HELP! They hate each other! :(

[Ninalb]

I recently adopted two new piggies and am overjoyed to have them in the family. However, after waiting for the quarantine period, I introduced them to my two older piggies and two of them started fighting with teeth! I've never introduced guinea pigs before and I was hoping for it to go well.

I've tried everything to get them to like each other. I've put their cages next to each other, I've tried feeding them together, having a neutral territory introduction, I've read so many help forums, and done repeated exposures, but it always ends up the same. Once they see each other, they start chattering loudly, yawning, head raising, and then eventually, they start fighting. I've managed to pull them apart with little to no injury, but one of them did bite my hand hard while I was separating them, so I know they mean business. I'm so surprised because my old piggies have never acted like this and would never bite me! They both seem to instigate and the other two pigs just stand by, looking uncomfortable when they start fighting.

I REALLY need them to get along together because I can only bring one carrier onto the plane and they all need to go into it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find some other way to get them home from college. I love them very much and just want them all to get along together so I can have one big pig family, my dream!

I'm afraid if I keep putting them together, they are only going to hate each other more with each bad interaction.

Please help me figure out how to fix my piggys' relationship! It is very important so I can fly with them home from college. I won't give up on them; I know I must be making mistakes that are preventing them from being friends because this is my first time. Any information would be great!


Thanks!

 

[Pantalaimon]

Unfortunately once they have decided they are really not going to get on, you are highly unlikely to be able to change their minds.
The same way some humans can just never be friends due to conflicting personalities, some guinea pigs will just never get on.

Are your existing pigs male or female? And the new ones?

If your four pigs are boars, then you are unlikely to have much success. Boar groups are rare and mostly only occur with huge amounts of space or older boars who have completely mellowed with age.

 

[Ninalb]

I have four females. Two pairs already bonded with each other. I'm wondering if they both have never been the submissive pig and don't want to give it up. Should I just let them fight it out so that they can determine which on is going to be on top? I keep pulling them away from each other before it escalates to the fighting so I feel like they never got the chance to figure it out for themselves

 

[Piggies&buns]

I have four females. Two pairs already bonded with each other. I'm wondering if they both have never been the submissive pig and don't want to give it up. Should I just let them fight it out so that they can determine which on is going to be on top? I keep pulling them away from each other before it escalates to the fighting so I feel like they never got the chance to figure it out for themselves

I'm afraid this bonding sounds like it has failed. Putting them together and forcing them to fight it out will not work - they will not change their minds if they don’t like each other. I’m afraid it sounds like you need to accept that they need to remain as two separate pairs permanently.
There are two dominant piggies (one in each pair) and neither sounds to be prepared to back down. That is quite a common situation when attempting to merge two pairs and why doing so can be problematic.

 

[Pantalaimon]

Something I missed in my original reply was that you are also unlikely to get four guinea pigs in one carrier anyway. If they have to spend more than an hour or so in the carrier they would be too cramped and that in itself would have the potential of causing conflict. Recently bonded groups or pairs may also struggle with being transported together as they will have slightly less tolerance of each other (and may still be sorting out the finer details of their hierarchy) than a group or pair that have been together for a while.