Do Guinea Piggies fight??

[beansmummy]

Hi everyone,

Hope someone is able to help...

We recently got 2 guinea pigs as pets, we got them off a friend who has kept piggies for years, and hers had a litter.

We were told to get 2 as they tend to like company, and we opted for 2 of the males (brothers) The girl we had them off had them in the same cage, and so that is how we have them...

They are now about 4 months old, however, one seems to be bullying the other, should the "mean" one be in a bad mood, the timid one doesn't stand a chance of a moments peace, he will get chased around the cage, and sometimes it looks like they are even trying to nip each other, it even seems that he will attempt to stop him getting to the food... Are they just being playful or is the "mean" one really being mean??

I really don't want to have to separate them, but I don't want o see eiter of them get hurt... Please help!!

Many thanks,
Vickie

[Ratty2E]

I' have only ever had girls kept together but they used to squabble sometimes too. Once they become mature they need to decide who is boss and hoggin the food is one way to do it. If I were you I would have 2 food dishes and 2 water bottles away from each other so that both can always access what they need.

[JonnyBoy12]

Sorry to be so blunt but most people know that you should not ever put 2 male 'piggies' together as they fight. You CAN always put a rabbit and a guinea pig in the same cage as my sister and I did this for many years. If we took the guinea pig away first my rabbit would attack you in defence of her charge.

www.guineapigs.com

"Hop" this helps.

[what..the?]

lots of people have different views, like a lot say don't put a guinea pig with a rabbit which i agree with, they eat different food have different dietary requirements and a rabbit can get too big to live with a piggy, even the smallest breed Netherland dwarf is bigger than a piggy, so a kick from a large rabbit is dangerous.

Two male pigs can live together. In young days their male hormones are all over the place but they grow out of it. If it gets heated put a temporary divider in the cage if possible if it makes you feel happy and shy piggy will come to less harm. But the best ideas are if they fight over food and water and hay supply two bowls of food, two water bottles, two piles of hay= end of fighting it works with mine, now they have grown up they are happy sharing, if they eat too hungry they will get agitated and fight so make sure they are well feed and watered.

[what..the?]

'get' sorry not 'eat'

[boxtops]

Guinea pigs and rabbits work well! but you should never put two boy pigs in together - they don't know they are brothers, they are male rivals.

[what..the?]

http://guineapigconne.../myth_1_male_gui.html

[Ratty2E]

I would rather have 2 male piggies together than put one with a rabbit. As What..the? quite rightly says rabbits and guinea pigs need different food so if they live together one of them will be malnourished. Groups of boys can live together just as females can infact sometimes the girl squabbles can be worse. As long as they never get the whiff of a female they should live fairly happily once they sort out the hierarchy. While they are still sorting it out just make sure they can both access food and water as I said before.

[dmoyes]

Hello there we have 7 rabbits 5 guinea pigs and 2 dogs, apparently 2 males arnt that compatible only a small success rate, similar to rabbits but then again my gf has had 2 female guinea pigs and they killed each other, however we have two female guinea pigs and one is the boss she does bully her around the food bowl and water but generally they dont fight i would suggest getting your male guinea pigs snipped this would stop the tension between them also we were told to have a squirty bottle with water in and just monitor them for abit and when they scrap or tension builds up squirt them once and it can stop them but dont drench the piggies, its just a case of dominance issues two males in any breed of animal are bound to create tension but piggies are less democratic and understanding so be careful because you could have some serious problems, also just check that the other piggy is getting enough water and good and maybe put 2 little food bowls in, but i would suggest 2 seperate cages.