Guinea Pig behaviour problems, please help!?

Question

Well I recently took in a couple of guinea pigs, both girls and 1.5 years old. But having a problem with one of them who is being aggressive. She keeps grunting at the other guinea pig and trying to jump on her (yes I'm sure they are both females lol). It seems like she is bullying her and it's relentless especially at night it doesn't stop. I don't know what to do to stop it.

Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

It could be hormonal behaviour, which could affect either of them from time to time.  In ours it seems to come around about monthly and last for a few days, although so far as I know there is no menstrual cycle.  Now that they are older (ours are 3-4 years old) it happens much less.  Observe for a few days, if it is hormonal you should see the behaviour disappear, and as time goes on it may reappear for a short time in either GP.  You don't need to worry, in this case they will not fight.  

Alternatively, it could be social dominance behaviour, which is also "normal", but not very pleasant.  If they were not living together before you took them in then it will have been quite a "social shock" for them to live together suddenly, they may settle down over time provided they agree on the pecking order.  To give them the best chance of this, ensure they have plenty of space to get away from one another, don't cramp them in.  If they already lived together before you took them in then obviously they haven't settled with each other.  They could go on behaving as they are, with frequent dominance behaviour, in which case it is up to you whether you divide their space for a more peaceful life, or it could escalate to the point where they start fighting.  

If more agressive behaviour starts, such as pacing or yawning, and particularly if you hear one castanetting its teeth, then a fight may be imminent.  If any fighting occurs you must separate them permanently at once (after the fight, do not get your hands near fighting GPs), as it will only get worse and lead to serious injury (have you seen your GPs' teeth?  Bites are serious.).  Separation can be done with strong wire mesh (standard rabbit wire is not strong enough, in time they can bite through), so they still have sight and smell of each other (GPs need social contact, even an "enemy" is better than nothing).  We had boys who had to live like this, it's less common with girls, but not uncommon.

Answer 2

She doesn't like her.  They need to be seperated.

Answer 3

And you didn't think of researching the animal before you got them.

Even females show dominance to the others, especially when no male is present.  There's nothing you can really do, the other guinea pig is fine, she's just the lesser of the two.  once they've established dominance and passiveness, they'll settle down.

Answer 4

You should separate them if you think it's going to get nasty.  

Answer 5

I have had the same problem, I fixed mine by;

1. Washing both of the guinea pigs

2.change bedding and or litter

3.when they start to fight spray them with a water bottle.

6. And if that doesn't work, you should separate them!

   best of luck :*)

Answer 6

Separate them

Answer 7

well i think the most logical thing to do would be to get another cage and separate them....... duh?? hah thier not like humans, u cant tell them to play nice!... that happened with my frinds and my pigs,hers was about 2 years old and mine was about 1... and when together hers was more agressive... so ywah  iwould just get another cage or even a LARGE cardboard box with plenty of breathing room and things.....

Answer 8

Buy two separate cages or find a way to separate their current cage into two halves.  If you can separate the cage into two halves they may eventually get use to each others company without hurting one another.  If this happens, then you can try putting them together again.  Maybe they won't fight anymore.

Answer 9

get another cage and put it RIGHT next to the other one!!!  then put one in the other cauge so they wont be compleatly alone but just enough to tame them... but be carefull dont let them get depressed form being away from each other