Two Piggies might not like each other ?

[Mackenzeyhayes]

Hello everyone,
I have owned one guinea pig (her name is Chimichanga) for about two months now and my roommate and I felt that she might be bored and need a friend. She is pretty young as we just got her a couple months ago so we thought to get another young, female piggy. I brought the new one home (her name is Enchilada) and made an open space for the two of them to run around for a few hours, laid out some grass and carrots for them. They seem to be okay, they like to run around and follow each other and squeak at each other, but Chimichanga is getting very protective about her food and hidey house. There is more than enough food for both of them and enough space for both of them in the hidey house although I did get another one in case they fight over it. There doesn't seem to be any biting or anything, just that Chimichanga will charge at Enchilada and try to steal her food for no reason because she has her own. Should I be worried about this or is it normal? I know sometimes my mom's dogs fight over their food too so I guess it could be normal but I want to make sure that Enchilada feels happy and safe in her new home. How can I avoid them fighting and make sure that Enchilada is able to adjust to her new life?

 

[Siikibam]

A few questions first. Did you do the bonding in neutral space - in other words you didn’t put the newbie straight in Chimichanga’s cage? If the former, did you clean out their cage thoroughly (and rearrange layout) before putting them back in? Do they have two bottles, hides, hay areas and importantly two bowls? And, quite importantly, how big is their cage?

A way to stop food being stolen would be to hand feed them, if Enchilada will take food from you. Or alternatively you put the bowls at least one body length apart, so Chimichanga can’t hog both. She also can’t steal food from the other bowl as she’s eating from one.

Have a read through the guides I’ve linked below. They should also help answer some of your questions. But you shouldn’t separate them unless you see one piggy is being bullied, or there is a fight where blood is drawn. It’s fraught with tension but you have to leave them to work it out.

Cage Size Guide
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonds In Trouble

 

[Mackenzeyhayes]

A few questions first. Did you do the bonding in neutral space - in other words you didn’t put the newbie straight in Chimichanga’s cage? If the former, did you clean out their cage thoroughly (and rearrange layout) before putting them back in? Do they have two bottles, hides, hay areas and importantly two bowls? And, quite importantly, how big is their cage?

A way to stop food being stolen would be to hand feed them, if Enchilada will take food from you. Or alternatively you put the bowls at least one body length apart, so Chimichanga can’t hog both. She also can’t steal food from the other bowl as she’s eating from one.

Have a read through the guides I’ve linked below. They should also help answer some of your questions. But you shouldn’t separate them unless you see one piggy is being bullied, or there is a fight where blood is drawn. It’s fraught with tension but you have to leave them to work it out.

Cage Size Guide
Bonding and Interaction: Illustrated social behaviours and bonding dynamics
Sows: Behaviour and female health problems (including ovarian cysts)
Bonds In Trouble

Thanks for your reply,
When I first brought home Enchilada I let them meet each other on neutral ground first for about 3-4 hours before I put them in the cage together and then made sure they both have a place to hide. It seems like they are doing well together except for when it comes to sharing (food or houses). I don't have two bowls so that is a good idea and I will get another one as soon as I can. Thanks for the links!

 

[Siikibam]

Another thing you can do is scatter feed. Or if you have two piles of hay then you can put the veg on the two piles.
How big is their cage?

 

[Lady Kelly]

Some piggies just don't share but taking food off another piggy, particularly out of their mouths is fairly normal and usually a dominance thing. Sounds like chimichanga is a dominant little lady. Make sure the food bowls and hideys are far enough apart that she can't claim both at the same time. It can take a couple of weeks for the dominance phase to calm down but it's likely that some of these behaviours will be observed ongoing. My daisy is always the first one to the food bowl, the pellet bowl, the hay... Basically whatever I'm putting in she's there ready to claim it and let everyone else know she's boss

 

[Shelley anne]

My older girl steals food off the younger girl, right out of her mouth and has first dibs on whatever hidey she chooses and the young one has to get out. I think it is a dominant thing because they both seem happy despite this. They don't fight at all but the younger one knows whos the boss

 

[Freela]

A lot of pigs take food from other pigs. The best food is always someone else's food! I have really seldom seem my pigs actually fight over it, though they may grab food back and forth between them.

When you put them in the same cage, it may help to scrub everything down and rearrange it to make it feel more 'neutral.' It's normal for the original pig to be territorial of a newcomer in her space.... making it look/smell different can go a long way to diffusing this issues.

Hope this helps a bit!