Older Guinea Pigs fighting

Question
Dear Jo

My sister has two male guinea pigs who have lived together very happily for the last three and a half years.  However over the last couple of weeks we have noticed that both pigs have had a few cuts.  We tried to give them a break from each other by putting them in separate runs in the garden but leaving them close enough to see each other for comfort.  We thought that this had done the trick but this morning we found that one of the pigs has had part of his ear bitten off.  We have cleaned and taken the pig to the vets and he is ok but I need to know if this may be a temporary situation or should we consider separating the pigs for good?

Sophie  

Answer
Hey sophie,

I'm afraid this is a common problem in male piggies- they can live happily for a number of years, but then start fighting with each other.

You did the right thing by seperating them, and putting them in the runs so that they're seperated, but can still see and interact with each other. Unfortunately, this is the deciding method. Since fighting has continued after that, i would say yes - the best thing would be to seperate them for good, as male piggies will sometimes fight to the death.

Unfortnately male piggies can become very territorial, and this is a likely cause of the fighting. Having them neutered MAY help, but its quite expensive, so if you're able to, i'd advise simply keeping them seperated permanently.



Jo