Aggression Two Males Do Not Get Along

[monicaemily123]

Hi everyone!

I have two male piggies, both around one years of age. I got Obbie first from someone I knew who didn't want him anymore so I took him. Knowing that he shouldn't be alone I adopted my second pig named Louis. When I first got Louis I quartenined him for 3 weeks in a separate cage to make sure that he adjusted to the new surroundings. I slowly introduced them and they seemed fine when they were running around outside the cage. I purchased a Midwest Cage which is 7.8 square feet which I thought was appropriate size. I had two hideys on either side, toys, and places to hide with two exit points. When I put them in at first they were fine, then all of the sudden they started to fight. They would teeth chatter, hump and chase each other and also started drawing blood. I separated them right away and set up their old cages. I have no idea what to do and what makes them so angry, they might not get along but if there is any insight I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[bpatters]

Sorry, but the Midwest cage isn't really large enough for one pig, much less two, still less two boars.

How did you introduce them?

 

[monicaemily123]

Hi!

I introduced them by putting them in a neutral space, a large chunk of my living room that was sectioned off, with some hay and veggies in the middle, I did this about 10-15 times. What size cage do you reccomend?

 

[Soecara]

For two male guinea pigs you need at least 10 square feet of space, but more is certainly better.

Also putting them together and then separating them is not the right way to go about introductions, it very much should be a one-and-done event. Repeated introductions can be quite stressful for them as they have to start from scratch every time they are taken away from each other then put back together. This page is a great read for good information about introducing guinea pigs https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html