Need Help With Introducing Two Males

[Alex Martin]

I have 2 male Guinea pigs, both from the same store and same cage but bought a week and a half apart. The smaller 10 month old ones name is shaggy and the bigggggg 1 year olds name is scooby. I got shaggy first and he acts like a moody teen but he's getting a lot nicer everyday so i figured I'd be nice and go buy one of his old cage mates from the pet store so he had a friend and the pet store people said I should be able to introduce them and they'd go right back to normal but instead there was a lottttt of loud teeth chattering and humping which I broke up early because I didn't realize that was normal but it got to the point where scooby was noticeably distraught which is the main reason I broke it up by letting scooby hide. Anyways I tried introducing them again last night and at first as soon as shaggy saw scooby they both started clicking and then shaggy went flying at him which I put the towel near them and shaggy went after the towel and then retreated and then for the next 2 hours or so they like took turns slowly creeping around the corner getting closer and closer to each other and still clicking their teeth like crazy but they wouldn't start clicking until the other one was a little closer then before but then whatever one was lying down would start rocking and all that and then the one approaching would take off and run to the other side of the room. I then put my one super soft blanket against the wall because I could see they were both getting really tired and then they had like a temporary truths or something where they were both lying on the blanket a foot away from each other without chattering or anything but they wouldn't take their eyes off each other. But then scooby got a little to curious and close and shaggy full out went at him again. So I'm just wondering with all this that happened, do you think they'll ever get along? Like if I house them separately but let them see each other during floor time until they get along peacefully or should I take the new one back and exchange it for the other cage mate shaggy had before because I really don't have the room to have a permanent second Guinea pig cage, I need them to be able to live together peacefully and I really don't wanna leave scooby on his own

 

[Wiebke]

I have 2 male Guinea pigs, both from the same store and same cage but bought a week and a half apart. The smaller 10 month old ones name is shaggy and the bigggggg 1 year olds name is scooby. I got shaggy first and he acts like a moody teen but he's getting a lot nicer everyday so i figured I'd be nice and go buy one of his old cage mates from the pet store so he had a friend and the pet store people said I should be able to introduce them and they'd go right back to normal but instead there was a lottttt of loud teeth chattering and humping which I broke up early because I didn't realize that was normal but it got to the point where scooby was noticeably distraught which is the main reason I broke it up by letting scooby hide. Anyways I tried introducing them again last night and at first as soon as shaggy saw scooby they both started clicking and then shaggy went flying at him which I put the towel near them and shaggy went after the towel and then retreated and then for the next 2 hours or so they like took turns slowly creeping around the corner getting closer and closer to each other and still clicking their teeth like crazy but they wouldn't start clicking until the other one was a little closer then before but then whatever one was lying down would start rocking and all that and then the one approaching would take off and run to the other side of the room. I then put my one super soft blanket against the wall because I could see they were both getting really tired and then they had like a temporary truths or something where they were both lying on the blanket a foot away from each other without chattering or anything but they wouldn't take their eyes off each other. But then scooby got a little to curious and close and shaggy full out went at him again. So I'm just wondering with all this that happened, do you think they'll ever get along? Like if I house them separately but let them see each other during floor time until they get along peacefully or should I take the new one back and exchange it for the other cage mate shaggy had before because I really don't have the room to have a permanent second Guinea pig cage, I need them to be able to live together peacefully and I really don't wanna leave scooby on his own

This is a difficult one to call. To be honest, I don't think that they will make a live-together pair. My feeling is that they have had had some serious confrontations before they came to you (lack of space?). They are both obviously still not quite out of the teenage hormones. That said, there seems to be a kind of bond and they are not quite crossing the line into an outright fight.
Boars: Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
Illustrated Bonding Behaviours And Dynamics

Your further options depend very much on where you are located. We have got members from all over the world, which is why we find it very helpful if you please added your country, state/province or UK county, so we can tailor any advice or recommendations, especially local ones to what is really relevant, available and possible where you are. Please click on your username at the top, then go to personal details and scroll down to location. Thank you!

I would however strongly advise against taking Scooby back to the store. At the best, he will be sold again only as strictly a single or at the worst, he will be destroyed.

How much space have you got for a cage maximally and could you extent upwards?

 

[Alex Martin]

When I first got shaggy they were all getting along so I was wondering if it was just them having hormone spikes and the big one at the store was clearly the alpha among them so my other thought was these two see an opportunity to finally be alpha male and are fighting it out for it. The other thing that confused me is everytime I put them back in their separate cages shaggy starts squeaking and whining like crazy and starts acting sad but when I put them in the cage with no bedding and towels just to see how they interacted they were actually being good except for whenever they met up in a tunnel or something then shaggy usually started getting upset. But I'm poor atm so right now I have like 3 totes all interconnected by tunnels equaling 10 sq ft, I could go up but then it would because nearly impossible to clean. Oh and I live in Erie, PA in the US

 

[Wiebke]

When I first got shaggy they were all getting along so I was wondering if it was just them having hormone spikes and the big one at the store was clearly the alpha among them so my other thought was these two see an opportunity to finally be alpha male and are fighting it out for it. The other thing that confused me is everytime I put them back in their separate cages shaggy starts squeaking and whining like crazy and starts acting sad but when I put them in the cage with no bedding and towels just to see how they interacted they were actually being good except for whenever they met up in a tunnel or something then shaggy usually started getting upset. But I'm poor atm so right now I have like 3 totes all interconnected by tunnels equaling 10 sq ft, I could go up but then it would because nearly impossible to clean. Oh and I live in Erie, PA in the US

The problem with tunnels is that they are flashpoints for trouble. The situation as far as I can see is a mixture of hormones and the inevitable dominance sort-out after separation. Have you looked on free-ads for cheap second-hand cages?

As to rescues, here is a list of recommended good standard non-kill guinea pig rescues for your state: Guinea Lynx :: US Guinea Pig Rescue and Shelter Organizations

 

[Alex Martin]

Yeah I couldn't find any so right now he has about 4 sq ft but I made a 8 sq ft cage on the floor made of blankets for him with all his stuff and just plan on letting him use the floor cage whenever I'm home which is a good part of the day while I try to see if I can get them to get along over the next month or two. Oh and they're both playing on the floor with pillows to separate them and they're both squeaking at each other nicely and shaggy is running around popcorning and scooby is doing head raises, is this a good thing and should I take out the pillow barrier? Because I was gonna wait till tomorrow to let them play on the floor together again when they're actually on neutral space