Suddenly started fighting...

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mysteriousdave

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Hi all,

Sherlock and Watson are about 7 - 8 months old, and occasionally Watson has has a bit of a rumblestrut at Sherlock, who doesn't normally react much.

However yesterday all of a sudden they've both started squeaking and chattering at each other, as well as rumblestrutting and baring their teeth. Eating breakfast today they aren't themselves, and both won't go near the food bowl at the same time without going mad.

They had a bit of a fight yesterday, and Sherlock pulled some hair from Watson.

Is this normal for young males, or is it likely to need speration? mallethead
 
It is normal for young boars to have some little fighting, this link will help you determine if it's serious or not.

http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

They may be in there teenage years, and it's common for boys to try and rearrange dominance, i think they can also be effected by the time of year that it is, due to naturally mating with females etc.
 
Hi! It is not at all uncommon between boars at that age; they go through a stroppy hormonal phase between 4 months until they their bodies settle down as mature adults between 12-15 months old. Often the weeks between 8-10 months old are the toughest.

Check both boys regularly for scabs or bite marks, but with good luck they will make it (the majority of boar pairs actually does). Only separate if there have been bloody fights.

In addition, you may find our boar guide helpful, as it gives tips on how what you can do to minimise the risks to some extent. Ultimately, it is down to whether your boys are character compatible or not.
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28949

Best of luck!
 
mysteriousdave said:
Hi all,

Sherlock and Watson are about 7 - 8 months old, and occasionally Watson has has a bit of a rumblestrut at Sherlock, who doesn't normally react much.

However yesterday all of a sudden they've both started squeaking and chattering at each other, as well as rumblestrutting and baring their teeth. Eating breakfast today they aren't themselves, and both won't go near the food bowl at the same time without going mad.

They had a bit of a fight yesterday, and Sherlock pulled some hair from Watson.

Is this normal for young males, or is it likely to need speration? mallethead
Click to expand...

Mine are the same age and done the same since Friday. Little tinkers.
 
Ah thanks everyone. They seem to have calmed down a litte - just very unsual for them. Going to give them a bath later and see if that helps. Fingers crossed its just a phase.
 
When my 2 males were together they fought all the time and the cuts were nasty, for there own safety we had to get them neutered and this did help calm things down somewhat...good luck!
 
Spencer said:
When my 2 males were together they fought all the time and the cuts were nasty, for there own safety we had to get them neutered and this did help calm things down somewhat...good luck!
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Interesting - as there seems to be conflicting views on whether neutering actually helps.

We've discovered this afternoon that they both have lice, so we've given them a bath in lice shampoo and cleaned and rearranged their house. Hopefully when they've finished drying in a bit they might be a bit more happy!
 
Hi, sorry to hear your boys are fighting. It must be worrying for you. In your first post you mention the food bowl. Do you only have 1? If so, it is advisable to have 2 bowls (as well as 2 water bottles, 2 hideys etc). This may help with the fighting and ensures both boys have access to food, water and somewhere to get away from each other.
Helen x
 
My boys have two of everything and they seem to have divided the cage into one side for each. They will play together and eat together when they want to, but when one starts rumbling and chatting the other goes to the other side of the cage until they both calm down.
 
4littlepiggies said:
Hi, sorry to hear your boys are fighting. It must be worrying for you. In your first post you mention the food bowl. Do you only have 1? If so, it is advisable to have 2 bowls (as well as 2 water bottles, 2 hideys etc). This may help with the fighting and ensures both boys have access to food, water and somewhere to get away from each other.
Helen x
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We've only got 1 food bowl and 1 bottle, but 3 hay racks in there.

They're back in the cage now, and after about 10 minutes started chattering at each other again.

I don't know whether to leave it another day or 2 to see if it settles down...?
 
As an update the boys are still grumbling and chattering at each other. They don't seem to be having major fights (at the weekend Sherlock got a little scratch on his nose but nothing since).

They seem to each have chosen 1 end of the cage, and I've got 2 of everything in there now. However when 1 goes down the other end the other gets quite upset and starts with the rumblestrutting etc.

Obviously I know there's no set time limit, but is it kinder to separate at this stage, or keep them together unless it escalates? Sadly it takes some of the joy out of owning them at the moment as they are so grumpy (I got a nip for the first time this morning). I'd rather not separate, but worried that it's mean leaving them together long term...
 
Giving the boys as much space as you can, with two of everything spaced apart so there's no bullying to prevent eating or drinking will help.

I would leave the boys in their hutch/cage for the time being and not move them for a few days. This will allow them to settle with each other without the stress of being moved and possibly having dominance issues over a new space. Each time they are transferred somewhere different they can start up again, so allowing them time to cement the bond again should help.

This time of year, coupled with their ages can lead to the fall outs you've seen. Even if they do need to be separated for the time being (if the fighting escalates again) this does not necessarily mean they cannot live together again once they mature a bit more.

