One male jumps out of C&C cage

[piggymimi]

I acquired two males of approximately a year old, that were said to be bonded. They are housed in a 2 x 5 kavee cage and should have plenty of personal space. There's 2 of everything, and they get run time in a pop-up on the floor every evening. Peter Porker, will rumblestrut and chase Tribble, until Tribble is surfing the wire walls on all 4's! 2 times, we found Tribble had jumped out of the cage entirely and it's on a stand so that had us worried. It's been a few weeks and he seems just fine thankfully. We put some fleece over the ends to prevent the jumping out and it has worked, but the intense chasing, chattering and strutting continues daily. Is there something we can do to limit this? We almost always end up going to collect Tribble and comfort him when he ends up hiding in a corner because of it. I did put a few grids in the middle to divide them, but both of them squeezed around the edges (I just set it in there "s" shaped on the floor) and they do act lile they want to be around wach other... Should we just let them go and clean up the occasional tuft of Tribble fur?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Can you tell us how long you have had them?
If piggies are moved to a new environment they go into a period of reestablishing their relationship. During that time it is normal to see an increase in dominance but it should settle as they have reaffirmed their bond, although a certain amount of dominance goes on throughout their whole lives. You cannot limit this.

However if it has been longer than two weeks and the intensity of the behaviour is beyond normal dominance it has possibly tipped into bullying. That means their bond is not a happy one and they are likely to need to be permanently separated. Even if they were bonded at the place you got them from, moving them to a new home to bring any issues they already had to the fore and cause a bond to fail. Plus in a private rehoming, not everybody is honest about their reasons for rehoming.
Relentless and constant chasing, rumbling etc can be a sign of bullying. The underpig can become withdrawn, lose weight (so increasing the routine weekly weight check and instead weigh daily to monitor hay intake) , and have had enough of being subjected to such behaviours.

In a dysfunctional bond, squeezing through the divider, being at the divider etc does not mean they want to be together - it can in fact be totally the opposite and is just a desire to mark territory and be able to get back to the other pig to continue the bullying behaviour.

You should separate them temporarily for a few days so you can assess Tribble’s behaviour. If he perks up and is happier when Peter Parker can’t get to him, then that is a sure sign their bond isn’t a happy one and the separation would sadly need to be made permanent.
You can try a completely neutral territory reintroduction after a few days if you aren’t sure of the situation. It will usually become obvious quite quickly if Tribble was happier to be apart from him.
You do not go by Peter Parker’s behaviour - if he is indeed doing the bullying then he is going to be upset by a separation because he is no longer able to carry out bullying.

Do note that if they do need to be permanently separated, a 2x5 cage split in half isn’t big enough for each piggy. Each piggy would need a cage of a 2x3 minimum.

Bonds In Trouble
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs

 

[fluffysal]

Welcome to the forum. Those names are absolutely my favourites! Please follow the advice given above, I hope they are still compatible. We would love to see pictures.

 

[piggieminder]

Hello welcome to the forum. Moving them to the play pen could be causing problems if they have a dysfunctional bond. Peter Parker is reasserting his dominance every time they are moved to the pen and then back into the cage. Good luck, I hope they settle and can stay together.

 

[piggymimi]

We got them from a local shop where they had been surrendered. We have had them for at least 2 months now. Tribble first snuck into Peters side, and we thought we fixed it, but the next day, Peter was on Tribbles side. We took out the divider because it Seemed to be causing more stress. We know that's not enough space for them each long term, but for short term it would have to work. I know it's not ok now, but in the 80s I had a single small female in a 20 gallon aquarium and she was fine. We didn't know so much about their needs back then. They never do sit next to each other. Maybe in the hay tray for a little while munching, but not very closely. They're both very picky about hay also and will not eat the stems ever. So much goes to waste! I'm going to try to attach pics.

Thank you for the responses so far..we will continue to keep an eye on them. Tribbles definitely weighs less, but he's a different type of piggy and it's hard to see if he's too skinny through the Tufts Peter is the smooth one with caramel on his noggin swirl.

 

[piggymimi]

We got them from a local shop where they had been surrendered. We have had them for at least 2 months now. Tribble first snuck into Peters side, and we thought we fixed it, but the next day, Peter was on Tribbles side. We took out the divider because it Seemed to be causing more stress. We know that's not enough space for them each long term, but for short term it would have to work. I know it's not ok now, but in the 80s I had a single small female in a 20 gallon aquarium and she was fine. We didn't know so much about their needs back then. They never do sit next to each other. Maybe in the hay tray for a little while munching, but not very closely. They're both very picky about hay also and will not eat the stems ever. So much goes to waste! I'm going to try to attach pics.

Thank you for the responses so far..we will continue to keep an eye on them. Tribbles definitely weighs less, but he's a different type of piggy and it's hard to see if he's too skinny through the Tufts Peter is the smooth one with caramel on his noggin swirl.

They were only that close together because it's good morning pellets and fresh hay time. As soon as I put down the pellets, the rumbles started (there are 2 dishes on opposite ends of the cage) and then I put down big chunks of Timothy hay, in 2 places also, and the slight chasing begins. They're eating and drinking, fine for now but it doesn't seem to last for more than a few hours.

 

[Piggies&buns]

It may not be a happy relationship if it is happening that often. You will need to read the guides and assess the situation.

Them not sitting close to each other actually doesn’t mean much - most piggies will even in happy relationships will not sit close to each other.

Please make sure you carry out the routine weekly weight checks as that is the only way to know how much hay is being consumed. Their physical size is deceptive and doesn’t tell you they are eating enough.
If a piggy is losing weight at each weekly or daily weight check then it is a situation which requires you to step in to prevent further loss.

Also do try the separation for a few days - it’s the only way to know if bullying is occurring.