There was trouble in paradise for Ludwig and Lemmy on Sunday! While they've always displayed normal dominance behaviour (Lemmy is the boss and chases/mounts Ludwig pretty regularly), one particular fight turned nasty when Ludwig received a bite on his back. We got home Sunday evening to find Ludwig scared and hiding under the hay. That's when we saw the bite mark. Poor guy!
We separated the boys, read up on this type of event, and came up with a solution that will hopefully help.
Ludwig's temporary lodgings while he recovers
Jessi made a Get Well card for Ludwig ♥
Some possible reasons for such a violent fight include: not enough space, hunger, unhappiness, or sickness. One person recommended making sure we had two of everything, including water bottles, hay lofts, hidies, etc., so that the piggies don't need to fight over those items. What was important for me was that we could have a good option for separating them if things escalate again.
Our current solution: enlarge the cage (from a 2x4 grid with a loft to a 2x6 grid with two lofts). We already had the necessary materials since we bought more grids for travel and had the coroplast/bedding from their 'ground time' set-up.
Making sure it'll all fit
Working all of Monday afternoon
Almost done!
With this new setup, if the boys need to be separated, then we can add a divider in the centre so each pig has a 2x3 space with their own hayloft.
A brand-new, bigger space!
Separator in place for their slow re-introduction
We removed the separator this morning, since both boys seemed eager and no longer anxious. They displayed totally normal behaviours again and have been happy exploring their new cage! Let's hope it stays that way.
Reunited again ♥
