Why are my two female guinea pigs fighting? Can they live together?

Usually siblings raised together will be able to live together. It sounds as if you have one overly dominant female though. You can try keeping them in a larger cage with additional bowls, bottles, toys and hides. This may give them enough "elbow room" which may decrease the squabbling. If not, you may need to separate them for a few days. A gradual reintroduction can be tried, but if they continue to fight, permanent separation may be the only option.

Thanks for reaching out. Not all animals get along. The biggest question is are they fighting or trying to establish hierarchy. Separate then for now and introduce them slowly in a neutral territory. Neutering them to lower testosterone might help. You should contact the store, to see if they can help also.

Based on the behavior you are describing I would not recommend housing these pigs together right now. The older pig is exhibiting some signs of dominance which can quickly turn to aggression. I would recommend allowing them to interact and play with each other under your supervision. If you ever notice that these behaviors stop then you can try housing them together. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Cookie and including photos. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. This could be due to bite wounds but also possible dental disease. As guinea pigs mature, they might become more territorial and competitive. Is a larger cage possible, providing multiple feeding and water stations, more hiding places. Not all individuals get along, and might need to be separated. Good luck.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Female companionship is sufficient for your guinea pigs. It is arguably better, as more mature guinea pigs (over 6-8 months) are at higher risk for complication during pregnancy and birth.

In any grouping of animals you will have some sort of dominance hierarchy. Problems arise when one is so dominant that it won’t allow the other to eat enough, or when they start to injure the others then I worry that it isn’t a safe situation. If you have noticed scabs or wounds on them you may need to consider separating them when they are not being supervised. The same situation will apply when you add in a third. The dynamic will shift with 3. Either it will be easier and they will get along better, or one will clearly be the submissive and get picked on too much. Monitor closely and make decisions to make sure they are all safe. Best of luck and have fun with your pigs! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

As long as they aren't drawing blood, don't separate them. If you can give them a bigger cage to share, that's great. Make sure there is nothing in their cage where one could trap the other. You can use fleece to make little tents, pouches and even strips hung from a grid on top of the cage will give them places to hide. Even cardboard boxes with multiple entrances and exits will offer them more variety in places to hide and den.