Serious Guinea Pig Bullying

Question
Hello,

I've just adopted 3 guinea pigs from a rescue center for my guinea pig who has been alone for just under a year now, after her sister and my eldest boar, who she got on well with, died.

The three piggies I've adopted are a bonded trio made up of:
- A 2-year-old neutered boar (Reuben)
- A 5 month old female (Truffle)
- And another female that we're guessing is around 1-2 years old (Celeste)

The 3 of them get along with no problem, and for the introduction today, the trio and my own guinea pig (Babe) got along well with no nipping or trouble- (just a lot of peeing on each other)

However, having them home for about 4 hours, there has been a lot of head-butting, nipping, squeaking and so on (coming from Celeste and Truffle towards my guinea pig, Babe) meaning my guinea pig has spent a lot of time hiding in the corner and not moving. Reuben has been quick to step in when Celeste is picking on my guinea pig, but for some reason she won't stop going for her.

The cages I keep them in are two 120 cages (like this: http://bit.ly/IS4mxZ) attached together with a little wooden bridge so they can hop between the two.

At first it seemed that Truffle was the problem, so we put her in the other cage, (with her still able to see/smell/greet the other guinea pigs) and things settled. However, very quickly, Celeste started to repeatedly charge at Babe, chasing her around the cage and nipping at her, despite Babe being in the completely opposite corner of the cage.

After 6 hours we noticed that my guinea pig, Babe had a bit of blood on her coat. My guinea pig is recovering from a bit of surgery, and it appears that Celeste has managed to tear the fresh scar. So for this reason, we placed her in the other cage with Truffle. Its been quiet now, and Reuben (the neutered male) and Babe are getting along well, as are Celeste and Truffle.


I'm all for these guinea pigs discovering who's boss and establishing dominance, and I understand 6 hours is very early to infer anything, but I'm a little confused as Babe(despite being the smallest) is older than all of the guinea pigs at 3/4 years old, as they are all under 2 years old.

Is there anything I can do to help these 3 ladies getting along with each other? As I really hate the fact that we've just got them, and the trio have lived happily together for months and are now being split up.




Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Grace

Answer
they can certainly get along

Part of the issue is the fresh scars, you dont want them to be getting too aggressive while she is still recovering.
the cage size i think should normally be okay for four guinea pigs, though it is stretching what is okay to the maximum. usually people recommend more space but I personally doubt that is why they are fighting.

your guinea pig is the most likely tp be challenged because she is the one to beat, it was her territory before and so she is by default the boss and if the others do not like it then they have to fight her.

bonding through being scared is a useful idea so stuff like shared baths, shared boxes in a car journey etc.
but i think for the time being a divider, so if you were to section babe off in one half of one of the cages with some chicken wire and then move her and the divider to the other cage every other day to mix up the scents while she is recovering. this way they will see and smell each other all the time but not be able to hurt one another. also if you feel brave when they have floor time or grazing time try letting them do it together. after a week or two, or after her stiches and scars have healed started to try them without the dividers.

best of luck