I have 2 guinea pigs Male and male they are 7 months old and I decided to get a new one but there was only a female 2 months old baby but when we tried to introduce them to each other the big one started biting her and she was screaming like she was in pain. with the other one he was smelling her from the bottom. they are separated right now. but the other male is acting very weird. like he is biting the cage he never did this before. making weird sounds he never made before. is this normal?
my guinea pig started to act weird when he met the new baby guinea pig
- Thread starter selin
- Start date
I’m afraid you can never put a female piggy in the same cage as two boars - it will cause huge problems including pregnancy.
In fact when you have two boys you can never add another piggy at all (of either sex).
It’s also not recommended to bring a female piggy even into the same room as bonded boars as if two boars even smell a female then the boys can start fight with each other and break their bond.
He is biting the bars because he is now desperate to get to her - which he must never do.
Please keep the two boys together, provided they are still happy to remain together (adding the female can ruin the boys bond).
If the boys bond has been affected by the presence of the female, then they may also start to fight and fall out (hopefully they won’t but it is a risk now they’re in the presence of a female). If this happens then sadly the two boys will also have to be separated and live in separate cages
Please keep the female in a separate cage by herself and well away from your boys - ideally she now needs to be kept in a separate room so the boys cannot smell her.
You will need to get your female her own new female friend to live with.
You must make sure you bond your female and her new friend properly following neutral territory processes. This is the guide for how to bond her with another female
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
How long was she in the same cage as the boys?
(there would now be concerns she could become pregnant)
As I mentioned above, as you have a bonded pair of boys, you can not add any other piggies in the same cage with them - two boys need to remain just the two of them at all times.
Even if the new piggy you bought home was another male, you would still not have been able to add him into the cage with your current two boys. Trying to keep three boys together does not work and would also cause your boys to fight and fall out. Boars need to be kept in pairs only
Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
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Hi and welcome
Two boars with any number of sows is a big no no. Hopefully, your boar bond is not broken and the upset will die down again within a couple of days of you removing the little girl.
Sows are nonstop breeding machines; they come into season within hours of giving birth from 4 weeks of age until the day they die; boars start making babies for the rest of their lives from 3 weeks onwards.
The boars will most likely continue to fight and fall out with bloody bites over the right to mate. Without any care, you will end up with lots of fights and with an uncontrolled breeding mess if you just mis-sex one male baby and do not remove any male guinea pigs over 3 weeks of age.
More information in these links here:
- Adding More Guinea Pigs Or Merging Pairs – What Works And What Not?
- The rules for boars and sows in the same room are in chapter 3: A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
- Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Please keep your sow well away from your boars and find her another sow companion. Double check the genders on arrival. Illustrated Sexing Guide