Hi all,
We've got 4 guinea pigs boars. 2 are bonded and they are super happy. The 3rd and 4th we got together as well but after the original pair.
The original 2 are called Pumpkin and Spice. The other two are Cookie and Fortune.
Now our issue is Fortune just won't get along with anyone. There has been two Cookies because one originally had to be replaced as he didn't get along with Fortune either which we thought was just a pairing issue. However, after time, 6-8 months, fortune still doesn't get a long and we are very worried about him. Him and the others always get into fights. Fortune constantly has marks on his back, his mouth etc. These wounds weren't so bad until they had a scrap last week. Literally ball of fury type fighting. Pumpking and Spice ganged up on Fortune and as much as we tried we couldn't seperate them until Fortune had a chunk taken out of his back from Spice latching on who also just wouldn't let go. Surprisingly Spice suffered worse injuries having a chunk taken out of his cheek so much so we had to go to the out of hours vet to get him checked and he was very close to needing stitches.
Fast forward to today, Spice and Fortune are currently separated from the rest, in cages of their own while we give them anti-inflammatories and antibiotics for one week. After that, we will put spice back with Cookie and Pumpkin which should be fine but we don't know what to do with Fortune.
We've tested their interaction a couple of times in the garden after the fight and it has confirmed that the three get along but fortune is definitely not going to be able to be put back with them.
What advice would you give in this situation? We can't afford to buy another pig, test him, potentially return and repeat just to see if fortune can get along. I don't even think anyone will let us do that...
ANother option is, we are thinking of buying a small 4ft hutch so Fortune can have a bit more space and just live on his own for the foreseeable future but obviously we woudl like to avoid having a piggy on their own if possible.
Not sure what to do.
We've got 4 guinea pigs boars. 2 are bonded and they are super happy. The 3rd and 4th we got together as well but after the original pair.
The original 2 are called Pumpkin and Spice. The other two are Cookie and Fortune.
Now our issue is Fortune just won't get along with anyone. There has been two Cookies because one originally had to be replaced as he didn't get along with Fortune either which we thought was just a pairing issue. However, after time, 6-8 months, fortune still doesn't get a long and we are very worried about him. Him and the others always get into fights. Fortune constantly has marks on his back, his mouth etc. These wounds weren't so bad until they had a scrap last week. Literally ball of fury type fighting. Pumpking and Spice ganged up on Fortune and as much as we tried we couldn't seperate them until Fortune had a chunk taken out of his back from Spice latching on who also just wouldn't let go. Surprisingly Spice suffered worse injuries having a chunk taken out of his cheek so much so we had to go to the out of hours vet to get him checked and he was very close to needing stitches.
Fast forward to today, Spice and Fortune are currently separated from the rest, in cages of their own while we give them anti-inflammatories and antibiotics for one week. After that, we will put spice back with Cookie and Pumpkin which should be fine but we don't know what to do with Fortune.
We've tested their interaction a couple of times in the garden after the fight and it has confirmed that the three get along but fortune is definitely not going to be able to be put back with them.
What advice would you give in this situation? We can't afford to buy another pig, test him, potentially return and repeat just to see if fortune can get along. I don't even think anyone will let us do that...
ANother option is, we are thinking of buying a small 4ft hutch so Fortune can have a bit more space and just live on his own for the foreseeable future but obviously we woudl like to avoid having a piggy on their own if possible.
Not sure what to do.