Fighting male guinea pigs

[user1483972886]

Our 2 male GPs are now 4 months old. They are not brothers but have lived together since 3 weeks. There has always been a but of rumbling bit nothing major. We have given them 2 waterbottles, 2 bowls, 2 houses etc but they share a cage.
Recently it seems to have escalated and now the bigger one keeps ahem mounting the smaller one.
We have tried taking the houses out but this seemed to make it worse. Should we just let them get on with it and sort out dominance and hope it calms down once they are beyond teenage?

Are they neutered? If they're entire they're going to fight to be alpha regardless of age/relation/accommodation etc.
Hope this helps x
www.animalhumanesociety.org/behavior/guinea-pig-bonding-basics

Sorry just reread. The mounting is definitely behaviour to establish dominance. Ideally you need to have them neutered to prevent fighting as boys have been known to cause very bad injuries as a result x

How big is their cage? C&c are usually a better option as it gives lots of floor space to run around

Thanks for the link. I have read it. It suggest they will tussle for dominance and things will settle. The cage is 120cm.
I had 2 males as a child but no problems so it's a shame if we have to separate them!

@user1483972886 it would also be worth looking online for people that do "bonding" between GPs and emailing them for advice 😊
Some of my friends introduced their rabbits who hated each other but after speaking to a bonder they're best friends!
Might be worth looking to get some Pet Remedy too - it's a synthetic pheromone spray that can calm them down. Hope they soon settle and turn into best buds!

I have read that neutering guinea pigs doesn't change dominating behaviours so I wouldn't bother neutering them without researching it.

Mine did this for months and I thought they were never going to get along but then they sorted it out and one of them is dominant. They are happier now. They cuddle up together which they never did before. I would leave them to sort it out unless they are actually injuring each other as guineas need company.

Hi
We had this with ours. One of our bonded boys sadly passed away and we rescued another boy. They got on fine for a few months then starting fighting.

The best advice I can give you (which worked for us and gave us 5 more years of happy piggies ) is to put them in a neural space together, somewhere they haven't been before (we put ours in the bathroom) with nothing that smells of either of them and leave them there for a couple of hours.

It's like reintroducing them to one another and starting again. Then after a while you should be able to put them back in together.

I hope this helps 

We have two entire males who were 'bonded' when we got them from the rescue. I say bonded but I don't think they particularly like each other much, they still rumble a lot and they occasionally mount each other, not quite as much as when we first got them.

They sometimes tolerate each other and give each other a wash but more often than not they are at opposite ends of the cage or winding each other up by sitting in the bedroom doorway so the other one can't get in or out.

Maybe just keep an eye on them and as long as they're not hurting each other then hopefully they will grow out of it when they are out of adolescence.

@Berniethefastestmilkwoman while this can be true, it can help having one neutered so they're not constantly fighting for dominance 😊

OP, try starting over with introducing ie. having them in seperate cages but allowing them to smell each other. Then start swapping scents and slowly introduce them but seperate if they're fighting. It'll take a while but you'll get there x

My boys are almost 11 months old (been with us since 7 weeks) and they still do this sometimes! They’re stroppy teens now. But will sleep next to each other now whereas before would sleep as far apart as possible, so they do get better.

I have human boys too and the bicker constantly so it’s just like that but in a more wriggly bum/deep rumble way!

Sometimes when they get a bit too stroppy (no fighting but some alarming sounds) we give them a bath (they unite against us in their hatred, plus they end up smelling the same) and give their cage a full clean, including a pet safe disinfectant so that everything smells new and hasn’t been 'bagsied' by one pig. It helps a lot.

The cage you have is the minimum size for two pigs, a larger cage will help with some of the dominance. Really I'd look at doubling the size they have. Lots of tunnels and hides holes etc will help too

This is an excellent site for advice https://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk 

Oh yes, they need so much more space than you think!
I have a c&c style cage. I bought panels from amazon (solid panels as well as more cage like ones), just make sure they are 9x9 'holes' if you do buy them as the bigger gaps are a safety hazard.

I have a million panels for the same price as the smaller official c&c cage. I’ve used the spares to make bunk beds and tents and a massive run that can be moved and stored easily.

When they have space to escape the other pig they are definitely more settled.

All you can do is keep a close eye on them, make sure they have plenty of space and distractions and keep your fingers crossed. As long as there’s no bloodshed it’s best to leave them to get on with it, although it’s tempting to give the little one a break with a ‘time out’ it can actually cause more problems. Just monitor his weight carefully to check that he’s gaining at the same rate as your other one.