Need some advice.

[Sammy 24]

Hi, I'm Sam please don't rip me apart I really just need some help with my situation. I have two guinea pigs. Clover is 5 and Snickers is 4. I got Snickers after Clovers cage mate passed away. I introduced them and they seemed fine but at least once a month they will fight at night and I'll need to separate them till morning since I need can't sleep when they do that. I have a make shift cage connect to my main cage that they have access to 24/7 unless they are separate then one is in either cage but they can always see each other. My worry is that Clover isn't actually happier with a cage mate then if I had kept her alone. She doesn't leave her hide out super often and she doesn't seem interested in Snickers. When they do cross paths they do a slow walk thing. When they are separate Clover is out more and walks around more. Did I mess up by getting another guinea pig? I didn't want Clover to be lonely but I don't know if this is better. They don't fight super often but they don't seem fond of each other. It doesn't help that the make shift cage attachment was meant to be temporary but now it'll have to be more permanent. I absolutely adore both of them but I worry about them. I think they will be fine and then they'll fight and I'll have a ton of doubt again and I'm up all night worrying about it. And by fighting I mean chasing and nipping. No blood or hair pulling out.

Thanks.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Welcome to the forum

Nobody is going to rip you apart - we are friendly and supportive forum.

Can you give us some more information please:

How big is their cage for when they are together? (150x60cm is recommended for two sows)
Do all hides have two exits?
Do you have multiple of each resource in the cage?
Are their weights stable at each weekly weight check?
how long have they been together?

There are a few factors here which I will explain below.

You did not do the wrong thing in getting her a friend. Piggies should not be alone but it also doesn’t mean they can share a cage. This is when being side by side comes into play. Having interaction between the bars with another pig is better than never seeing another pig again.

It’s important to understand the difference between normal dominance and fighting.
Normal dominance is chasing, rumbling (which is the slow walk you mention), nipping. It is part of normal piggy society and is not of concern.
If they are displaying normal dominance then you should not separate them for that. Separation and reuniting repeatedly can actually be detrimental to them.
Sows come into season around every two weeks and during that time dominance will increase.

Fighting or bullying can, in sows, display as dominance behaviours BUT it goes too far. The distinction can be quite subtle so can be harder to spot in sows.
Hair pulling in sows is the equivalent of a boar fight which is immediately bond breaking - permanent separation.

You have said she is out of her hide more when they aren’t together.
This could be a very important piece of information.
Separation really should only be something you ever do once - you do it to determine the functionality of a bond and then use it to base the decision going forward; either permanently reunite or permanently separate.

To determine if bullying is occurring, then separating for a few days and monitoring the submissive piggy. If the submissive appears happier to be away, then that can mean they don’t want to be together.
After a few days apart you reunite them on neutral territory (never in the cage) and allow them to decide if they want to stay together. If things go well upon reuniting then they (after several hours in the neutral territory pen) can go back to the (cleaned out) cage together. If it doesn’t go well, then they need to stay permanently apart.

I’ve added some guides below which explain this all more fully

Bonds In Trouble
Sows: Behaviour and Female Health Problems (including mounting and ovarian cysts)

 

[Sammy 24]

.

 

[Sammy 24]

Welcome to the forum

Nobody is going to rip you apart - we are friendly and supportive forum.

Can you give us some more information please:

How big is their cage for when they are together? (150x60cm is recommended for two sows)
Do all hides have two exits?
Do you have multiple of each resource in the cage?
Are their weights stable at each weekly weight check?
how long have they been together?

There are a few factors here which I will explain below.

You did not do the wrong thing in getting her a friend. Piggies should not be alone but it also doesn’t mean they can share a cage. This is when being side by side comes into play. Having interaction between the bars with another pig is better than never seeing another pig again.

It’s important to understand the difference between normal dominance and fighting.
Normal dominance is chasing, rumbling (which is the slow walk you mention), nipping. It is part of normal piggy society and is not of concern.
If they are displaying normal dominance then you should not separate them for that. Separation and reuniting repeatedly can actually be detrimental to them.
Sows come into season around every two weeks and during that time dominance will increase.

Fighting or bullying can, in sows, display as dominance behaviours BUT it goes too far. The distinction can be quite subtle so can be harder to spot in sows.
Hair pulling in sows is the equivalent of a boar fight which is immediately bond breaking - permanent separation.

You have said she is out of her hide more when they aren’t together.
This could be a very important piece of information.
Separation really should only be something you ever do once - you do it to determine the functionality of a bond and then use it to base the decision going forward; either permanently reunite or permanently separate.

To determine if bullying is occurring, then separating for a few days and monitoring the submissive piggy. If the submissive appears happier to be away, then that can mean they don’t want to be together.
After a few days apart you reunite them on neutral territory (never in the cage) and allow them to decide if they want to stay together. If things go well upon reuniting then they (after several hours in the neutral territory pen) can go back to the (cleaned out) cage together. If it doesn’t go well, then they need to stay permanently apart.

I’ve added some guides below which explain this all more fully

Bonds In Trouble
Sows: Behaviour and Female Health Problems (including mounting and ovarian cysts)

Thanks for the reply. Their cage is two Midwest size cages put together and they have one doorway to get through each cage. I want to get them a cage that is bigger than a Midwest but a little smaller then what I have currently but I can't do that if I don't know if they can be together.

I have two of everything in each cage.

Most hides have one exit but if they seem to be fighting more then normal I put towels over the ends of the cage and take out the normal hides.

I try to keep them together since I know that's best when they fight but if it's at night then I do separate so I can sleep. But they can see each other the whole time.

Their weights are the same every week and they are both almost the exact same weigh as each other so one isn't really bigger than the other.

They have been together since November 6th 2024.

I've tried separating them for awhile and reintroducing them before. Clover seemed happier when Snickers was gone and even popcorned which I hadn't seen her do very often even with her old cage mate. The problem is when I try to reintroduce them they stay at opposite sides of the play area and don't interact unless there is food. Which is pretty much what they do normally in there cage.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Ok so clover seems happier away from snickers and when you put them together they are refusing to interact.
To me that sounds like it could well be a dysfunctional bond and that they may well be happier to be kept separate permanently.

If you have two midwests then I would block up the doorway between the two cages and let them live in a Midwest each side by side.
A Midwest is fine for a single pig

 

[A Guinea Pig]

Welcome to the forum

This is actually best case scenario for two guinea pigs that need to be separated since you already have two cages and two sets of everything.

 

[Sammy 24]

Welcome to the forum

This is actually best case scenario for two guinea pigs that need to be separated since you already have two cages and two sets of everything.

Ok so clover seems happier away from snickers and when you put them together they are refusing to interact.
To me that sounds like it could well be a dysfunctional bond and that they may well be happier to be kept separate permanently.

If you have two midwests then I would block up the doorway between the two cages and let them live in a Midwest each side by side.
A Midwest is fine for a single pig

Okay, thank you. My plan is to get a bigger and more permanent cage with a divider. I built the second Midwest with spare cage sides I had from an old cage and I'll get something more permanent and with plenty of space for both of them that's one piece so it's easier to move around. For now they will be fine in the current cages. Thank you for all your help!