any guinea pig money saving tips?

top_drawer_2

Thanks for the info on neuturing!! Least I havent paid out for that to find out it doesnt work.....

They do seem to get on sometimes ... they follow each other around the lounge when theyre out playing .... yes, theyre indoor piggies - I did wonder whether a bigger cage would help, or would they just fight over that space instead....

I got them on the 30th August so theyre about 3 and half months + 6 weeks (if the pet shop told me the truth and they were six weeks old).

Thanks for the PM - I will definitely have a look around their, I didnt realise piggies had such a following!

Jen

pug_in_a_bed

Hello
Ive had exactly the same problem recently with my two boys martin and bert. The scrapping got much worse, to the point where martin lost a tooth and part of his ear.

I had them neutured as a last resort, made no difference. I tried every trick in the book.

Bert went to a new home abour 8 weeks ago and i was lucky enough to get two sisters from the local rescue, martin and girls get on fab, so very glad he was neutured.

After my own experience, I'd say seperate them now, they can really do damage. Martin had two lots of stitches due to their fighting and lost a tooth.

When boys hit puberty the fighting started and got worse. Sounds like yours are at that age. Seperating and reintroducing didn't help for me.

Sorry to be the bearer of a bad experience:o

top_drawer_2

oh dear .............. I don't know what to do now!!

I don't have anywhere to separate them too.... How long will I have before it gets too bad? I have a large plastic box that my shopping came in from Tesco a few weeks ago - maybe I could improvise with that for the time being if things don't get better.

Jen

top_drawer_2

I've been reading around the internet and some sites suggest that a bigger cage might be the answer.

Just measured the cage and its 100 cm by 50 cm (ish). Do you think if I made the cage bigger that may help?

Its not looking too good at the moment .... Augustus is still chasing Leo around the lounge and theyre is a lot of teeth chattering going on and some noise when one of them has to get out of the corner.

Jen

amy104

Hi Jen,

Extra space can help so its def worth trying. From your cage measurements it does seem a little short of the recommended 4ft x 2ft and that is the minimum really so if they are getting on each others nerves they probably need even bigger. Have you thought about a Cube and Correx cage, they are quite cheap and easy to make?

amy104

Also to add re the neutering as some other people have said it rarely makes a difference to piggies.

top_drawer_2

hi Amy,

Yes, I have been reading around a lot this past 24 hrs and am now planning on constructing a cage made out of cubes .... managed to find some on Amazon and also going to look into buying mesh sheets from somewhere such as Homebase and doing it myself.....

I was awake a lot of last night worrying and listening for any signs that I should separate immediately......... I even got a box (50cm x 30 cm) out and put paper in it just in case. However, I haven't heard/seen any kerfuffle since putting them back in their cage last night after their run. It seems to be Augustus which is doing the chasing (he was also the one whose face was marked) as Leo approached the tent and sniffed a bit and Leo chased him off. Leo doesnt seem unwilling to submit to be honest, he runs away but I dont really see any dominant behavior from him .... Editted to add - I have seen him attempt to mount Augustus last week, thats why I was under the impression Leo was the dominant one.

This morning there was some teeth chattering and chasing one another .... the more dominant one (Augustus) sits in the tent while the other sits by a water bottle, at the moment he's led down seemingly relaxed .... although I went for a shower earlier and they dont seem to have moved from these positions since so I'm worried Leo (who I think is less dominant) is scared to move.

I would love to make them a two tier cage for them and I will incorporate a way of separating them into it too. However, what should I do in the short term? Can I leave them together for now or should I separate and maybe look at reintroducing in the future, does the above sound reasonable conditions for male piggies to live in (I dont want anyone to be miserable/long-term bullied!!).

Thanks

Jen

linda.b_4

hi Jen. I think the best thing to do, if you want to keep them together, is to get them into a larger home as soon as poss. If you leave it, chances are they will fight properly and have to be seperated for good. Given enough space they will usually tolerate each other. Mine never cuddle up, but they dont fight either, they just respect each others space, which in a small area they cant do. I dont have mine in a cage. In the summer they have the run of a 7ft shed with an attached 6ft run. Now I have put them in the garage (no car in there) as its drier and door from kitchen makes it easier for me. I have made a 4ft by about 8ft long C&C cage you will have probably seen them on cavy cages. You can get the panels from B&Q as storage cubes and I connect them with tie wraps. I have a big wooden box for them to sleep in which is low enough for them to jump onto. Stuffed full of hay and with a blanket over at night they are cosy and warm. I also use a tube heater when its icy. I also make sure there are 2 feeding bowls etc. Hope this helps.
BTW beachbeth. your pug looks exactly like my 2 year old Millie!

Ruby_Moon

I am a little amazed at my guinea pigs.
The lovely girls we have have somehow managed to make 4 more guinea pigs! I wonder if they knit them during the night? :cool:
Seriously though, they are gorgeous little things and not as small as I thought baby guinea pigs would be.
Have to find the culprit now and have him 'done'. Poor lad!

Wol2

At that age, their hormones are just cutting in so there WILLbe a scrap for top piggie. Hopefully it will sort itself out soon provided they have enough space.

However do please check them carefully twice a day - piggies with blood are injured piggies (they don;t scratch themselves and draw their own blood unless they have mites of a fungal skin infection). Chek their teeth/ears, eyes and back/rump especially for injuries as an abcess can arise which is difficult and time consuming to deal with. I have had boars lose teeth, get lacerated mouths and can be pretty bashed up in the space of 2 minutes and I have had females fight and one lost an eye.

One word of warning - if they really start fighting - do not separate them without first putting on heavy duty gloves (My right hand was permanently damaged/tendons severed trying to separate two fighting boars with a large beach towel for protection )

Sadly some piggies won;t bond (I have brother boars who have all ended up in separate cages)......

If that is the case, you can either house them separately with a wire mesh cage divider so they can still see/talk to each other - or alternatively you can get them both neutered and find them female comnpanions from a rescue

And and fully concur with the other posters.....neutering will not change their behaviour. I have one (now lone) male who is so sexaully agressive....he rogers everything in sight ......and even neutering hasn;t stopped him :rotfl:

Good luck
xxx