Scuffling

JayfeathersPets

JayfeathersPets

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I have to male guinea pigs. They have begun having scuffles when they chase each other around and sometimes lock heads. They live in a 2 by 4 c&c cage and free range my room during the day (but they are locked in at night). They have 2 hideouts, plenty of chews, one hay rack, one food bowl and one water dish. I don’t know what the fighting is over but it is definitely not the food bowl or water dish. What tends to happen is the more dominant one will corner the other and then the dominant one will chase the other. I honestly don’t know if I should leave them to establish dominance or not. I have also noticed they both are missing fur that I later find in the cage (so it is most likely torn off) and once the less dominant one had a little scratch just beneath his nose (it was fine). Please give me your advices on what to do! Thank you
 
This is boys trying to establish dominance I had it with 2 of my boys rico has a scare where rocky bit his lip I felt so bad for him and was so close to separating them but i cleaned the cage and kept them separated for a few hours and when I put them together they realized how much they need each other ino this isint the case for everyone but it was for me so try reintroducing it would be better to try than to just give up
 
RicoandRocky said:
This is boys trying to establish dominance I had it with 2 of my boys rico has a scare where rocky bit his lip I felt so bad for him and was so close to separating them but i cleaned the cage and kept them separated for a few hours and when I put them together they realized how much they need each other ino this isint the case for everyone but it was for me so try reintroducing it would be better to try than to just give up
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So should I keep them separated for a bit and then start the bonding process as if they had never met.
 
JayfeathersPets said:
So should I keep them separated for a bit and then start the bonding process as if they had never met.
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That's what I did reintroduced them in a extremely clean cage with some fresh veg on hidden around the cage to keep them occupied
 
Ok, thank you so much! I am gonna wait a few more hours to see if anybody else has something different to say but thank you!
 
How old are they?
How long have they been together?

If they are newly together, then it can take a lot longer than people think for them to actually establish their relationship.

If they are between 4 and 14 months of age, then they are in their teens. It’s a difficult time and added pressure comes from hormone spikes which make such tensions worse for periods of time. If they are compatible in character then they will hopefully be able to sort things out.

If the cornering and chasing becomes constant and it moves from dominance into bullying then their relationship may not be sustainable and permanently living apart could become necessary.
 
They are both 10 months and they have been together their whole life. When I separated them for a bit the less dominant one was immediately back to himself so I am not sure if their personalities are compatible.
 
JayfeathersPets said:
They are both 10 months and they have been together their whole life. When I separated them for a bit the less dominant one was immediately back to himself so I am not sure if their personalities are compatible.
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If the submissive piggy perks up when away, then you are likely looking at a dysfunctional relationship and a permanent separation.
10 months is a particularly difficult hormone spike, but being together this long doesn’t make them compatible. If they are going to have problems then it will likely before they are a year old.
If the submissive is struggling being with the dominant, then I’d separate now, leave them apart to give everybody chance to cool off, but able to communicate through bars for company. You can attempt a neutral territory reintroduction but if the submissive looks happier apart, then I think that is likely conclusive enough for a problem relationship
 
Thank you! Currently I am free ranging the submissive one in my room (which has all his needs and is piggy proofed) and he can go up to the cage when he wants. I have a lone female guinea pig so if I can get the money I might neuter and see if they can be bonded! Thank you so much for your help!
 
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