Her Nibship
Teenage Guinea Pig
Last weekend I adopted 3 boys, probably about 6 months old. They are housed in a 47" x 26" two storey hutch and have enough bottles, bowls, hides, etc. for everyone.
Although they had come in to the rescue centre together and had been housed together there they have been very niggly with each other. There dominance behaviour hasn't reached severe or outright fighting. Dougal is the only one who has figured out how to get up the ramp. (It is no steeper than the ramp in our other piggies' hutch and I've lined it to give extra grip.) When he is upstairs he seems happy enough and Dylan and Zebedee get on harmoniously downstairs. However, I don't know if he can go down the ramp - I've never seen him do it and he's never been downstairs when I go in. I'm worried about them being separated for too long and then not being able to go back together, so every now and then I've been putting him back downstairs. When I do this there is chasing and a bit of teeth chattering and Dougal dashes back upstairs. I've also tried putting Dylan upstairs with Dougal but this doesn't seem to work either. Its almost as if Dougal has chosen to move upstairs for a quiet life. The three of them seem happy with this arrangement for now, but I'm concerned about Dougal becoming a lone - and lonely - boar further down the line.
Any suggestions on how to handle this situation VERY gratefully received!!!
Although they had come in to the rescue centre together and had been housed together there they have been very niggly with each other. There dominance behaviour hasn't reached severe or outright fighting. Dougal is the only one who has figured out how to get up the ramp. (It is no steeper than the ramp in our other piggies' hutch and I've lined it to give extra grip.) When he is upstairs he seems happy enough and Dylan and Zebedee get on harmoniously downstairs. However, I don't know if he can go down the ramp - I've never seen him do it and he's never been downstairs when I go in. I'm worried about them being separated for too long and then not being able to go back together, so every now and then I've been putting him back downstairs. When I do this there is chasing and a bit of teeth chattering and Dougal dashes back upstairs. I've also tried putting Dylan upstairs with Dougal but this doesn't seem to work either. Its almost as if Dougal has chosen to move upstairs for a quiet life. The three of them seem happy with this arrangement for now, but I'm concerned about Dougal becoming a lone - and lonely - boar further down the line.
Any suggestions on how to handle this situation VERY gratefully received!!!
