Two new guinea pigs

[StuartW94]

Hi there,

So my partner and I have recently bought two guinea pigs. One female, around 5 months old, and one male, roughly 8 weeks old. The female, for whatever reason, is completely afraid of everything. We have a little wooden hut that they both tend to sleep in, but she will not venture out, especially when there are people around. The male started out confident, coming out for food and playing around doing zoomies, but now he seems to have become timid too. We have also recently noticed that the female has scratches on the back of her neck. Any helpful suggestions on how to change their behaviour, and why it appears he is attacking her, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Piggies&buns]

Are they both in the same cage? You should not have an unneutered boar in the cage with a sow.
Please separate them and put her on pregnancy watch as it is highly likely she is now pregnant.
How long have they been together?

https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/threads/pregnancy-guide.109375/

Its entirely normal for them to be nervous as they are prey animals. It can take weeks, months or sometimes years for them to settle and want to be around people. You cannot change their behaviour, but there are things you can do to help them settle in - the guide below will cover those - but patience is also needed.
Please partially cover their cages with a blanket so they can feel more secure.

Understanding Prey Animal Instincts, Guinea Pig Whispering and Cuddling Tips
Owners' Comprehensive Helpful and Supportive Information Collection

 

[weepweeps]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m sorry you have found yourself in this position. I hope your piggy isn’t pregnant.

Did you manage to separate them? They can live in cages side by side so they can still interact through the bars for social interaction.

 

[StuartW94]

Hello,

Yeah I built a custom hutch for them, which I've now divided down the middle with an old bird cage side, so they can still interact.
The boar (Clyde) is constantly trying to get over to the sow (Bonnie). He even managed to squeeze through the bars of the old shop-bought cage that we originally had for them, so I used the bird cage as the space between the bars is much smaller.

Thank you all for your help, clearly we are guinea noobs

 

[Piggies&buns]

Hello,

Yeah I built a custom hutch for them, which I've now divided down the middle with an old bird cage side, so they can still interact.
The boar (Clyde) is constantly trying to get over to the sow (Bonnie). He even managed to squeeze through the bars of the old shop-bought cage that we originally had for them, so I used the bird cage as the space between the bars is much smaller.

Thank you all for your help, clearly we are guinea noobs

I’m glad you’ve been able to separate them.
Ensure the sow is now on pregnancy watch for 10 weeks from the last time they were together.
Also ensure each side of the cage is 120x60cm or bigger for welfare purposes

 

[StuartW94]

This is the pen I built. It's now split down the middle from the front gate, I don't think the dimensions are as big for each side as you've suggested though.

 

[weepweeps]

That’s a great pen you made. Will you neuter him once he’s old enough, wait 6 weeks and then reintroduce?

 

[StuartW94]

If that is what you believe is best for them, then I'll do it

 

[Piggies&buns]

This is the pen I built. It's now split down the middle from the front gate, I don't think the dimensions are as big for each side as you've suggested though.

If that is what you believe is best for them, then I'll do it

Each cage needs to be the measurements mentioned for welfare purposes. Obviously you must separate but making sure they have at least the minimum cage size is important Going forward

Neutering him, having the six weeks post op wait and reintroducing him to her is an option. Of course though, if she is pregnant you will also have pups to consider. There are certain things which you can and cannot do in terms of groupings so it’s only once you know how many and the sexes of any pups that you can make longer term plans for living arrangements (if you plan on keeping any pups).

 

[weepweeps]

Yes wait to see if you get pups and then you can make decisions on pairings.