Dominance Male guinea pigs competing for dominance?

[FizzyCustard]

Hello!

I bought 2 male guinea pigs yesterday and since they've been in the cage together one has been occasionally nipping the other. It isn't constant and I often see them sleeping together but I'm a bit worried with one chasing the other. It has screeched a couple of times but it doesn't seem to be in pain.

I know male guinea pigs will fight for dominance but I'm worried they're going to hurt each other!
Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[scoottie]

If they are not drawing blood I would leave them

 

[bpatters]

Dominance struggles are normal, but how big is the cage? If you bought it at a pet store, it's not large enough for one pig, much less two, and less still for two boars. They need a LOT of room.

Also, if you've got hideys with only one door, take them out and either cut a new hole in them or throw them away. There shouldn't be any place in the cage where a pig can get trapped, or else you'll have facial injuries.

 

[FizzyCustard]

Dominance struggles are normal, but how big is the cage? If you bought it at a pet store, it's not large enough for one pig, much less two, and less still for two boars. They need a LOT of room.

Also, if you've got hideys with only one door, take them out and either cut a new hole in them or throw them away. There shouldn't be any place in the cage where a pig can get trapped, or else you'll have facial injuries.

I didn't buy it from a pet store, I checked the measurements and got one that was large enough for 2.
I've got 2 hideys both with 2 entrances and they don't seem to be trapping each other anywhere.. they're sharing food and they do often sleep next to each other! It's not constant so I feel like it's not too much of a concern but I just wanted to reassurance!

No blood is being drawn so it doesn't seem to be too bad as of yet!

How long would it usually take to assert dominance?

 

[bpatters]

Forever. And it can change. A new cage, an illness of one pig, the phase of the moon, ghostly apparitions, whatever else you can think of can trigger a new dominance squabble. It all depends on the personalities of the pigs.

 

[lisa325]

hmy: Ghostly apparitions

 

[Bdbjones]

I have a set of three boys - all adopted at different times. They have been living quiet happily together for two years. They still occasionally fuss or nip at eachother but nothing more. Just make sure they have plenty of space to spread out and get away from eachother. A good rule is to have at least one more hidey than the number of pigs (2 pigs = 3 or more - mine love to chase eachother through cardboard soda containers).

Just keep an eye on them and make sure there is no significant bullying or fighting.

 

[bpatters]

No one is saying that three can't work. But it usually doesn't, and there are plenty of trios that have had to be split into three lone pigs because the introduction of the third split the original pair.