My GuineaPig smell tooooo bad after staying together

[JIn1234567]

Hi guys, I got two male guinea pigs. When I put them in one cage together, the black one smell soooooo bad and the cage smell soooo bad too. But the white one is ok. Also the white one tries to ride on it, but they did not fight. However if I separate them, the black one smells normal. Should I keep them together or is the black one has some health issue?

 

[Wiebke]

Hi guys, I got two male guinea pigs. When I put them in one cage together, the black one smell soooooo bad and the cage smell soooo bad too. But the white one is ok. Also the white one tries to ride on it, but they did not fight. However if I separate them, the black one smells normal. Should I keep them together or is the black one has some health issue?

Hi

Please do not separate and sit it out. Boars can crank out loads of testosterone if they get excited (even neutered boars can do it when meeting the girls) as it comes with the pee as well. The stinkiest age is when they are teenagers because that is then their hormone output is highest. Ideally you conduct any bonding in an area you can easily wash down and air afterwards - kitchen or bathroom often work well.

Every single time you separate boars, they have to restart the whole complex bonding process right back in square one. It is very frustrating for them.

Please double-check the gender before putting any piggies together (mis-sexing is sadly very common) and follow the the very detailed step-by-step bonding advice in this guide here: Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics

A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars

 

[Deleted member 151212]

Probably either their scent glands or a dirty cage in general. Make sure that the cage is big enough for two Guinea pigs. They might be fighting over territory. Keep an eye on them, but it’s probably fine. If this continues for more than a week, buy another cage and put the two cages next to each other so they can talk to each other.