u/Upstairs-Trouble-325

Hi guys so I just bonded my two male guinea pigs and had them in a neutral space for about 4 hours on friday. They were getting along really well just humping and rumble strutting and I eventually moved them into a 24x48 in cage, because the cage I had ordered was supposed to be double that size and come that same day I was bonding them, however it kept getting delayed and now is supposed to be coming tomorrow. They were in this cage together for 3 days and eating together, cuddling together, popcorning together, and just overall getting along perfectly. However, today I heard a crash in their room and when I came to check what happened they were fully fighting with my 6 month old guinea pig bleeding near his mouth. My 3 month old bit him and had some blood spots on his face, which were my 6 month olds blood. I have them separated right now, but I’m not sure what to do in the long run about them. Do I return my 3 month old or keep them in separate cages forever? Do I eventually try to bond them again or is that too risky? Because I don’t have the space nor the money to have a friend for both of them resulting in 4 guinea pigs I would have to take care of. I’m not sure what to do I’m a first time guinea pig owner. Please help.

hi guys i was trying to bond my 6 month old male guinea pig who has been with me for 5 days now with my 3 month old guinea pig immediately after bringing him back from the pet store and in the beginning they were ok and both laying down next to eachother in the same hide that has two exits. i had to separate them after about an hour cause i had to do something but when i can back i brought them together again in the same neutral space and they were fine until i introduced a completely new hide and they fought over it almost biting eachother. (i now know this was a complete mistake and i shouldn’t have introduced any hides at all from the start) my 6 month old was teeth chattering for about 5 mins and i had to put them into their separate cages. i plan on trying again tomorrow with a different neutral space and no hides, just hay. but is it still possible for them to work out and eventually be able to live in the same cage? also after i separated them after that fight my 6 month old keeps squeaking and searching for the 3 month old. he was even jumping on his hides to try to get out of his cage. i put a barrier between them so they can't see eachother but i removed it for a couple mins so my 6 month old knew he was still there and they were both staring at eachother and sticking their noses through their cages trying to get to eachother. my 3 month old has been mostly silent but he was very softly squeaking back when he could see my 6 month old