Aggression my pigs are fighting !

[faithintheheart]

well to add to my frustration more today! my guinea pigs are fighting ! they are doing something al most like rumbling then chasing Each other around the cage. there being protective over both food bowls, both piles of hay and the pigloos . they havent drawn blood but im wondering if any one else thinks i should spereate them ? any ideas to solve the problem. and if they dont get alond any more i dont have room for two cages in my house ... so id have to find my other more submissive one a buddy i guess and then find her a home ( maybe trade a better buddy for her, and give them the lone one) id hate to have to do that . oh my goodness everywhere i turn they are having issues .. is it just me or was rescueing these babies form the store a bad choice .. should i have just gone for the rescues i love some help on how to help thses little ones thanks soo much for reading !

 

[nibbler100]

did you just put them togeather with no intoduction?

 

[bpatters]

First of all, there are very good articles on the main page of this site and at Guinea Pig Education, Care, Rescue and Adoption at Cavy Spirit that will give you a lot of information on caring for your guinea pigs. If you want help, that's a very good place to start. You'll get a good overview and discussion of their care, unlike the disjointed posts that you find on forums. This is a great place to get questions answered, but it's not a great introduction to guinea pig care.

Second, don't separate your pigs unless one of them is being bitten or harassed to the point that it can't eat. That's true if you've got them in a large enough cage for them to get along. If not, then put them in smaller cages until you can build on that's large enough. Rumbling, chasing, being protective of food bowls are all perfectly normal behaviors for pigs working out dominance issues.

Just FYI, you didn't rescue them from a pet store. You bought them from a pet store. And yes, that's a bad choice, but it's one you've already made, so you need to figure out how to manage it. But in the future, if you ever get another pig, please consider rescuing it. Texas Guinea Pig Rustlers is one of the better rescues in the country, and they're right under your nose. They would have helped you get your pigs settled into adequate size cages, and would have been a resource for any issues you might have had with them.

 

[kourt1313]

Agreed with bpatters... I learned the pet store pig purchase mistake the hard way. I just got home from adopting a pig and the woman at the rescue was amazing. She put my pig and this one together for an hour, they did a tiny bit of what you described but for the most part let each other be. Unfortunately just because two pigs live together at the store doesn't mean they are good for each other.

 

[faithintheheart]

"Just FYI, you didn't rescue them from a pet store. You bought them from a pet store. And yes, that's a bad choice, but it's one you've already made, so you need to figure out how to manage it. But in the future, if you ever get another pig, please consider rescuing it. Texas Guinea Pig Rustlers is one of the better rescues in the country, and they're right under your nose. They would have helped you get your pigs settled into adequate size cages, and would have been a resource for any issues you might have had with them."

thank you for the previous sites i apperciate it . i didnt purchase my pigs , they were left at the store my sister works at and no one wanted them so i took them in . they are in a 2x4 C and C . they have been argueing since day one so i was curious if this was a problem .

 

[kourt1313]

As long as blood isn't being drawn they are probably just trying to figure out dominance.

 

[faithintheheart]

i definitely agree with you kourt1313!, ive learned the hard way that guinea pigs are wonderful but costly pets :/