# Guinea Pig Blues



## patacake (May 31, 2011)

Hi was looking for some advice about my piggies .
I have to males (brothers) had them 4 xmas from bf. They got on very well until recent. We decided to get a third male everything was great with them till the 3rd one died last sunday. Since he passed away my one pig is horrible to his brother keeps grabbing him its making him miserable. The ones whos bullying is also very miserable he just mopes around. I really do not know what to do. I dont want to seprate them they were so happy.
Any advice will be great thanx :confused5:


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

it sounds like the pecking order has been really upset, and neither are happy with each other, have they drawn any blood? 
i would be tempted to seperate, neuter, and get them both girl friends


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## Rhi (Feb 19, 2011)

Great advice from Lil Miss but if you are reluctant to split at the moment you could try putting a DAP device near their cage. It has been proven to help some male GP's who have started to get a bit tetchy. It doesn't work all the time but it may be worth a try.

If it doesn't work please make sure you have a decent vet to castrate them who has done guinea pig castrations before. Common mistakes vets make is to give vetergesic pain relief - this should be substituted for Carprofen as an opiate based pain killer can hamper recovery. Also you should ensure that the vet knows not to put the vet pads back in as putting them back in can often result in nasty abcesses.

Sorry if that was a bit of a lecture


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## Maria_1986 (May 15, 2011)

Sorry to hear about the loss of your boy.

It may be that the one doing the bullying is trying to set himself as top pig after the death of your other boy - if there has been no blood drawn and both are eating and maintaining a steady weight you could try leaving them to it. How old are they? If they were quite young when you got them, you might find they are just coming into puberty too which can also upset the dynamics and they may work out between them in time. If you decide to keep them together keep a close eye on their weights to ensure that the one being picked on is eating enough.

Personally I would give it a week and see what happens as long as no there are no injuries, and then if nothing has improved neuter them both and find each a girlfriend.


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## patacake (May 31, 2011)

Thanx for the replies.
No blood has been drawn a mouthfull or two of fur but def no blood.
They are both 7months old now!
unnecessary surgery isnt want I want for my boys tbh. Keeping a close eye on them ! 
My other half thinks that we should adopt another piggy to put with them but I'm not so sure what do you guys think ? :001_huh:


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## Jazzy (Apr 15, 2009)

Are they inside or outdoor piggies? I have 4 males of different ages and 3 of them I keep inside in indoor cages and they all live separately and are absolutely fine. The other one lives in a large cage in the shed and I was told by his breeder that he didn't get on with other piggies and he was around 18 months old when I got him so he lives alone I also have 7 females in the shed too in 3 large hutches so he has the company of those.

I would just keep a close eye on them and if they seem miserable then separate them. I had two a few years ago that I bonded together as they were the same age roughly and it didn't work out. One of them got a large bite mark in the middle of his back and he was losing weight so I separated him and he was much happier.

Personally I think adopting another piggy would add more problems and result in more squabbling.


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## patacake (May 31, 2011)

they are indoor and outdoor really outside cage when its warm and indoor when its cold. 
I think I agree with the not getting another one but will be sad if I do have to seperate them


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2011)

patacake said:


> they are indoor and outdoor really outside cage when its warm and indoor when its cold.
> I think I agree with the not getting another one but will be sad if I do have to seperate them


If you do have to separate I would highly recommend getting them neutered so that they can have a wife each, as Guinea pigs are very social animals so shouldn't be kept alone.


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## jenny22 (Feb 13, 2011)

we had 2 boys who until recently lived together and then starting arguing, at least one did and I have had to seperate thm, may be its the weather

jenn


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## tiggerthumper (Apr 22, 2011)

I'm so sorry you lost a piggy  Unless blood is drawn and the situation is serious I wouldn't separate them. They have lost their friend and now they are sorting out who's who in the pecking order. Just keep an extra close eye on the situation. It is very difficult to introduce a third guinea pig to an established pair, which is what these two would be by the time you would consider this. You were really lucky with the third one you did have 
However, if you waited a while two adult piggies will accept a baby piggy more readily, but I would really consider waiting if you wanted to do this 
I hope peace is restored soon, good luck xox


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