Eating hair?

Question
QUESTION: We got our son a new guinea pig for is old one to have a friend.The new pig keeps eating the hair of the older one..Why? Do we need to get rid of it or move it to another cage? The older one is at lease to years old.. Darla

ANSWER: Hi Darla

In order to give you the best advice please can you tell me if the two pigs are male or female and how old each pig is.

The behavious may be nothing worse than grooming and / or establishing dominance.

Andy

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QUESTION: They are both females..Lets just say they sold us the new one as a girl...I hope she is..The older one is about 2 years old and the new one around 5 or 6 months old.. Darla
ANSWER: Hi again

Thanks for the information. You obviously need to check that both are girls. Please find a link below to help you with that.

My view that one pig is grooming the other seems to fit, but if you find clumps of hair missing from the other pig please let me know. Same applies if aggression occurs.

Andy

http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/Sexing-Guinea-Pig.htm

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QUESTION: Only the older one is getting a hair cut..I don't hear any fighting noises..So this may be a good sign..I known my son would be thrilled if it was a boy and they had babies...

Answer
Hi

The problem is that if the young pig is a boy and impregnates the female then by now her pelvic bones have fused together meaning she wont be able to deliver the babies. Plus breeding is a bad idea for many reasons.

If both pigs are not female then I suggest the two pigs are separated.

Andy