Fighting Please help!

[Tayesmommy]

We have 2 pigs. We got Oreo first back in August and last week we got Brownie. We put them together and at first they were doing the usual dominance dance and all was well. That changed a few days later and they got into a fight which resulted in taking Oreo to the vet to get stitches in his lip. So now they are in separate pet store type cages. We do not have a C&C cage but we are working on it. I do not want to have to take care of 2 cages forever and I would like them to be cavies at some point. Is there any chance that we will be able to put them together again?

 

[bpatters]

How did you do the introductions? Read Guinea Pigs Social Life for more information -- the Introductions section is about halfway down.

If you put them both into a pet store cage, they definitely did not have enough room. And room is probably the second most significant factor in whether or not pigs will get along -- the first is the personalities of the pigs involved.

If they're females, they need 10.5 square feet. If they're males, they need even more. Bigger is always better. And a wide cage is better than a long narrow one. You also need at least two of everything in the cage -- hideys, water bottles, food dishes -- and a hayrack large enough that they don't get in each other's faces while they're trying to eat. If the hideys have only one entrance or exit, take them out and replace them with cardboard boxes or towels draped in the corner of the cage -- anything that lets them run through without getting trapped.

As for putting them together again, you can try once you've gotten the bigger cage built. I wouldn't do it before then. If they're randy teenagers, you may just have to wait awhile.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

I agree. Wait until you get the bigger cage.