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Behavior One pig is a bully. Had to separate because of illness now they wont get along.

mom2johny3

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I work at a chain pet supply store. A pair of classroom guinea pigs were brought in and surrendered. I brought them home and built them a nice big C&C cage. Everything was going great. I should have just been happy with what I had. But after about a year someone surrendered a bunch of babies and there was this one that was soooooo cute. I had to have her. I don't have a lot of experience introducing new pigs. I just put the baby in with the other two after a few days. I thought it would be okay since its just a baby. Everything seemed okay at first, but then the new one started being a bully. She chases the other ones around, she rumble struts. She'll chase them around till they start wheeking, and it sounds very stressed.
One of the original pigs had a stroke. I had to put her in her own separate cage till she recovered. When she was all better I put her back with the others, but it didn't go well. They were both acting overly dominant towards her. They were cornering her and making her cower and she would stress wheek. They would peck at her a bit. So I put up a divider in their cage using the cubes walls that the cage is made out of so that they can still see each other and smell each other and hopefully get used to each other again. I've tried to remove the wall and let them all be together again but they still bully her, even her original cage mate. Has anyone else experienced this? Anyone have any tips on what I should do?
 

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CavyMama

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You have to do proper introductions. You learned the hard way that you cannot just plop a pig into the cage of another. You are just setting yourself up for failure.

Before introductions, should be a 21 day quarantine period but any illness that could be spread, they have all already been exposed to by being in the same cage.

Introductions should be done on neutral territory. This means NOT in a lived in cage. It means it does not have smells of one pig or another. It can be in a room where all the exits have been blocked off. You will need a good chunk of time (at least 2 hours but the pigs will really determine how long is necessary). You have to be willing to supervise the introductions, in case there are any real fights. DO NOT separate unless blood is drawn. Rumblestrutting is normal. Chasing is normal. Mounting is normal. These are all parts of establishing dominance. Introductions need to be done in one sitting. You cannot do it by giving them "visits" or "play dates". Every time you put together and separate guinea pigs, they have to start over establishing dominance. It's very stressful for them.

Once the pigs have been in the introduction neutral area for a few hours and seem to be tolerating each other, you will need to set them up in a completely clean cage. It cannot have the smell of any of the pigs in it. This means taking everything out, sanitizing it and everything that was in it. It means new bedding, sanitized hideys & toys, etc. If it smells like any of the pigs, it will be seen as THAT pig's territory and the others as intruders.

Also, make sure your cage is large enough for 3 pigs. Just because one pig is smaller or younger doesn't mean a smaller cage will be okay. It's based on the number of pigs and the gender (males need more space than females).

Not doing proper introductions and not having enough space are two main causes of pigs not getting along.
 

Snugglybutt

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Like the other user said, introductions on a neutral ground are a MUST! When I first got my piggies, the petstore employee (I know better than to buy from stores now) simply placed both pigs in the same cage, where one of them was already living. They fought so much! After a few weeks I read about proper introductions. I seperated them, reintroduced them in my bathroom (neutral area), and now they live together peacecully.

Also, you should remove the pigloos until the piggies all get along. All houses in the cage should have two exits so one pig cannot trap another inside. My pig got a nasty bite on his nose because he got trapped inside by the other.
 

bpatters

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@Snugglybutt, are you sure it was the trapped pig that got his nose bitten? Very often, it's the pig doing the trapping that gets bit.
 

Snugglybutt

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[MENTION=42243]Snugglybutt[/MENTION], are you sure it was the trapped pig that got his nose bitten? Very often, it's the pig doing the trapping that gets bit.
I am not completely 100% sure as I wasn't in the room when it happened. I saw them fight within the pigloo before the big bite happened and it was usually Michael trying to get Hippo out of it. Michael is super aggressive so I assumed it was him who did it! It might have been Hippo tho :p
 

mom2johny3

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Do you think if I took them all out now and put them in a neutral area it would be okay for them to go back to the cage altogether? They all live in the same cage so all three of their smells all over it already. I just divided a 3rd off for the one, as seen in my picture. And when I put them all back together it was right after I cleaned the cage out. They were still jerks to her. She also has a very different attitude than the other two.

Rose, the one that recovered from the stroke and is being bullied. She's the sweetest pig. She's always been more people friendly. She comes to the side of the cage and stands up on it for attention and she loves being pet and getting attention. The other two don't like to be pet, they run from you if you put your hand in. But if you have food, they will eat from your hand.

If one chases another into the igloo, They usually just lift up the other side and run out.

I read before, when you bring a new one home to keep it in a separate cage to where they can't see each other but they can still smell each other and then after about a week put their cages so that they can see each other and then after about a week put them together. I guess you wouldn't agree with that.
 

mom2johny3

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I put them all together in a neutral area. There are no signs of dominance with each other. They are just chillin peacefully together. I cleaned out the cage and removed the divider. No igloos or hiding places and no food bowls yet. Just a big empty cage, with bedding of course. Wish us luck.
 

Guinea Pig Papa

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I put them all together in a neutral area. There are no signs of dominance with each other. They are just chillin peacefully together. I cleaned out the cage and removed the divider. No igloos or hiding places and no food bowls yet. Just a big empty cage, with bedding of course. Wish us luck.

Good luck! Hopefully all goes well! Keep us posted!
 

minniesmom

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