Fighting Extended cage and guinea pigs are fighting like mad!

[herbsandnibs]

Hi all, I have been lurking account free for a while and I wanted to thank you all for your cavy expertise!

Onto my problem:

This week I extended my C&C cage with another loft. The boys are now in a 5x2 with a 1x2 and 2x2 loft. Herby and Nibs are brothers (9mths), from the same litter, and Nibs has historically been the boss. He is larger than Herbs by about 200g and always has been significantly bigger, so it wan't surprising when he became the leader after they initially fought. We got the bigger cage because Nibbles would sit on the ramp blocking Herbs from entering. Also, we just thought they would like a new loft (the lofts are now like the hay areas, and the bottom is like a play area). Ever since we got the loft, they have been arguing non stop, I'm talking chasing, complaining, rumblestrutting, mounting and nipping (no blood has been drawn). It is mainly herbs who is the aggressor, even though he is significantly smaller. There is now a lot of space for them to spend apart, yet they are still arguing.

I'm thinking that it is: 1. them both vying for the new territory. 2. teenage boys

Apart from this they get along relatively well- running and playing together, working together to find treats and choosing to sleep within 8cm (around 4in for those in the US) of each other.

Would love your opinions!

P.S. did not mean to put that outrageous smiley in the title, thought I was adding it to thank you for your help in advance!

 

[Guinea Pig Papa]

Sounds to me like everything is fine. Pigs rumblestrut no matter what. Leo and Simon have been together now 15 months, and Leo rumblestruts at Simon countless times per day. Whenever Simon moves, Leo is close behind him.

As long as they aren't physically hurting each other or drawing blood, let them be. They'll sort things out themselves. Leo is my dominant pig (though sometimes I wonder) and he outweighs Simon overa full pound.

 

[bpatters]

For some reason, changes to a cage can set off pig squabbles. As long as they're not actually fighting, I wouldn't worry about it.

But if each loft only has one ramp, one pig can trap another in the loft. You might explore adding another ramp to each loft.