Biting after getting desexed

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kellywalsh77

Post   » Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:51 am


Hi,
I have two male Guinea Pigs and they both recently were desexed. They were both fighting after surgery (looked like balls of fur, no blood). We had to split them up so they could heal. They have been introduced and the fighting has calmed down. Martin is still chasing, biting and pulling out fur from Aston on the bum. This has caused sores on Aston. How do I get Martin to stop? Overall they get on and have heaps of space Approx. 4 to 5sqm. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

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Kimera

Post   » Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:07 am


The best what you can do in this situation is get each of them a female or two, and keep the pairs separate. Neutering boars will rarely reduce their antipathy towards other males, however now they can safely live with females without a risk of getting them pregnant. Even seemingly aggressive boars become sweet with sows.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:34 pm


I'd check Aston out to make sure he's OK. Guinea pigs can sometimes sense when something is wrong with another one,and will pester them mercilessly.

rjespicer

Post   » Wed Mar 13, 2019 1:08 pm


I agree with bpatters comment.
We discovered that whenever our biggest girl was harassing one of the other two it was usually because they were ill and she was trying to keep them away from her. Some sort of survival instinct I guess

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Mar 14, 2019 10:18 pm


Some male pairings can take quite a while for dominance issues to be worked out, but it's not worth it if one of the pigs is getting bullied or injured. How old are they, and how long have they been together? I'm wondering why you had both of them neutered.

kellywalsh77

Post   » Sun Mar 17, 2019 5:56 am


The boys have been together from Birth. They are 7 months old. We go to an exotic pet vet. They suggested to get them neutered to help prelong there life from illness. We really do not want to split them up due to they use to get along. Any other feedback would be appreciated.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:50 am


It may be that they are primarily going through adolescence and will not calm down until they are older. The surgery may have been coincidental. Do also look for any signs of pain since pain may cause lashing out.

After they are fully healed, perhaps try to "introduce" them again? Do you have the current cage divided in two so they can see each other? Setting up a cage with lots of visual barriers (draped fringed strips of fleece across the cage that they would walk through), no houses or enclosures with only one exit, multiple areas to eat, can help. Some tips on pages linked to from www.guinealynx.info/companionship.html

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Sun Mar 17, 2019 8:33 am


I agree that at 7 mos. old they are going through late adolescence, and that is most likely driving the behavior. The stress of surgery may also be a factor, but probably not the neuter itself (which, as a side note, seems a little unnecessary to me---what illness does your vet think can be prevented by neutering a male?).

Lynx's suggestion to divide the cage for now is a good solution while they heal, and then you can try re-introducing them. Do keep an eye on those bites to make sure there is no infection.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu Mar 21, 2019 10:09 pm


Good advice as usual, sef. My two boars have never been able to be in the same enclosure without fighting. I tried several times to pair them, but they just go right at each other. There was no food, no shelters with one opening and a ton of space ( an 8X10 foot area). The last time I tried; about 8 months ago it got ugly with them biting a small chunk out of each other's ear and me winding up with a nice sized hole in my hand. I keep them in separate cages, and when they get floor or outside time, there's a barrier. They also get separate lap time with me.

Their cages are butted together so they can see each other and touch noses and they are fine with it. I do the same thing when they are out of their cages, which is several times a day for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at a time, depending on whether they are outside grazing or inside. The barrier for their collapsible play pen is a wire cage that keeps them from getting to each other, but they interact through it positively. They purr at each other, they touch noses and rub their bodies against each other through it.

I don't know what else to do to get them to share a larger enclosure, so I've accepted the fact that they probably never will. Perhaps I'll try again after both are out of adolescence. If I could get them to share a living space, I could give them both more living room but in the meantime, I compensate with lots of time for them out of the cages.

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