Behavior Do ALL boy guinea pigs fight?

[HenrytheGP]

I have a 4 year old guinea pig and I have been/am planning on adding another soon. The people at small pet store I got Henry (the four year old) at are telling me not to get another boy even if it's young because, and I quote, "they will definitely kill each other". This scares my mother and is causing her not to allow me to add another male. I find it unlikely that ALL boys will fight each other because many of you on this forum have two boys who seem to live together well. I have a 18 sq ft cage and plenty of room. Will my guinea pig DEFINITELY fight with a roommate if I added one? What are some ways I can be sure two boys won't fight ?


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[Hankskr]

I have added my boy Damien's 2 sons to the cage and honestly I didn't even do neutral meeting and they were fine. They try to hump each other at times but that about it. I would suggest trying neutral territory though defiently. But I think it all depends on Guinea personalities too. Damien is pretty laid back.

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[dirah93]

I have two boars and they hardly ever 'fight' besides occasionally asserting their dominance and trying to mount each other. Guinea pigs assert their dominance forever but that doesn't mean boars should live alone. There's no way to tell if your guinea pig will fight with another unless you introduce them first.

Remember, like humans, guinea pigs have different personalities. It makes no sense to generalize all of them.

Some ways you can reduce fighting is to make sure there are multiple food bowls, hay racks, water bottles, and hidey's so they don't squabble over them. And speaking of hidey's, make sure they have multiple entrances and exits so your guinea pig can't trap the other in there and cause facial injuries. 18 square feet is plenty, just make sure you don't clutter their cage too much. They need a lot of flat space so they can get away from each other if they need to.

 

[bpatters]

It depends on the personality of the pigs. Some are mellow and laid back, and not apt to fight, while others will attempt to be dominant all of their lives. But if you get a young pig that hasn't gone through puberty, squabbling is pretty much guaranteed for a year or so.

Please don't buy another guinea pig. Find a guinea pig rescue close to you and ask if they allow "meet and greet" sessions, where you can take your pig in and let him pick out his own cage mate. Or check with rescues and see if they've got a spayed female -- she would probably be a good cagemate for him.

You also need a large cage for two boars. No commercial that you can buy at a pet store is large enough for two boars. Check the main page of this site for information on C&C cages, and look through the Photo Galleries for ideas.

Where do you live? City/state, not your actual address. We may be able to find a rescue that can help you.

 

[HenrytheGP]

It depends on the personality of the pigs. Some are mellow and laid back, and not apt to fight, while others will attempt to be dominant all of their lives. But if you get a young pig that hasn't gone through puberty, squabbling is pretty much guaranteed for a year or so.

Please don't buy another guinea pig. Find a guinea pig rescue close to you and ask if they allow "meet and greet" sessions, where you can take your pig in and let him pick out his own cage mate. Or check with rescues and see if they've got a spayed female -- she would probably be a good cagemate for him.

You also need a large cage for two boars. No commercial that you can buy at a pet store is large enough for two boars. Check the main page of this site for information on C&C cages, and look through the Photo Galleries for ideas.

Where do you live? City/state, not your actual address. We may be able to find a rescue that can help you.

I have a 14 square foot cage that I know is big enough, and I live in the metro Detroit area in Michigan so every adoption place is an hour away and really shady looking. If adoption was an option I would have done that in the first place. Technically I don't buy from a corporation like Petco or Petsmart. I get all my stuff from a pet shop run by an old lady and her son and they get their guinea pigs from breeders and from people who surrender their pets.


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[bpatters]

Here are a bunch of pigs within 25 miles of Detroit: https://www.petfinder.com/pet-searc...ea+Pig&filtersUpdated=false&distance=25&name=

You also shouldn't go by the address listed on the rescue. Most rescues are just a group of foster homes, and there may be one much nearer to you than the address indicates.

Most breeders who supply pet shops know very little about breeding guinea pigs. They often breed satins, who can suffer from lifelong bone pain, or lethals, who are blind and deaf with wonky teeth and immature digestive systems. They're also often kept in big herds with no attempt to monitor how often a sow gets pregnant. They can get pregnant within minutes of giving birth, and back to back pregnancies are extremely hard on the sow and second litter of pups. Pregnancy and delivery are also very hard on guinea pig sows, in part because the pups are HUGE in relation to the size of the sow. The death rate for both sows and pups is high.

Please rescue a pig rather than perpetuating that horrible breeding cycle.

 

[HenrytheGP]

Here are a bunch of pigs within 25 miles of Detroit: https://www.petfinder.com/pet-searc...ea+Pig&filtersUpdated=false&distance=25&name=

You also shouldn't go by the address listed on the rescue. Most rescues are just a group of foster homes, and there may be one much nearer to you than the address indicates.

Most breeders who supply pet shops know very little about breeding guinea pigs. They often breed satins, who can suffer from lifelong bone pain, or lethals, who are blind and deaf with wonky teeth and immature digestive systems. They're also often kept in big herds with no attempt to monitor how often a sow gets pregnant. They can get pregnant within minutes of giving birth, and back to back pregnancies are extremely hard on the sow and second litter of pups. Pregnancy and delivery are also very hard on guinea pig sows, in part because the pups are HUGE in relation to the size of the sow. The death rate for both sows and pups is high.

Please rescue a pig rather than perpetuating that horrible breeding cycle.

Okay thank you


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[lissie]

Before getting a new pig, see these pages for introductions.
https://guinea-pigs.livejournal.com/3002707.html
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46468