Two males fighting. Biting bars after seperation?

[doe.]

hi! i got two male guinea pigs about two months ago (Ivory and Ebony), and they seemed to be fighting from the get-go. I decided it must be a dominance thing and assumed it would eventually stop. Last week, i saw them having a proper fight, and Ebony had bitten Ivory! I separated them, and a few days later tried reintroducing them in a neutral territory, but Ivory pulled a large chunk of hair out of the other. They do still live in separate cages, but Ivory frequently manically chews on the cage bars, as if to try and get to Ebony. Ebony seems unbothered. They cannot see each other, but when they get closer together, they both start chattering their teeth, as if they can smell/hear the other.
I don't want them to have to live separately, but I don't know what to do! Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Siikibam]

I’m sorry your boys fell out. Unfortunately the bite was the death knell for their relationship so rebonding wouldn’t work. So they will have to live separately for now I’m afraid.

You have two options. The first is to bond each of them with another boar they can live with. If they are 4-14 months of age then be aware it can be harder to bond them.

The second is just have them living as neighbours. For now, I would cover the divider with something solid so they can’t see each other. You can then remove it slowly after a short while and hopefully Ivory will have calmed down some.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I'm sorry to hear this
Sadly as they have had a fight, they do need to live separately permanently. They are not compatible in character and this is why these kinds of things happen.
Ensure each piggy has a minimum of a 120x60cm cage side by side so they can still communicate through the bars. Smell and hearing are their strongest senses (sight being their weakest so they don’t need to be able to see each other to know the other is there).
Its quite normal for one to not be bothered by the separation and the other to be behaving like Ivory is - the bar chewing and dominance display at the divide, seeming to want to get to him isn’t necessarily positive - such displays can be a way of marking their own territories
They will need time to adjust to their new living arrangements. The advice is to cover the divide and then slowly remove it to see if they settle into having the cover removed. The divider itself will sadly need to remain though

Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?

 

[Wiebke]

hi! i got two male guinea pigs about two months ago (Ivory and Ebony), and they seemed to be fighting from the get-go. I decided it must be a dominance thing and assumed it would eventually stop. Last week, i saw them having a proper fight, and Ebony had bitten Ivory! I separated them, and a few days later tried reintroducing them in a neutral territory, but Ivory pulled a large chunk of hair out of the other. They do still live in separate cages, but Ivory frequently manically chews on the cage bars, as if to try and get to Ebony. Ebony seems unbothered. They cannot see each other, but when they get closer together, they both start chattering their teeth, as if they can smell/hear the other.
I don't want them to have to live separately, but I don't know what to do! Does anybody have any suggestions?

Hi

The bar biting is territorial behaviour and not the wish to re-start a friendly relationship.

You can find out more about territorial behaviours in the relevant entry in our A-Z behaviour guide link here: A - Z of Guinea Pig Behaviours