Help needed piggies fighting

[fiannah]

Hi
Can anyone help.
I bathed my boys yesterday and after that they now fight all the time.
The smaller one is picking on the big one, what can I do?
I dont have room to seperate them so will have to rehome one if they dont stop. I really dont want to do this as I love my boys.
Any help please.

Many thanks

[longboardskier]

Is one pig actually hurting the other? Any blood drawn? If no then I would let them fight it out. They're just establishing dominance. But only leave them if they're not actually getting hurt.

If they are getting hurt I would try to separate the cage itself with a barrier so they can't get to each other.

[fiannah]

No there is no blood. They just seam to not like each other but like now they are fine eating together. I can put a barrier in there pen but then they will not have a load of space but if it means getting them used to each other again then maybe thats what i will have to do. thank you for your help

[longboardskier]

Well they could just be establishing dominance. It's natural. I took this straight off of http://www.cavyspirit.com/sociallife.htm#Introductions

When to separate them? Serious blood is drawn or a wound is inflicted. Some nipping or minor biting can be quite normal. Even little tufts of hair in the mouth can be normal.

Some standard dating game behavior is (any sex combination):

Safe, non-combative, dominance behavior
Rumblestrutting
Butt sniffing
Butt nudging
Chasing
Butt dragging (they are leaving their scent)
Mounting (any which way: rear mount, head mount, side mount, flying leap mount!)
Nose face-offs (higher in the air wins, one must lower their nose to be subservient to the other)
Teeth chattering: a little (signal of dominance)
Raised hackles (hair on the back of the neck and along the spine)

Posturing for possible attack, battle for dominance is escalating
Teeth chattering: sustained (signal of anger, aggression, warning)
Nips, light bites, may result in little tufts of fur in their teeth
Wide yawn, but this is no yawn, they are showing their teeth
Snorting (like a strong puff or hiss)

These behaviors may sound serious and they should be monitored VERY CLOSELY, BUT do NOT separate the pigs exhibiting this behavior, yet. This is when the average pet owner loses it and pulls the pig out. Most of the time, this behavior will continue for a while until one backs down.

Fighting with intent to harm
Bite attacks are no longer warning nips, they are lunges with intent to harm.
Combination of raised hackles, loud and angry teeth chattering, rumblestrutting in place with the head staying in one position while facing the other guinea pig doing the same thing. Usually a signal of a biting attack. But they may back down before they engage.
Both pigs rear up on their haunches, face to face. This is a clear, brief signal of their intent to launch full attacks at each other. Separate if possible before the attack.
Full battle. The pigs are locked together in a vicious ball of fur. This is very serious. Separate immediately, but be careful. Throw a towel over them and use a dustpan or something other than your hand to separate them. Unintended bites from their very sharp incisors can cause serious damage.

The best indicator to watch for on when to separate guinea pigs is the posturing of the nipping and bite attacks. If that gets more serious, that's the time to separate them. If blood is drawn, it's definitely time to stop that session. Hopefully, you can separate your guinea pigs before any serious harm is done.

[fiannah]

That has put my mind at rest for a while. Will continue to monitor them.

[longboardskier]

Glad I could help. Let us know if anything develops.

[AnimalHouse36]

Have you cleaned everything in their cage in vinager? After the bath when you put them in the cage there could still have been traces of their scent.

[fiannah]

Yes i did the lot as they have two cages and i did them all.
They do seam to be settling down now so hopefully they will be ok.