Justme19
New Born Pup
Hi,
I have 3 male Guinea pigs that are 10 months old(Gizmo, Rodger and Desmond). Desmond and Gizmo were never very close. Gizmo was the dominant pig from the beginning. Rodger is very submissive to both. There has always been rumblestrutting and dominance behaviour between Gizmo and Desmond but I let it go because that never got out of hand. Last week it got out of hand and escalated to a full on physical fight. Desmond, who had always stayed out of Gizmo's way, suddenly started standing up to him. Desmond started becoming the aggressive one. I separated them and discovered and wound on Desmond's back so I thought it best to separate them for a bit. I separated the cage into 2 and left them on their own sides(the cage is a c&c cage that measures 7x 3 grates with a 2x2 L-shaped section on the side). I left Rodger with Gizmo because Desmond would constantly harass Rodger to the point he started hiding in his house. They all seemed happy for a day or two, but then Desmond started biting the cage and pulling on the divider. I put up coroplast so they couldn't see each other and that helped for a couple of days. Desmond started chewing on the coroplast and trying to dig under the divider. A coupe, of days ago, I tried a bonding bath, put them into floor time and completely scrubbed down everything for their cage including the grates, houses, hay mangers and water bottles. Floor time was peaceful for about 30 mins then the chattering started. I left them be, but then a few mins later a full out fight again. Desmond ended up with another scratch on his back. They are in their separate sections again
Desmond wants to be with Rodger but when I do let just the 2 get together, Desmond is all over Rodger and it causes Gizmo and Rodger to get cranky to each other when Rodger comes back to his side. I'm assuming this is because Gizmo smells Desmond on Rodger.
Sorry that was really long, but here are my questions:
- It is likely once they get to be about 14 months old, it might be possible for en to get back together again? Or will they have been apart too long?
- I can't get another pig for Desmond but I hate seeing him so aggressively trying to get through the divider. Is there anything I can do to help him calm down? We play with him and he's fine but once he's back in the cage he goes back to trying to get to the other side.
My youngest son is so attached to Desmond I can't stomach the thought of telling him he has to go, but I'm not sure if I try and find a home for Gizmo, that Desmond and Rodger will actually get along. Gizmo and Rodger do really well together. Any advice would be very appreciated.
I have 3 male Guinea pigs that are 10 months old(Gizmo, Rodger and Desmond). Desmond and Gizmo were never very close. Gizmo was the dominant pig from the beginning. Rodger is very submissive to both. There has always been rumblestrutting and dominance behaviour between Gizmo and Desmond but I let it go because that never got out of hand. Last week it got out of hand and escalated to a full on physical fight. Desmond, who had always stayed out of Gizmo's way, suddenly started standing up to him. Desmond started becoming the aggressive one. I separated them and discovered and wound on Desmond's back so I thought it best to separate them for a bit. I separated the cage into 2 and left them on their own sides(the cage is a c&c cage that measures 7x 3 grates with a 2x2 L-shaped section on the side). I left Rodger with Gizmo because Desmond would constantly harass Rodger to the point he started hiding in his house. They all seemed happy for a day or two, but then Desmond started biting the cage and pulling on the divider. I put up coroplast so they couldn't see each other and that helped for a couple of days. Desmond started chewing on the coroplast and trying to dig under the divider. A coupe, of days ago, I tried a bonding bath, put them into floor time and completely scrubbed down everything for their cage including the grates, houses, hay mangers and water bottles. Floor time was peaceful for about 30 mins then the chattering started. I left them be, but then a few mins later a full out fight again. Desmond ended up with another scratch on his back. They are in their separate sections again
Desmond wants to be with Rodger but when I do let just the 2 get together, Desmond is all over Rodger and it causes Gizmo and Rodger to get cranky to each other when Rodger comes back to his side. I'm assuming this is because Gizmo smells Desmond on Rodger. Sorry that was really long, but here are my questions:
- It is likely once they get to be about 14 months old, it might be possible for en to get back together again? Or will they have been apart too long?
- I can't get another pig for Desmond but I hate seeing him so aggressively trying to get through the divider. Is there anything I can do to help him calm down? We play with him and he's fine but once he's back in the cage he goes back to trying to get to the other side.
My youngest son is so attached to Desmond I can't stomach the thought of telling him he has to go, but I'm not sure if I try and find a home for Gizmo, that Desmond and Rodger will actually get along. Gizmo and Rodger do really well together. Any advice would be very appreciated.
