Young boars to separate or not...that is the question!

K

klindaman

New Born Pup
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
10
Reaction score
3
Points
45
Location
60565
Hi everyone!
I am new here and new to owning guinea pigs. I had 2 when I was young, but they were always kept as single piggies. I have been reading some threads and have found a great deal of helpful information here, so I am hoping someone here may be able to help me with my current situation. My family and I got a pair of male guinea pigs about 4 weeks ago. We bought them from a pet store (I know! We will not do that again). They were together at the store and the employee thought they were around 3 months old. They had been doing well in a Midwest cage for the first couple weeks. They had one scuffle that seemed to be due to a particular hidey. I removed that hidey and everything was good again. There was a lot of normal dominance behaviors, rumblestrutting, marking territory, humping etc. Then one morning I noticed a small scratch on each of their noses. I purchased a 2nd cage to give them more space. They now have 2 Midwest cages joined together for a total of approximately 16 Sq. ft. They have been in this set up for about a week. Everything was completely fresh when I put them in the new cage. This morning when I went to give them breakfast and spot clean the cage I noticed a couple drips of blood. I decided to separate them so I wouldn't have to stress about them hurting each other. I closed the ramps that join the cages and went off to work. I came home from work to find them both on the same side of the cage! I opened the ramps back up and have been monitoring them and they have been absolutely fine. So, I am really torn! Obviously they want to be together since once must have climbed on top of his hide to get into the other side of the cage. But, is it too much of a risk keeping them together? Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 
I should also add that I have 2 of everything. 2 water bottles, 2 food bowls, 2 hay areas and multiple places to hide.
 
:wel:

The advice is if a blood drawing fight has occurred, then that is bond breaking requiring immediate and permanent separation.
Climbing back in/trying to get back to each other, isnt always a friendly action so it is something to be mindful of. They can lie against the divider as an unfriendly territory marking gesture not because they actually want to be together, or try to climb and get back together for nothing more than to fight.

It is a risk to keep them together if a fight has already occurred. However, only you can see what is actually occurring right now. Sometimes giving them a couple of days apart to let hormones settle (which generally only works if a full on fight hasn't occurred) can help or it can give clarity upon neutral territory reintroduction that they definitely do not want to be together. You cannot, however, continually separate them. A trial separation is a make or break situation. Separate too many times and it can destabilise an already tense bond.
Now they are back together, I think I would monitor the situation very closely. If further issues occur, then do separate them and dont attempt a reintroduction again.

Are all the hides multiple exit? ie nothing enclosed where one piggy can get trapped inside by the other

Do be careful when changing territories such as adding that extra space, that the cage is not fresh bedding. Its best with teen boars, particularly if they are potentially having dominance issues, that the cage always smells of them so dont clean the entire cage in one go - keep some soiled bedding in so they still see it as their territory. Giving them the extra cage was a good thing to do though - one midwest cage isnt big enough for a boar pair.

Bonds In Trouble
A Comprehensive Guide to Guinea Pig Boars
Boars: Teenage, Bullying, Fighting, Fall-outs And What Next?
 
Yes. All hideys have multiple exits so that they cannot be cornered. That is a good point about trying to get together not being a positive thing. I jave noticed that if they are separated from each other (if I take one for a weight check or something) they seem to be frantically looking for the other and will often begin wheeking. Do you know why that would be? I will be sure not to change everything at one when I clean the cage. If I do need to separate Do you think keeping them in the Midwest cages side by side is an acceptable way for them to live?
 
klindaman said:
Yes. All hideys have multiple exits so that they cannot be cornered. That is a good point about trying to get together not being a positive thing. I jave noticed that if they are separated from each other (if I take one for a weight check or something) they seem to be frantically looking for the other and will often begin wheeking. Do you know why that would be? I will be sure not to change everything at one when I clean the cage. If I do need to separate Do you think keeping them in the Midwest cages side by side is an acceptable way for them to live?
Click to expand...

Its normal for well bonded piggies to not want to be separated for weight checks etc and to call to each other but even in piggies who cannot live together, they still like to know the other is there - cant live together, cant live apart situation!

Fingers crossed they can work things out between them and remain together but yes if separation must happen, then keeping them in a midwest each side by side as neighbours is a perfectly acceptable way for them to live. We have many members who have been in similar situations and their piggies live as neighbours.
One midwest meets the minimum size requirement for a single piggy. They will still be able to interact through the bars which can help prevent loneliness. It would be incredibly important though that if they do need to be separated due to a broken bond, that their cages are secure and that they cannot climb back in with each other - this may mean finding a way to lid their cages.
 
Ok. Thank you for your reply! I think the culprit climbed on top of his bed that is on the taller side, so I would either cover the adjoining sides, or not have that bed in there.
That being said, the cages are currently set up as one long rectangle, so only the short sides are joining. Is that ok, or would I need to set it up so that the long sides join creating more of a square and possibly more visibility at all times?
 
Here are some pictures of the current set-up. I could only get a picture of one cage at a time. I used to have a divider to hang the hammock, but that seemed to possibly create an awkward area that could result in cornering, so I took that out to allow for more space. Do you think it looks OK?
 

Attachments

  • 20210611_173932.webp
    20210611_173932.webp
    50.9 KB · Views: 11
  • 20210611_173924.webp
    20210611_173924.webp
    57.9 KB · Views: 11
klindaman said:
Ok. Thank you for your reply! I think the culprit climbed on top of his bed that is on the taller side, so I would either cover the adjoining sides, or not have that bed in there.
That being said, the cages are currently set up as one long rectangle, so only the short sides are joining. Is that ok, or would I need to set it up so that the long sides join creating more of a square and possibly more visibility at all times?
Click to expand...

Its fine for just the short sides to be joining. It will mean that they can go to the opposite ends of the cages to get away from each other
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. I really hope your boys can sort any issues out and live happily together.
 
Looks good. I would consider making the hay piles bigger. They like to play, walk and lie in it.
 
Thank you for your reply everyone! I was hopeful they would be able to work it out since they had been back together for several hours and were doing fine. However, I made the decision to separate them last night. They had not gotten into a fight, but their behavior seemed to be showing that one was imminent. I am a little sad about this, but also relieved because I know they will not be able to hurt each other. I am hopeful they will be able to live long happy lives side by side.
 
It is very sad but if they can’t live together, then they will be much happier to live as neighbours
 
Yes. They both actually seem to be calmer today. They are young so still skittish, but Penut Butter, my most skittish one seemed less so today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top