Boy guinea-pigs were in last night and started squabbling...

[LordOfTheFlies]

We've had them a month now and they've been good (they are a year old, from a rescue)
A couple of times GP1 has given his smaller bro a head-butt or a warning noise.
Outside they have plenty of room 5'5" x 5'5" with a big hayfilled box and three other little 'houses' plus a ramp and platform too get ontop of the wooden box.
GP1 tends to go in the cardboard box within the wooden box which has a fleece. GP2 tends to like behind the box up to his ears in hay (deep filled)
It's cleaned out and the hay, lining and fleece changed daily. The rest of it every other day.

BUT the inside cage is understandably smaller, 4'x2' x 18" high.
By the time a box is in,water,food,veg and hay, there's not alot of space.
Last night after their cuddles, GP2 went for his brother. I don't know if he got him,we can't find any scabby areas and he was fine to cuddle today. But he got his mouth onto GP1 s back, about 4 times.
We seperated them into a washing basket (for GP2) and the cage, then after 30 mins, let GP2 back in.
They spent the night at opposite ends of the cage, no more heard.
Today I put them out, and they are sleeping outside. There was a "Shift yourself" "Bugger off" exchange as GP2 went into GP1s box, but that was it, they found their supper next.

So, my dilemma: if they stay out all winter, I'm quite happy to carry on with fleece, loads of hay, Snugglepad in the box, hot water bottle (in a fleece cover) in the hay.Hope this would be enough to keep them snug. (They are big lads BTW )

DH has put a divider in the indoor cage, so they can still see/smell each other
but they would only have room for hay and veg. They wouldn't need pellets at night and they don't touch the water.
There are going to be some nights when I wouldn't be happy going to bed with them outside.

They had eaten loads of parsley and coriander yesterday.Maybe that contributed to their arsey-ness? (No herbs today, little blighters)

Any thoghts? (These are my first boy pair)

I think it probably is the reduced space - when DD is cleaning out the four they all go into a pet carrier with the lid off if it's cold/wet outside. In their enclosure they have no problems, not real bickering etc, but in the pet carrier there is a lot of teeth chattering/urine spraying/pecking and just general grumpiness, even though it's only for 5 mins.

If you can get to a Maplin, get a cheap electric thermometer and put it in their outside enclosure with a min/max temperature display and see just how cold it gets.

Is there space for a shelf in their outdoor enclosure for a small fan heater or something similar on a thermostat to keep it around 15/16 degrees?

I was thinking about a heater for them, their shed is near our garage (No car in it but full of junk and concrete so it's colder than their wooden house)
DH has fitted a light (halogen) in their house so that I can clean it in the dark , when they are being cuddled indoors.
He could feed a cable through the shed wall to the power point on a timer/circuit breaker, and have a small wall mounted heater out of their reach.

This would also help to keep the damp off in winter. I'm thinking.

I haven't seen any cordless heaters apart from gas (not a good idea in a wooden shed with animals and hay ).

This has really surprised me with the piggies, they have been quite mellow, and I was worried about GP2 being bossed by GP1, but it seems he's got balls !

Power point is in the garage, forgot to add.

IME it's the smaller piggies who make a nuisance of themselves!

If you're not keen on a fan heater or something similar, what about ceramic heaters meant for vivariums? They can also come with thermostats and reflectors etc and might be more reliable than other heaters and can be mounted on the ceiling next to the light? And if the power cable wouldn't reach the garage, could DH rig up an extension lead with the plug board mounted high on the wall?

A 4 x 2 cage should be an okay size for two adult boars, even with bits and bobs inside, so I can't imagine the space would be that much of an issue. Mine are 2 and 1 1/2 and from time to time, they have "words" but not to the degree I've had to separate them. I have had to dunk them both in the bath when they've been at loggerheads and neither would back down, but that tends to work well! I've used Dog "anti-stress" spray which contains a pheremone tht's supposed to help them chill (evidently it has to be the dog not the cat one), but I'm not sure whether it makes a difference or not.

If they are outdoors, I'd suggest rigging up some sort of heating system for them. Last winter was SO cold and the small animal rescue I sometimes volunteer for had quite a few rabbits and cavies "handed over" with injuries and illnesses related to the cold and damp and/or where their companions had died due to the cold and the owners didn't want the bother of the remaining animals. I'm guessing there were hundreds that died without much sound or fury.

If it's an enclosed, draught proof garage or shed, it might be possible to give them a couple hot water bottles (say next to the wall of the cage, not in it so they won't get burned) changed a couple times a day to act like radiators. I did that when I lived in a flat in London that had no central heating both during the night time and the day as there wasn't heat in the kitchen except from an electric fire that couldn't be left unattended.

I've spied a greenhouse and conservatory hearer (so I'm assuming OK for outdoors) which DH can put in the pighouse with an extension cable to garage .It's got a thermostat so I can set the temp to switch itself on (and put a RCB)

We've brought them in tonight and separated the indoor cage with a thick wire grid. I'm going to stuff it with hay and give them veg to give them maximum room (eating hay makes them happy)

I don't think I could leave the little guys out when it's really cold -especially remembering we had snow last year at the end of Novemember.

Indoor cage, separated with a thick metal grid so they can still see/smell each other. Lots of hay and a fleece blanket with a bowl of veg.
They seem fine with their own space and bonus the cage doesn't smell as boary because they aren't doing the marking.

Outside they are more mellow (more space) and they've been in the same box together.

Hopefully peace reigns. Otherwise I've threatened them with neutering.
Disclaimer: I wouldn't put them through it, I've heard it doesn't change their behaviour and I wouldn't put them through it

Sounds a good plan!

Ah, threatening them with being "tutored" then. Occasionally, I've suggested we might invite over friends from Peru for dinner . . . ;)

The day we got them we had a Mexican meal

Completely innocently you understand but I'm sure they had their (real fur tsk tsk) Judgy Pants hoiked right up.

Don't eat the parsely boys, we're flavouring you.

Ha ha! Where I used to live, my piggies had a run in the dining room. I frequently had to reassure them they weren't being kept there as a convenient snack :)

mine know we are vegetarian , which is one of the reasons I suggested GPs when DD wanted a pet (and I wanted some as well).We always have veg and salad.
I've started buying organic celery for them because it's got loads of leaves.DH eats the stalks.

But it doesn't do them any harm to keep them guessing.

Spatchcock GP. Takes like chicken. So I'm told .

Tastes like chicken.

We don't eat meat either, but I don't think one of mine is convinced!

Hey, they say EVERYTHING tastes like chicken!

My DH ordered a heater for the pig palace (tubular heater for greenhouses) attatched it out-of-pig-reach to take the chill off .We've got a halogen light in there with the power point inside the pighouse ,so much easier now.

It's got a timer to go on about an hour before they go outside, and I put their hotwater bottles and snugglepad in the wooden box.
Spoiled piggies or what.

They don't argue in the pighouse, they do the head-up face-off thing then stride round marking. If GP2 goes into GP1 s box there's a bit of noise-purring,GP1 with a stiff,prowling body. Then GP2 goes off to the hay.

Definately in for the night on towel and fleece -it's flippin freezing here today.!