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Dominance two very dominant male cavys-please help

jeansbluou

Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 9, 2012
Messages
9
hello everyone!
i got two cavys from pet shop (i'm from europe and in my country we don't have rescuees). the first one, Andy, came first, and than after 3 wees came Gringo. they were living together at the pet shop, were apart for 3 weeks while Andy was already at my place, and than Gringo came (i dont know if that's important)
they are helathy and were together before so i didn't make a quarentine period. so i started a introduction on neutral teritory (my hallway) and there's a lot of rumblestrating and theet chattering. it seems to me like they are both very dominant and neither will easily give in. i'm not comfotable to let them be in common cage, so they are seperated now.
i will be persistan for week or so and let them bond in hallway but it looks like ther's no progression.
i'm so sad, i'm afraid i'll have to give one away or give him back to the pet shop if that's possible.

ps. sorry if my english is not as good
 
Guinea pigs should only be introduced once and that's it, if you keep putting them together and separating them, it will be a ton of stress on them, and they will also have to start all over again with figuring out who is the leader. The actions you said before are all very normal when introducing guinea pig, the only reason you should separate is if there is blood drawn. No matter how bad the rumble strutting, teeth chattering, mounting, and even biting or bits of fur, this is all normal, and it's just the guinea pigs trying to figure out who will be top in the pecking order. You can read more on how to introduce pigs here: Guinea Pigs Social Life
 
Of course 1 time would be easiest, obviously. But you can always put a divider in the cage so they can be exposed to each other but not in direct contact of each other. Then you can try it again in a few months after they have been next to each other.

I fostered a Piggy named Lila, and when we gave her to her new owner, she bit the nose of the other Pig and it bled. So they tried what they could to get them to like each other, and couldn't do it. So they divided the 2x6 into a 2x3 so they both still get the minimum amount of space, and are exposed to each other. Then they will try it again in the middle of Fall, giving them time to adjust.

:)
 
hi guys. my piggies are still seperated for now couse i study and don't have time, but the day after tomorrow i'm starting again with bath and introdoucing.

but, i was wondering if it will be problem that they are both same age so they are both in puberty??
 
Puberty may make it a little more difficult, and you may have to leave them separated for a while. But read Guinea Pigs Social Life -- the introductions section is halfway down.

The fact that your first attempt has failed does NOT mean that you can't try again. The "rule" against repeatedly introducing them is to keep people from putting them together for a while, then separating, then putting them together. That's just stressful, and is not recommended.

But if it doesn't work the first time, you may need to make some adjustments and then try again.

How large is your cage? Small cages always make it hard for pigs to get along, and adolescent boars need a good bit of space. Do you have two hideys/food dishes/water bottles? Do all the hideys have both an entrance and an exit?
 
unfortunatelly in my country i can not finde grids nor conectors to built c&c cage, and belive me i did search for it.
but i'm thinking about buying a cage in pet shop (the largest they have 120x55cm is still too small for two piggies acording to this site) that is a bit larger that this right now which is home made
and the two of everything i have - because they aren't together right now, and every cavy has their own stuff.
 
Can you find closet shelving in your country? It makes very good cages. And you can use many things other than coroplast for the bottom and sides -- sheet flooring material (called linoleum here), shower curtain, plastic table cloth, etc. It just has to be waterproof and hidden from the pigs so they won't eat it.
 
hi guys!
today i spend hole day cleaning and rearanging their cage and then i introduced them agin in hallway...and put them together
but they are climbing on their back legs and crazy theet chattered on each other. i got so scared, pu a towel between them but they haven't stopped. i immidiately get one outside of the cage. they are wheeking and making a lot of different sounds but i'm so affraid i can't put them back. i will make a grid in center of a cage...and i'm thinking about giving away one of them.
:((((((
 
Please stop parting them, with any pig you get, this is going to happen it is all VERY normal once you leave them for a while they will be fine the only reason you should part them, is there is if blood drawn. Mounting, teeth chattering, even nipping bits of fur is totally fine, just them trying to figure out who is boss.

When you keep parting them and putting them back together you are doing much more harm then good, they have to start all over again with trying to figure out who is top dog.
 
but they were at the stage before full battle!
this is from cavy spirit:
]Fighting with intent to harm
[GuineaPigCages.com] two very dominant male cavys-please help
Bite attacks
[GuineaPigCages.com] two very dominant male cavys-please help
Both pigs rear up on their haunches, face to face. This is a clear, brief signal of their intent to launch full attacks at each other. Separate if possible before the attack.
[GuineaPigCages.com] two very dominant male cavys-please help
Full battle

They were on their haunches, so they were on step from full battle, and it looked so. i called at pet shop where i buyed them and they said i can return one, but i can't decide which one. :(
 
You really shouldn't return them to the pet shop (If you feel you need to return one) They will most likely be sold again to a person who knows nothing about guinea pigs, and will keep them in a pet store cage for their whole lives, you can give one to a good guinea pigs rescue. Also, they way you described "They were both climbing on their back legs" Didn't really make sense, I didn't know you meant rearing up on their haunches, if they really were doing that, then it's ok to separate, however everything else you have said they have been doing is totally normal.
 
I also was freaked out about introducing my girls. I had a store bought cage that I put the little one in right next to the big cage after I separated them. The little one wheeked a bit and the big one came out the investigate. The next day we introduced them and they've been happy since. Place the cages next to each other for a bit then try again!
 
hey emily thanks for the advice, i did something similar - i put a grid betwen them and it's working fine for now. they look happier then they looked when they were alone(cages in different rooms). but don't know if that can work parmenantley?

pigpanedmonium, sorry i didn't describe well, english is not my mother language.
 
and what does it mean that they are squeaking (not loud, just a little bit)?
 
It's just normal dominance stuff again, kinda like talking to each other, it can mean different things depending on what kind of squeaking it is.
 
they are sleeping by the grid, next to each other separated just by the grid. so lovely.

can they live like this, in same cage separated by the grid?
 
They will each need a friend also though, they will have no way of playing or anything like that through a grid.
 
also someone was mentioning rescue if i decide to give one away - in my country we don't have rescue... just so you know
 
i too have 2 dominant males, but i have had them in the same cages for about a year, but just two days ago , they started mounting each other and there were teeth chattering with one of the guinea pigs. why are they mounting and chasing eachother for hours on end all of a sudden after a year? there is also chirping as well. no blood drawn, but im worried that will happen.
 
Okay can I just say it is really hard to watch them mount and such. I just got two 10 week old males that have decided to do dominance play (and lets me say yes it's cute to see a piggie that little rumble strut) My mother and father are concerned, and keep saying "you're going to have to seperate them" of course I haven't because I haven't see blood drawn. I'm being very persistant. With my older boys, there was blood drawn, and are still seperated. My Charlie is not having no part of George lol. The point is, I feel your pain, I know how hard it is, and please, be patient, watchful, and careful. But let them work it out! no matter how hard to watch.
 
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