Cavycapers
New Born Pup
We adopted our Guinea pigs recently - Annabelle, six weeks ago, and Brownie, 4 weeks ago. We kept them quarantined for 2 weeks before introducing them. We introduced them in a neutral zone and we thought the introduction had gone well. Brownie was clearly dominant and Annabelle was clearly submissive. They slept in the same cage together the first night without incident. The next day, perhaps this was my mistake, I put them in the neutral zone for some free range time. (Although we have a C&C cage 2x 5 grid.) They got along fine, ate out of the same bowl, shared veggie bowls - I got several pictures of them interacting quite peacefully. THEN, when it was time to go back in the cage - rumblestrutting, teeth chattering, etc. I put them back in the neutral zone where they seemed to get along. An hour later I tried again to get them back in the cage, with no luck.
I kept them in the neutral zone the rest of the day until someone else was home to help me with them. We put them in the cage and tried not to interfere, but the teeth chattering, rumble strutting didn't stop and eventually Annabelle & Brownie had an all out brawl. We got them separated, but both piggies were injured - Annabelle needed stitches, and both needed antibiotics.
It's been about 2 weeks since that incident, and since that time, they've been in separate cages right next to each other. We think that perhaps Annabelle, although at first submissive, became territorial because I hadn't gotten the cage cleaned properly with a vinegar solution. We tried to re-introduce them today - in a different neutral zone. Again Annabelle was clearly submissive and Brownie was clearly dominant. (Annabelle acted more fearful than submissive, perhaps.). Anyway, we kept them in the neutral zone for several hours. They seemed to have worked things out - a lot of butt sniffing & chasing, a nip now & then. They took a couple of naps, albeit on opposite sides of the neutral zone, and it appeared Annabelle had accepted the hierarchy.
This time I washed everything in Annabelle's cage with vinegar solution. I washed the cage and choroplast with vinegar solution. I put a different blanket down for the floor, different food dishes,etc. We didn't put any hidey's in at all. When we put them in the cage, they were a little more aggressive with teeth chattering, but we held towels between them until they settled down. And in fact they did. They even laid down in opposite corners to take a nap. At some point Brownie got up and nudged Annabelle out of her spot. That's when the non stop teeth chattering started all over again.
Since they'd had a brawl with injuries before, we didn't want to take a chance this would escalate. We put them back in the neutral zone and they were ok for a short while, but then they seemed to go into attack mode again - teeth chattering, rumble strutting, facing each other. So we put them in separate cages again before a brawl could break out.
Is it worth trying to reintroduce them in the neutral zone again? If so, should we do it right away or should we wait a week or two? If neither of them use the "mutual" cage in the interim, do I need to wash it all down again, since it has both their scents in it? If we re-introduce, do we need to do it in a different neutral zone, since they've already been aggressive in the one we prepared today? We're going to try to reconfigure the "mutual" cage or possibly move it to a different location so Annabelle, won't get territorial. Do you think this will work?
They don't seem to hate each other. They are both "nervous nellies" and Annabelle generally seems to accept Brownie as the boss until something makes her feel territorial. Any ideas?
I kept them in the neutral zone the rest of the day until someone else was home to help me with them. We put them in the cage and tried not to interfere, but the teeth chattering, rumble strutting didn't stop and eventually Annabelle & Brownie had an all out brawl. We got them separated, but both piggies were injured - Annabelle needed stitches, and both needed antibiotics.
It's been about 2 weeks since that incident, and since that time, they've been in separate cages right next to each other. We think that perhaps Annabelle, although at first submissive, became territorial because I hadn't gotten the cage cleaned properly with a vinegar solution. We tried to re-introduce them today - in a different neutral zone. Again Annabelle was clearly submissive and Brownie was clearly dominant. (Annabelle acted more fearful than submissive, perhaps.). Anyway, we kept them in the neutral zone for several hours. They seemed to have worked things out - a lot of butt sniffing & chasing, a nip now & then. They took a couple of naps, albeit on opposite sides of the neutral zone, and it appeared Annabelle had accepted the hierarchy.
This time I washed everything in Annabelle's cage with vinegar solution. I washed the cage and choroplast with vinegar solution. I put a different blanket down for the floor, different food dishes,etc. We didn't put any hidey's in at all. When we put them in the cage, they were a little more aggressive with teeth chattering, but we held towels between them until they settled down. And in fact they did. They even laid down in opposite corners to take a nap. At some point Brownie got up and nudged Annabelle out of her spot. That's when the non stop teeth chattering started all over again.
Since they'd had a brawl with injuries before, we didn't want to take a chance this would escalate. We put them back in the neutral zone and they were ok for a short while, but then they seemed to go into attack mode again - teeth chattering, rumble strutting, facing each other. So we put them in separate cages again before a brawl could break out.
Is it worth trying to reintroduce them in the neutral zone again? If so, should we do it right away or should we wait a week or two? If neither of them use the "mutual" cage in the interim, do I need to wash it all down again, since it has both their scents in it? If we re-introduce, do we need to do it in a different neutral zone, since they've already been aggressive in the one we prepared today? We're going to try to reconfigure the "mutual" cage or possibly move it to a different location so Annabelle, won't get territorial. Do you think this will work?
They don't seem to hate each other. They are both "nervous nellies" and Annabelle generally seems to accept Brownie as the boss until something makes her feel territorial. Any ideas?
although probably more serious if there were wounds so deep they needed stitches. I wouldnt attempt re-bonding these two anymore 