HTH

Suzy x
 
So I made the boys a nice new C&C Cage at the weekend, and moved them in on Saturday in the hope the extra room would calm them down a bit! They were still grumblin at each other a bit but seemed ok.

Unfortunately as I went to cover them last night Sherlock gave Watson a pretty nasty scratch across the side of the face. Sherlock has had these on him before, but not as bad as this. It was fairly deep and there was a bit of blood, with Watson visibly upset. They were still chattering at each other so I put their houses back to back down the middle so the cage was split in half overnight. I've left it like that whilst I'm at work to give them some time out and space for Watsons face to heal a bit.

When I get in I was going to put some grids down the middle and move their houses back to their normal places so they can see each other, and see what the reaction is. At this stage would people advise to keep them separated for a while? I'd rather not, and they don't have as much room with the cage split, but it was a pretty nasty cut.

I'm hoping even if they have to be split at the moment they might be able to get along a bit better when they're out of their really boisterous stage... :(
 
I really feel for you here, as I'm having exactly the same issues and have been since April.

My boys started fighting fighting when Jamie (youngest) reached his hormonal stage and was challenging Gino (older) for dominance. For the most part I think it was also to do with the fact that because Jamie kept challenging, Gino kept humping him and Jamie just got fed up with it and lashed out.

They have been living separately (cage divided in half) since April. I have tried to re-bond them 3 times now doing everything I am supposed to, as per tips and advice from more experienced members. I recently built a 5x2 C&C, but again within hours of putting them back together the aggression starts and I have to separate them because I'm scared they will hurt each other.

The strange thing is, when I take them out of a cage environment and put them on the grass or in the pen in the kitchen, the level of aggression drops to a "safe" level where they can stay together for around 5-6 hours. Jamie popcorns his little bum off because hes so happy to be back with Gino and harmony is restored. ?/ When Jamie rumbles round Gino in this environment he pretty much ignores him, so Jamie gets bored and gives up.

Ive cleaned the C&C, new fleece, new beds etc etc.....but in the cage environment it doesnt work for more than a few hours.

It took me a long time to get more piggies after losing my beloved Rodney, and this situation is breaking my heart if I'm honest. I dont know if I should try and "wait it out" until Jamie gets past this hormonal teenage stage, becuase they clearly like each other, or rehome Jamie and find a new friend for Gino. The whole situation is stressing me out.
 
Boys eh?

I had to recently separate two of my boys (father and son), they had lived happily with one another for 2yrs and out of no where we heard very loud teeth chattering - after checking them both over we noticed homer (father) had an open wound on his face. I made the decision to separate immediately and have not tried to re-bond them.

General advice is if blood has been drawn (however small the wound) then to separate immediately. After a bloody fight it is unlikely they will be friends again.

Both my boys are much happier living separately - the tension is relived and they both popocorn daily.

It's not ideal that your boys are living separately (as we all love to see piggies interacting with one another) - but you do have the advantage of a C&C cage, so you can extend if needs be and keep them permanently separated with a divider down the middle - they will be perfectly happy as they will still have the company of one another but without being able to hurt one another.

If they live side by side to one another a a few months (until they've passed the stroppy age) - they may well re-bond - personally i would think about keeping them safe for now and adapting to the situation you are in.

Good luck :)
 
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But theyre not happy side by side thats the thing.....both of them are very quiet. :( They lie next to each other through the divider and they chew the bars a lot.

They are eating ok, but I can see that they are not happy being separated.
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
But theyre not happy side by side thats the thing.....both of them are very quiet. :( They lie next to each other through the divider and they chew the bars a lot.

They are eating ok, but I can see that they are not happy being separated.
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It'll be interesting to see what mine are like when I put them side by side in the cage. I expect there'll be some rumblestrutting!

Boys can be difficult. When I put mine out on the floor together they just wind each other up and bicker, so they haven't been having much floor time recently. Will have to start doing that separately! mallethead
 
first_time_piggie_mum said:
But theyre not happy side by side thats the thing.....both of them are very quiet. :( They lie next to each other through the divider and they chew the bars a lot.

They are eating ok, but I can see that they are not happy being separated.
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Well they cannot inflict pain on one another - so to a certain extent they are happier - i know that my boys would dearly love company but my finances cannot stretch to adopting another two guinea pigs - food, cage, bedding wise i could easily take on another 2 pigs - but should any of them fall ill at any point i cannot have another 2 vets bills added to what ive already got.

It may be selfish of me to keep them both separate - but how do i choose which one i 'get replaced' - i honestly can't make that decision - Homer is my first guinea pig and LB was born here due to a pet shop mis-sexing

My current cage setup isn't ideal for my single boys and they are not in eye shot of any other pigs, so for the moment they do lead a solitary life - but far better that way than for me to try endlessly re-bonding them, unsettling them daily - quite honestly i dont think i could take any more vets trips and draining of abscesses :)>>>
 
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