Fighting - is behaviour like this normal?
Hi everybody! I have two 6 month old piggies and they have been fighting like this for a little over a week now, and I've had them for a month. Is behaviour like this normal?? They do this constantly but no blood is shed. My skinny takes out big chunks of hair from the hairy one!
https://streamable.com/72ro0
https://streamable.com/72ro0
At 6 months old they are just entering adolescence. And just like human teens, guinea pigs with new hormones coursing through their little bodies start acting moody and snotty. They quarrel more with each other and are impatient with humans. They are more easily irritated.
But this too shall pass. Piggies usually outgrow their teen angst between 12 and 18 months old. They will mellow out quite a bit after that.
However, you do need to make sure they have enough space. Males need more space than females do, and adolescent piggies of both sexes need a little extra space too. An easy rule of thumb I go by (which may or may not be what others here do) is that for 2 FEMALES, you want a 2 x 4 grid C&C cage and a 2 x 5 grid C&C cage for 2 MALES at MINIMUM. Add another grid length for each piggy you have. And if you can go bigger, that is always better.
Also, make sure you have two food bowls and two water bottles on opposite sides of the cage so neither can hog the food and water and bully the other that way. Make sure hideys have two openings, or better yet a fleece forest. You want places the piggies can go to get away from each other and not have to see each other when they are feeling moody, and you don't want one pig being able to trap another inside a hidey with only one opening.
But this too shall pass. Piggies usually outgrow their teen angst between 12 and 18 months old. They will mellow out quite a bit after that.
However, you do need to make sure they have enough space. Males need more space than females do, and adolescent piggies of both sexes need a little extra space too. An easy rule of thumb I go by (which may or may not be what others here do) is that for 2 FEMALES, you want a 2 x 4 grid C&C cage and a 2 x 5 grid C&C cage for 2 MALES at MINIMUM. Add another grid length for each piggy you have. And if you can go bigger, that is always better.
Also, make sure you have two food bowls and two water bottles on opposite sides of the cage so neither can hog the food and water and bully the other that way. Make sure hideys have two openings, or better yet a fleece forest. You want places the piggies can go to get away from each other and not have to see each other when they are feeling moody, and you don't want one pig being able to trap another inside a hidey with only one opening.
Thanks for replying! I’m glad to hear that it’s just puberty, I thought they hated each other and I’d have to seperate them forever. My males are living in a 3x4 CC cage and they have two water bottles, two hay racks, and two chew toys each :).
Oh wow 6 to 12 months!!! I never knew it would take so long for them to mellow out! I'm just happy that they arent crabby towards me and love being held. Once again, thanks for putting my mind at ease :^)
Do you have any hideys, tunnels or fleece forests? If not, getting something like that will help. There should be two places they can hide -- one hidey and a fleece forest, two hideys, two fleece forests, a hidey and a tunnel. You don't have to get everything, but you need at least two things the pigs can hide in away from each other. Anything you get must have two entrances/exits. Having such things will cut down on the crabbiness.
I currently have two fleece forests and two tunnels! I woke up this morning and my skinny has a scratch on his rear. It isn't deep and I don't think any blood would have come out from it, are they still good to live together or should I seperate them??
Ok thanks! I clipped their nails at the beginning of the month, but since it was my first time, I was a little scared and didn't clip a lot of the nail off. I'll give them a clipping tonight :)
Someone told me if you keep a non-glazed square foot floor tile in their cage it will help keep their nails buffed and not too sharp. I tried it for a while but my pigs wouldn't walk on it, so I took it out. But I guess it worked for the person who told me that, because his pigs' toe nails were always smooth and short. I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to try that too. (A fresh clipped toe nail is also sharp.)
So my boys have simmered down a lot! They aren't rumblestrutting constantly and seem to tolerate each other now. They sleep close together and my hairless even grooms the other one. I trimmed their nails a few nights ago and it went well. Sadly they have started to chatter and purr at me when I try to pick them up :(! Once they're in my arms they seem to enjoy lap time.
I have a question though! I really want to get another piggy. I know that 3 boars is basically just a bad idea, is two males and a spayed female bad too? My partner would never let me get 2 new piggies, so it's just a thought I had. Does anyone have experience with this?
I have a question though! I really want to get another piggy. I know that 3 boars is basically just a bad idea, is two males and a spayed female bad too? My partner would never let me get 2 new piggies, so it's just a thought I had. Does anyone have experience with this?