Me and My Pig(s) Hey, I'm new here! - Guinea Pig Cages, Care, Store, Photos of Guinea Pigs and More Forum!

Dolly · #1 10-22-09, 10:56 am

Hello, my name is Stephanie and I live in the north west of England. I own two baby boars called Bradley and Barney who are supposed to be rex's but I'm not entirely sure they are as one has long hair which is very fluffy. Anyhow, they are brothers and I have had them just over a week, they came to me being around 5 weeks old and were born at a rescue near to where I live.

Although I have been told they are brothers I have my suspicions that they aren't. Barney is alot bigger than Bradley and he has long hair and blue eyes whilst Bradley has short-ish hair and brown eyes. At the moment it seems Bradley is being bullied by Barney so I am thinking of separating them if it gets any worse. Barney also looks quite a bit older than Bradley and looks to be the most dominant.

Enough of my ramblings on, I just thought I would introduce myself as I'm only a newbie.

**akstrohm** · #2 10-22-09, 12:10 pm

Welcome, and congrats on your new pigs!

Do NOT separate them unless there is blood. They need to work out who is dominant. This can be stressful to watch at first, but they will settle down. How big is your cage? What kind of hideys do you have? Do you have at least three hideys and at least two of everything else (food dishes, water bottles, hay racks, etc)?

Brothers don't necessarily look anything alike. I have two littermates (confirmed, as they were born in the rescue). One is a dark chocolate long/med-haired abbysinnian. The other is an agouti shorthair. The third pig in the litter was white and tan.

There is tons of great info here, especially on diet/nutrition and cages. The stickies will help you out a lot!

Dolly · #3 10-22-09, 01:25 pm

I currently have a large log cabin style house in their cage, I bought it so they could sleep together in it and still fit in it as they grow older. It's a large cage with a bowl for food, one large water bottle and another bowl for veggies. They seem to have sorted out their differences for now, both eating together so hopefully a good sign!

**rabbitsncavyluv** · #4 10-23-09, 04:08 pm

Having at least 2 of everything even if they do share is best, esp. for two boars at the same age.

**akstrohm** · #5 10-23-09, 04:20 pm

I would still get two of everything and three hideys with multiple entrances/exits.

How big is your cage?

Dolly · #6 10-24-09, 03:34 am

It's a store bought cage but quite large, easily fits them in.

Their fighting seems to be getting worse although no blood has been drawn yet. As they're kept in my bedroom they woke me up with their fighting this morning. They're both jumping around alot and making an angry purring sound at each other too.

I hope it doesn't get any worse.

**distancel** · #7 10-24-09, 03:52 am

Do you know the dimensions of the cage at all? You can find the recommended/required sizes for cages on this site. If it is a store bought cage it is probably far too small although it may not seem it. They usually are too small, and this will cause the piggers to fight over territory. They need lots of room that they can run around in unhindered by anything. Hope this helps.

**blackarrow** · #8 10-24-09, 06:18 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dolly

It's a store bought cage but quite large, easily fits them in.

Their fighting seems to be getting worse although no blood has been drawn yet. As they're kept in my bedroom they woke me up with their fighting this morning. They're both jumping around alot and making an angry purring sound at each other too.

I hope it doesn't get any worse.

If you don't make them a larger cage it likely will. You and a pal would probably easily fit in to an 8x10 bathroom but it sure would make you grouchy and irritable to live together in it.

I had my boars in a large rabbit cage while I was building my C&C and testing it out to make sure it was dogproof. They didn't actually fight (they're exceedingly well bonded) but one was barbering the other due to the stress of sharing the space. Got the C&C done and they're back to being best of buddies.

Dolly · #9 10-24-09, 06:21 am

Where would I get the supplies to make a C&C cage? I'm in England and my parents won't buy over the internet.

**blackarrow** · #10 10-24-09, 07:25 am

I'm not in England so I don't know, but I've heard others say it's harder to find the cubes there than it is here, and I think coroplast is called Correx there. You can also make really good cages inexpensively out of coated wire shelving (common American brands include Closetmaid, etc.) held together with cable ties (sometimes called zip ties) with the Correx or linoleum for flooring. Look through the alternative cages and you'll see great examples. My first C&C alternative cage - Guinea Pig Cage Photos
Cavy Condo - Guinea Pig Cage Photos