Should I split my girls?

[guineauk]

Hi,

I've had my two female piggies for just over a month or so. Got them from a pet store. They were fine together at first, cuddling up and playing etc. But over the last few weeks they seem to progressively dislike eachother more. It started with teeth chattering whenever they'd go near each-other, then to chasing and cornering, and now they're taking little lunges at each-other, I haven't seen any blood yet but they certainly aren't happy. The problem is I can't actually decide who is the aggressor, both seem to dislike eachother's company equally and I've seen the behaviour from both of them. I did briefly consider that they were mis-sexed and they may be boars but I've had them resexed and they are definitely females.

They have a good sized grid-like cage for the pair of them. They have two separate hides, two separate water bottles and two separate food bowls/hay areas, so I just can't think of a reason they'd be not getting along, unless they just don't like eachother?

I could quite easily put a diver in and let them live side by side but in separate areas, but will they be happy if I do this?

 

[Tnoz]

They could well be having a strong season, plus piggies need time to settle into their new surroundings, it’s still new and some take longer than others, I hope they settle down and the good thing is that no blood has been drawn and no fur flying. Be patient I’m sure you will see an improvement

 

[Piggies&buns]

How old are they?
What size is their cage ? Sows need a minimum of a 120x60cm but 150x60cm is recommended
Do all hides have two exits? Any single exit houses can cause issues.

The first thing you need to determine is whether you are seeing just normal teenage dominance, sows in season which will cause such behaviours but will last for a short time or an actual fall out and dislike of each other. Sows may not actually fight and may never draw blood, they can instead be a bit more subtle about their dislikes.
Sows are in season every two weeks so seeing an increase in dominance during this time particularly if they are teenagers now but is not necessarily a reason to separate them.
Lunging is a defensive behaviour rather than aggressive.

So, if you’ve had them for a month, then they would have spent the first two weeks establishing their relationship, anyway and perhaps now they are having another season which may be causing them to be a bit cranky.

Of course, we can’t see them so can’t know, instead we can only give you the information you need to determine where their behaviours fall.

Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Dominance Behaviours In Guinea Pigs
Moody Guinea Pigs: Depression, Bullying, Aggression, Stress, Fear and Antisocial Behaviour

If you do determine that their bond is failing and they need to be separated then each piggy will need a cage od 120x60cm or 2x3 c&c cage as a minimum, so depending on the size of the cage you have now, then you may need to expand the cage before you can separate them.

 

[weepweeps]

I hope it’s just a strong season and they both calm down soon.

 

[Free Ranger]

Mine have generally muddled along until Zara arrived with Louise and she was a piggy who had very definite dislikes of George and later of Flora. There wasn't even any trying to live together - she just got stuck in straight away and I leaped to separate them. Sometimes things just don't work out! That's not to say your girls might not get on with a different piggy if you have the space....