Help! My two new male guinea pigs are fighting. What should I do?

Thanks for reaching out. Juvenile guinea pigs should be separated from the mother/infants, especially if in a confined space. Too much competition for social hierarchy. Also, you need to get the boar castrated if wanting to keep together. Good 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.

Often guinea pigs do fight and can not cohabitate. It sounds like you already have 2 cages set up, I would plan on the fact that they can leave as neighbors, but probably never in the same cage. I know it is not what you want, but it is probably what is most safe. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi again! It is not unusual for two guinea pigs to be a bit agitated by each other at the beginning, while they work out a hierarchy. I would suggest supervising them for now while they are together. If you notice the clicking again, I would separate them and try again another time. Try feeding them together, and offer them treats together so that they can start to associate some positive interactions with each other. I hope this helps, and that your boys start getting along soon!

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.

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.

Sounds like you are on the right track! I see that Sebastian is a male, and I assume that you are getting another male - I apologize if that is not correct, as that is what I will be speaking to. To introduce the boys, you can put their cages next to each other - they will have visual and auditory (hearing) contact, but no physical contact. If you don't see any signs of aggression, such as putting up their hair, chattering their teeth, or lunging at one another, then you can move towards supervised contact. I usually wait 4-5 days to do this - this will allow for your new guinea pig to get used to your house as well. During supervised contact, I will often feed the guinea pigs, as this will create positive experiences with one another. After a few days of putting the pigs together for sessions, then you can put them together. The part that worries me is that if both of your guinea pigs are intact males, that they may end up fighting in the future. I would recommend getting them castrated if there is a veterinarian in your area who is comfortable with performing the procedure. I hope that this helps!