Oh, woe is me!
Ok, so yeah, maybe the title is a bit angsty. But I'm sad, so gimme a break.
My boys finally had to be separated. Some of you may remember when I posted not very long ago about Wiggley's ear being bitten and Narco having a bite mark around his mouth/nose. I assume the sudden aggression is due to Narco getting older and hitting sexual maturity.
I tried making the cage bigger, I tried more hidey houses, I tried better hidey houses with more exits, I even resorted to a buddy bath. Nothing worked.
But everyone likes buddy bath pictures.
Anyway, like I said, they were still fighting. After the buddy bath, they fought when they were being dried off.
On the advice of my boyfriend (derrr...) I let them continue to live together, thinking eventually they would sort out their problems. Needless to say, that didn't happen.
I wish I would have separated them sooner. I feel completely selfish and irresponsible for leaving them together now. Yesterday I came home from work to find wounds on Wiggley's nose and Narco's ear bleeding profusely. Narco also had cuts on his face and there was a lot of hair all over the cage. I felt so horrible. I cried and cried while I cleaned them up (yes, I'm a sissy).
So of course now the boys are separated. I have worked for the past 8 hours to extend the cage and make a new ramp/loft and divide it. Basically, I extended the one of the arms of the L to 2x3 instead of 2x2... so now, instead of a 2x6 L-shaped cage, it is the equivalent of a 2x3 and 2x4 sitting side-by-side. I sacrificed the last bit of walking space in the bedroom (tiny freaking apartment), but I couldn't let Wiggley stay in a 2x2 with no room for a ramp to the 2nd level.
So... here it is. Any feedback/ideas are appreciated.
York and Narco's side...
And Wiggley's side... I hate having the ramp there, as it makes cleaning the cage and catching him incredibly hard... but I didn't know what else to do.
Wiggley really doesn't like being separated from the other two boys. I can already tell he's lonely--but I know it's for the best, because he and Narco were chattering their teeth at one another and trying to go at it through the grids earlier.
So now my main problem is Wiggley being alone. It depresses the heck outta me. I'm thinking about getting him a friend, but I'm worried he won't get along with him/her, either. I've considered getting an older male to live with him, but I'm worried they won't get along. I've considered getting a younger male also, but I'm worried I'll wind up in the same situation--they get along fine at first, then all heck breaks loose when the baby gets older. Then I thought maybe a spayed female would be the solution... but with the other boys on the other side of the cage, I don't want her presence to cause MORE problems. The sides are only separated by grids, so they would be able to see/smell her. I don't want them to fight or hurt themselves trying to get to her.
Please, for the love of all things guinea pig (and my sanity), give me some advice. Someone. Anyone. I know I'm a bit on the melodramatic side, but I'm really stressed about this. Input, comments, suggestions, ideas, experience, etc....... I need all of it.
Thanks in advance, guys.