Fighting Fighting- NEED ADVICE

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum

I have a question/issue.. I desperately need advice.

I adopted a guinea pig from PetsMart about a month ago. (Yes, I know this is frowned upon.... but he was so adorable and I felt bad for him and wanted to take him home!) ( His name is Richard - est. to be about 5-6 months old)

Last Thursday I got 2 guinea pigs from a rescue
Elliot aprox. age 8-9 months
and Roofus (my daughter picked the name lol...) aprox. 4 months old

The 2 that I adopted from the rescue were paired and bonded

I introduced the trio at the rescue (took mine to meet them) and they have gotten along great...
Until this morning- they youngest one -Roofus is trying to fight the others... Every once a while they'd teeth chatter at each other but he is trying to lunge/fly attack the others - even the dominant male he was paired with before..
I do not know what to do... should I separate them or not?... I currently put a divider up (in my midwest cage) until I could get some insight from you guys..

hellllllllllllp! :important

lissie · Jun 23, 2014

A Midwest cage is too small for three boars. You will need to expend the cage if you want to keep all of them together. I'd recommend adding another Midwest, or make a C&C cage, at least 16 sq.ft.

Roofus could be going through his teenage stage and trying to challenge the others.

To keep the peace, all hidey houses should have multiple entrance/exits so no one gets trapped.

Footstools, fleece forest, or fleece tents work well.

Footstools:
(broken link removed)

Fleece forest:
(broken link removed)

Fleece tents (in each corner of the cage, also footstools in the middle of the cage):
(broken link removed)

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

:sad: I originally had intentions on getting 1 pig from the rescue and she assured me that my cage size would be fine for 3 and that a trio would be better than a pair (in case 1 dies,etc.) ! (I assumed she was right w/ 14 years of experience)...........that's frustrating! .........

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

Very nice set up! ...
I guess I will have to get the midwest attachment.. I wonder if it would be a possibility to add a C&C second level to my midwest?

Bodhi · Jun 23, 2014

Don't do re-introductions until you have a larger setup. Or you may have to give one of them back. Who did you separate, the youngest one?

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

Bodhi said:
Don't do re-introductions until you have a larger setup. Or you may have to give one of them back. Who did you separate, the youngest one?

Yes

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

I have taken the divider out... seems to have made a huge difference in size...
Isn't a midwest the same size as a 2x4 C&C?
on the cage store it says 2x4 is good for 2-3 guinea pigs?

lissie · Jun 23, 2014

Midwest is 8sq.ft. 2x4 c&c is 10.5 sq.ft. Grids are 14" not 12".

Males do require more space than females.

NewCavyMomma · Jun 23, 2014

lissie said:
Midwest is 8sq.ft. 2x4 c&c is 10.5 sq.ft. Grids are 14" not 12".

Males do require more space than females.

ahhh that makes sense! thank you!...
Do you suggest adding a midwest addition? is there a possibility of a 2nd floor? Should I just get a new C&C all together?

lissie · Jun 23, 2014

If you get another Midwest cage, you can leave one side of the flaps down and connect the cages side by size. It should be one combined space, with nothing in the middle.

See this thread. Not sure how they connect them.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/87878-Upgraded-our-cage!!!!-Appx-17-sq-ft!

Edit to add: I personally prefer C&C though. Midwest is kind of narrow. With multiple boars, a 3 grid deep cage would make a huge difference. A 3x4 might work better than a 2x6.

You could probably connect the Midwest to make them square, instead of a long rectangular cage.

Chloe_s_mom · Jun 23, 2014

One warning about C&C cages - remodeling can be addictive

My kids roll their eyes when my rubber mallet comes out, along with the zip ties. Getting those connectors to work properly is part art, part force. Hence the mallet. Ultimately, C&C cages will give you soooo much flexibility, based on the number and personalities of your piggies. I bought my Rubbermaid grids at HomeDepot (available in white only, I believe), and the various coro bases thru the online store (plus the support bars etc). Really helped getting the bases cut properly as coro is an interesting material to work with....

