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Fighting 3 Males Fighting!

Lumpkinz11

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Oct 23, 2018
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Joined
Oct 23, 2018
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Hello everyone! Now please before you say anything, I did my research and thought 3 male guinea pigs together would be fine! Only after finding this website were my suspicions deemed true; it was NOT okay! My first two males are Bernie and Indiana, and I recently introduced them to Gene. They quickly decided dominance, and after about a day or two, Gene was out and about, eating with them, playing with them, and everything seemed fine. Then tonight things took a harsh turn. First, Bernie and Indiana began fighting, which I just found out is very common when there are 3 male guinea pigs. I had to separate them for the night, Bernie alone, and Gene with Indiana. However, Indiana would not stop chasing Gene, and for his safety I put him with Bernie. Gene and Bernie are fine together, but now Indiana is practically freaking out. He?s chewing his bars, destroying his entire cage. I?m not sure what to do! This is a perfect lesson which I will learn for the future, but right now I need help! I plan on keeping them separate for the night, and then reassessing in the morning. Do I need to wait it out? Do I need to get Gene his own cage, or find him a new home? With Bernie and Indiana become friends again, or will they always fight?

I understand that this seems like an uneducated choice on my part, and you?re right. I assumed having enough space, food bowls, hay, water bowls, and hiding areas would be enough. I was wrong, and I understand that. I would never do anything to purposely cause stress to my piggies and I just need some help in remedying this situation.

Thank you so much.
 

Soecara

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First things first, I don't think you are likely to ever get all three to get along in one cage so your only option at the current point in time is to have a boar pair and a single boar. With that in mind it is also possible that you original pair may not be able to be housed together again either. Don't put the "blame" onto any one guinea pig for the problem behaviour, step back from the situation for a bit and assess which two get along the best, who was with who before this point doesn't matter, at this point it sounds like Gene and Bernie are the pairing and that is all that matters. That however leaves Indiana alone.

Your options are limited for the "odd boar out" in this situation, which is Indiana. You can keep him housed separately but it sounds like that is causing some issues as he isn't responding well to being alone/not being able to get to the other boys. You can either find another boar to try an pair with Indiana (meaning you will have two separate pairs in two seperate cages), or you could look into a spayed sow, or having Indiana neutered so he could be housed with a sow.

None of these options are going to be quick to sort out though, so for the meantime you need to take steps to try and calm him down. Move him into a separate cage in a different room away from the other two boys, and give his cage a full clean to remove any residual scent if it isn't a new cage that the other boys haven't been in (full bedding change, wipe down the walls and cage bars, change out or clean the hideys and bowls etc.). If he can't see or hear or smell the other two boys this can help calm him down as it sounds like he is getting very frustrated from not being able to get to them.
 

bpatters

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Ditto @Soecara.

If Indiana is that dominant, he may or may not be able to live with another boar. Your best bet, if you want to try to find another boar for him, is to take him to a reputable rescue and do a "meet and greet" and let him pick his own new partner. The option most likely to work would be for him to live with a sow, with one or the other of them neutered.
 
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