Two sisters; should each have a house?

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JesperThorndahl

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Hi, all! Me and my wife recently bought two Young Guinea pigs (around 5 or 6 weeks old), they are sisters, and they are settling in nicely in their new home after a few days of being timid. One of them, Trine, is clearly more courageous, and is dominating her sister, Bodil.

Trine eats first and then allows Bodil to eat, once she has started eating herself. They both still sleep in the same hidey house, and no blood has been drawn, although they do this thing where they face eachother, trying to be tallest, and Bodil sometimes nips at Trines tail when Trine hogs the veggie tray.

I'm assuming this is all fine and normal?

My question is: would it help to get them a hidey house each, or is it better for them to sleep together? Right now we only have one hidey house in the cage (which is 120x60 cm).

By the way, both my wife and I, and our kids, are totally in love with these charming creatures!

wa69ky.jpg

Bodil is the one with the black mask on the left, and Trine has the tan mask. I'm not sure what kind of Guinea pigs they are, their fur seems to be semi-long.
 
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When you have guinea pigs you need two of everything. Two houses,bottles etc. Your girls are beautiful. They are trying to work out who is boss.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum! Your girls are very cute indeed!

I would agree with Piggyfan. It is best to give them two of everything as this can help avoid any future fall-outs, particularly as they start to get older. You may find that they will continue to share the same hidey, but at least there is a second one available should one of the piggies want some space.
 
I have two guinea pigs who are sisters, and they do play and act like "siblings" - but they each have a hidebox because I think sometimes they get sick of each other or just need a little space.
 
Hi! You have two cute girls!

It sounds like normal dominance. While sows can also have some hormonal times, they are MUCH less likely to fight and fall out than hormonal boars. Unlike boars, sows are wired to live in a strictly hierarchical roaming core group with only one dominant boar in attendance, while the other boars are hanging loosely around it, waiting for their chance.
Here is more about sow behaviour: http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?38561-Sow-behaviour

I would nevertheless recommend that you have two hideys and two food bowls, so both can eat at the same time. Even the most loving piggies like to spend some time apart; ideally one of the huts/pigloos is big enough for two fully grown adults to snuggle up with each others, so they always have that option, too.

PS: You may also want to enquire in our housing section for alternative bedding options; there are several. Wood chippings can cause breathing problems, and you'd want an underlay to prevent the build up of lime scale on the cage floor.
 
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Thanks for your answers!

I went out today and bought a second hide-out and we got more food trays.

@wiebke: thanks, I'll check what other bedding types are available. This forum is a great resource!
 
Back to nature recycled bedding on top of newspaper is brilliant for indoor cages - totally odourless and perfect for piggies!
 
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