Fighting Sisters fighting post-pregnancy

[silentstar]

Hello, I adopted two 8 month old sisters from the shelter, Peanut and Lola, they were bonded at the time. I was unaware they were pregnant until I took them to the vet for a post-adoption checkup. They both gave birth almost a month ago and I adopted the babies out last week as I don't have room for that many guineas. They were separated from about a week pre-pregnancy all the way through weaning (so a month total), because Lola was not using one of her back legs and Peanut was starting to pick on her. (I've already been in contact with my vet about the leg - I was told to put her in small space quarantine for a bit so she could rest it up which I did. Probable pelvic injury from the pregnancy cause she's so tiny.) Now that the babies are adopted out, I wanted to reunite the sisters. I had them in the same cage with a divider for a week, and then today when I cleaned the cage I took the divider out. They were doing the usual chase each other around and tossing heads, then resting. Rinse and repeat. I left the room for a moment and then I hear loud banging - I come back in and I see Lola with a tuft of fur hanging from her mouth while chasing, so I knew they were throwing down. I separated them immediately and checked them over for injuries - Lola has a cut on her mouth that is bleeding. It looks relatively small and I've seen her eating and drinking with it, so I'll continue to monitor it and her weight to ensure it isn't interfering with her eating. My main concern now is - what do I do? Do I try to reintroduce them again? Do I keep them separated until Lola's mouth heals, and then try again? Or has the pregnancy ruined them and they won't get along anymore? I've had guineas before but only ever males, so they either lived with the barrier or one of them was chill enough to live passably together. I thought since they were bonded before the pregnancy that this would be easier.

Since I know everyone is going to ask - they live in a CC 2x4 cage, which is the recommended size for 2 guineas so I don't believe it to be a size issue. Its the same cage they lived in with no issues during early stages of pregnancy. All hideys have 2 entrance/exits. There are two water bottles, two piles of hay, and two food bowls.

 

[bpatters]

You'll have to introduce them as if they've never seen each other before. And you should never introduce them in an area that smells like either one of them. You need a large, neutral place, and when you put them back it the cage, it needs to have been thoroughly cleaned, including all the furniture and toys.

See https://guinealynx.info/introductions.html.