My Male Guinea Pigs Are Fighting

[Rachael Taylor]

I've had my male guinea pig Milo for around a year and he had been a very non agressive guinea pig, even when I introduced him to his new friend Maisie around 5 months after getting him (Milo was already desexed when I introduced him to Maisie). It turned out that the person who sold me Maisie had tricked me into buying a pregnant guinea pig. She ended up having one daughter and two sons. After 3 weeks of them being together, I put the two boys with Milo (Alfie and Archie) and kept the girl (Annie) with Maisie. Milo get along really well with the two boys, but now that they've hit the four month mark and Milo a little over a year, they got into a bit of a fight while I wasn't home and Milo and Archie ended up having their ears a little torn. I put them all in the living room to keep and eye on them, I put Milo in the hutch with the girls, as he has always gotten along really well with them, and I kept the brothers in another hutch next to it with a blanket in between so that they can't see eachother. I tried reintroducing them again a day after the fight but as soon as I put Milo in there with them he started trying to fight with them and I had to intervene by putting my hand in between them and ended up having my hand bitten really hard by Milo (it'll likely leave scarring). Is there any way that I can have the boys all together ever again or is this behavior never going to stop? Milo seems to be the only agressive one when they're put together, the brothers get along fine.

 

[Wiebke]

I've had my male guinea pig Milo for around a year and he had been a very non agressive guinea pig, even when I introduced him to his new friend Maisie around 5 months after getting him (Milo was already desexed when I introduced him to Maisie). It turned out that the person who sold me Maisie had tricked me into buying a pregnant guinea pig. She ended up having one daughter and two sons. After 3 weeks of them being together, I put the two boys with Milo (Alfie and Archie) and kept the girl (Annie) with Maisie. Milo get along really well with the two boys, but now that they've hit the four month mark and Milo a little over a year, they got into a bit of a fight while I wasn't home and Milo and Archie ended up having their ears a little torn. I put them all in the living room to keep and eye on them, I put Milo in the hutch with the girls, as he has always gotten along really well with them, and I kept the brothers in another hutch next to it with a blanket in between so that they can't see eachother. I tried reintroducing them again a day after the fight but as soon as I put Milo in there with them he started trying to fight with them and I had to intervene by putting my hand in between them and ended up having my hand bitten really hard by Milo (it'll likely leave scarring). Is there any way that I can have the boys all together ever again or is this behavior never going to stop? Milo seems to be the only agressive one when they're put together, the brothers get along fine.

Hi! Sub-adult boar trios usually don't work out; they have a fall-out rate of around 90%. As your two boys are getting, I would keep them together and put Milo with the girls permanently. Milo has done a good job giving the boys guidance while they were young. it has also helped you to figure out which two boys go together best, but now is the time to move on to the next stage. Thankfully, you already have got that set up.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?