NewCavyMomma · Jun 24, 2014

lissie said:
If you get another Midwest cage, you can leave one side of the flaps down and connect the cages side by size. It should be one combined space, with nothing in the middle.

See this thread. Not sure how they connect them.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/forum/threads/87878-Upgraded-our-cage!!!!-Appx-17-sq-ft!

Edit to add: I personally prefer C&C though. Midwest is kind of narrow. With multiple boars, a 3 grid deep cage would make a huge difference. A 3x4 might work better than a 2x6.

You could probably connect the Midwest to make them square, instead of a long rectangular cage.

Would it have to be modified length and/or width wise? would an equal sized second level be adequate for my 3 boars?

NewCavyMomma · Jun 24, 2014

Chloe_s_mom said:
One warning about C&C cages - remodeling can be addictive My kids roll their eyes when my rubber mallet comes out, along with the zip ties. Getting those connectors to work properly is part art, part force. Hence the mallet. Ultimately, C&C cages will give you soooo much flexibility, based on the number and personalities of your piggies. I bought my Rubbermaid grids at HomeDepot (available in white only, I believe), and the various coro bases thru the online store (plus the support bars etc). Really helped getting the bases cut properly as coro is an interesting material to work with....

what lucky piggies!
it sucks c&c cages are so expensive!!!!!

CavyMama · Jun 24, 2014

C&C cages are not expensive to build. The kit is expensive to buy altogether but a box of grids at Bed, Bath & Beyond is $18. Coroplast can be found at sign stores. Some will even give away their extra pieces. Alternately you can use a shower curtain and cover with bedding.

foggycreekcavy · Jun 24, 2014

NewCavyMomma said:
Would it have to be modified length and/or width wise? would an equal sized second level be adequate for my 3 boars?

Second floors or levels don't really count as square footage. Mostly because there's not a large uninterrupted area of space. Personally I would make a whole new C&C Cage.

Be aware, though, that there's a possibility that they won't ever get along as a trio. You might need to keep them permanently divided, and a C&C Cage has more possibilities to do so.

lissie · Jun 24, 2014

C&C cages are not expensive. If your cage will be on the floor, with no stand or lid, one box of grids is more than enough.

You can buy grids from these places:

Sears: 23 grids for $21.99
https://www.sears.com/stor-floor-st...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Kmart: 23 grids for $16.99
https://www.kmart.com/stor-floor-st...W435219990001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Walmart: 16 grids for $16.96
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-White-Wire-Storage-Cubes-Four-Cubes-Interlocked/5005200

Bed Bath & Beyond: 19 grids for $19.99
(broken link removed)

Amazon: 16 grids for $19.99
(broken link removed)

Coroplast:
You can buy from this warehouse for $10 - $20 (depending on the location, you'll have to call and ask)
(broken link removed)

How to build the cage.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/howto.htm

NewCavyMomma · Jun 25, 2014

lissie said:
C&C cages are not expensive. If your cage will be on the floor, with no stand or lid, one box of grids is more than enough.

You can buy grids from these places:

Sears: 23 grids for $21.99
https://www.sears.com/stor-floor-st...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Kmart: 23 grids for $16.99
https://www.kmart.com/stor-floor-st...W435219990001P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Walmart: 16 grids for $16.96
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-White-Wire-Storage-Cubes-Four-Cubes-Interlocked/5005200

Bed Bath & Beyond: 19 grids for $19.99
(broken link removed)

Amazon: 16 grids for $19.99
(broken link removed)

Coroplast:
You can buy from this warehouse for $10 - $20 (depending on the location, you'll have to call and ask)
(broken link removed)

How to build the cage.
https://www.guineapigcages.com/howto.htm

Thank you this is SO helpful!
I think I'm going to do a C&C. My midwest is not very sturdy - I've read the C&C are!
Thank you so much!!! This totally beats the $120+ for what I was looking at for premade ones!!!

Chloe_s_mom · Jun 25, 2014

Home Depot also carries coroplast (along with the Rubbermaid grids), both in white. And the necessary (I think) zip ties

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