Males Fighting

Question
We have recently bought two male guinea pigs, one is very dominant and they seem to fight a lot with tooth chattering and chasing.  Can we stop this before it gets any worse without separating them?  I don't want the dominant one to stop the other eating or drinking, and can't really afford to buy a new cage, besides we have nowhere else to put them separately!!

Answer
Hi Donna,

Try thoroughly cleaning out their cage and bathing them both (with one of the amazing shampoos from www.gorgeousguineas.com - ask if you need tips on how to do this), then popping them back in (once dry) with a big pile of their favourite food to bond over.

Even the best of friends squabble sometimes, especially when they live together, and this is true of guinea pigs too. It could be that if one of them has been out of the cage they've taken on the scent of something or someone that the other doesn't like, which is causing the bickering.

My boys fight from time to time, and so long as it's restricted to teeth-chattering, chasing, and humping it's nothing to worry about. If they start to bite or scratch each other, separation may be necessary (especially if one is much bigger) but hopefully it won't come to that.

Hope this helps and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.