stepped in, but it passed quickly.
Hamish doesn't seem to take no for an answer. He tries to mount Dougal, which Dougal doesn't mind once or twice, bu when he's had enough, he turns to face Hamish to tell him off, but Hamish doesn't really take the hint and it's only a few seconds before he's trying it on again.
I can understand how Dougal feels, Hamish is being annoying and I suspect this is what lead to their scuffle.
And now, they're happily eating hay again. I'm not tempted to put them back in the same cage at the moment.
What can people suggest? Should I keep on getting them out together regularly & see how it goes? Is that the right thing to do, or will they just get unhappy when separated again? Hamish particularly as Dougal seems quite chilled about being on his own.
It started well. After Hamish gave Dougal a quick greeting, they settled down side by side to eat a pile of Timothy hay.
In the last few minutes there has been quite a bit of rumblestrutting, some following the leader, with Dougal being the leader and a couple of facing up to each other, where I have nearly stepped in, but it passed quickly.
Hamish doesn't seem to take no for an answer. He tries to mount Dougal, which Dougal doesn't mind once or twice, bu when he's had enough, he turns to face Hamish to tell him off, but Hamish doesn't really take the hint and it's only a few seconds before he's trying it on again.
I can understand how Dougal feels, Hamish is being annoying and I suspect this is what lead to their scuffle.
And now, they're happily eating hay again. I'm not tempted to put them back in the same cage at the moment.
What can people suggest? Should I keep on getting them out together regularly & see how it goes? Is that the right thing to do, or will they just get unhappy when separated again? Hamish particularly as Dougal seems quite chilled about being on his own.
